Product complexity and variant diversity increase the effort for the development of production processes at SMEs. As part of the IGF research project "Self-learning multi-stage quality monitoring processes for (laser) material processing" (AiF No.: 20419N), an expert system was therefore developed for manufacturing companies in the field of laser material processing. The expert system supports users in process control and quality prediction of new products and product variants .
laser material processing, expert system, machine learning
How can companies get the most out of their manufacturing and be economically successful even in a high-wage location? A Manufacturing Execution System – a process-oriented level of a multi-layer production management system – can help. This enables companies to optimize their production planning and control.
A large number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) currently still do without this support because the effort required to introduce such a system appears too great. One way to reduce the effort involved is to prepare comprehensively for the MES introduction. An "MES Readiness Check" should provide support for this preparation. It reveals the demands that this introduction phase places on companies. The company can check whether it meets the necessary requirements.
Manufacturing Execution System, MES, Digitalization
This article presents a method for superimposing vision constraints based on the principle of augmented reality. The method is based on an overlay of the actual operator's field of view with information from a reconstructed scene. The reconstructed scene is superimposed as a hologram only over the vision-restricting components. The presented method is divided into position determination, data transmission and visualization. These software components are presented in detail. In view of the later use of the system in an industrial truck, the real-time capability of the data transmission, the accuracy of the visualization and the robustness of the position determination are also investigated.
augmented reality, driver assistance system, forklift trucks, image processing, obstacle detection
In the automotive and mechanical engineering industries, forged parts are used in many applications. The dies for the forged parts are subject to high wear during forging due to high forming forces and temperatures. In order to enable economical production operation, methods to reduce the wear in warm forging have been investigated. One promising method is the use of Diamondlike-Carbon (DLC) wear-resistant coatings.
Warm Forging, Coating, DLC, Wear
The manufacturing technology of thermoelectric materials is laborious and expensive often including complex and time-intensive preparation steps. In this work, a laser sintering process of the oxide-based thermoelectric material Ca3Co4O9 is investigated. Samples based on spray-coated Ca3Co4O9 were prepared and subsequently sintered under various laser parameters and investigated in terms of the microstructure and thermoelectric properties. Here, the combination of laser sintering and subsequent thermal sintering proved to be a promising concept for the preparation of thermoelectric films. Laser sintering can thus make a great contribution in improving the processing of thermoelectric materials, especially when films are applied that cannot be sintered under pressure.
thermoelectric, laser sintering
Storage planning is an important element of the factory planning and a significant competitive factor in times of an increasing global market. The selection of a suitable storage, commissioning and transport system (sct system) is a major challenge for companies, because of the increasing number of new sct systems with different features. The level of automation and versatility of these systems are intransparent and the required level of both for a certain company is unknown. To identify the level of versatility of sct systems a method based on versatility characteristics assigned to the versatility enablers was developed. To determine the required versatility of sct systems for a particular company, a catalogue of change drivers was created. For the level of automation of sct systems, the requirements resulting from product characteristics and performance requirements of the warehouse were identified. The performance of the sct systems depends on the automation level, which can be set by influencing factors such as the degree of digitalization. The required level of automation must be determined by restrictions of the company and the identified possibilities of the systems. At the same time, it is required to consider the costs of the systems as well as their possible combinations. Therefore, to save costs, the aim is also to consider systems which do not fit perfectly to the required versatility and automation level for a company but are still at an acceptable level.
storage, commissioning and transport systems, automation and versatility
Additive manufacturing has established itself in medical technology, where complex and patient-specific products are manufactured. Since additive manufacturing processes are sensitive to changes in process parameters and environmental conditions, quality assurance is a key factor for production. This paper presents the approach for in-situ process monitoring in additive material extrusion.
Additive Manufacturing, 3D printing, Fused Deposition Modeling, quality control, machine learning
Due to the increased integration of functions, many components have to meet high and sometimes contradictory requirements. One way to solve this problem is Tailored Forming. Here, hybrid semi-finished products are manufactured by a joining or cladding process, which are then hot-formed and finished. For the design of hybrid components for a possible later industrial application, knowledge about properties of hybrid components is required. In this paper it is investigated how the respective process steps of the Tailored Forming process chain change the surface and subsurface properties of the applied cladding layer. For this purpose, shafts made of unalloyed steel are provided with a high-alloy austenitic steel X2CrNiMo19-12 cladding by laser hot-wire cladding. Subsequently, hot forming is carried out by cross-wedge rolling and the finishing by turning and deep rolling. After each process step, the subsurface properties of the cladding such as microstructure, hardness and residual stress state are examined. Thus, the influence of different process steps on the subsurface properties in the process chain of manufacturing hybrid shafts can be analyzed. This knowledge is necessary for the specific adjustment of defined properties for a required application behavior.
Cross-Wedge Rolling, Tailored Forming, Hybrid
What factors influence the running behavior of idlers? How do they behave in heat and cold; how resistant are they to water and dust? All this can be investigated with the new test rigs at IPH. Even motor-driven idlers are tested there.
idlers, rollers, test rig, belt conveyor system, bulk material handling, energy efficiency
During the assembly of large-scale products, disruptions often occur. To reduce these disruptions, a straightforward approach to their systematic processing is needed. This should automatically identify similar disruptions and independently suggest sensible corrective measures. For this, the disruptions are first collected and characterized and a model for practical information flows is created. Then, in a multi-stage similarity search, similar disruptions are identified, and suitable corrective measures are derived.
Disruption management, single and small batch assembly, large scale products, similarity search
A new 3D printer in the research area for Additive Plastics Recycling at IPH can process plastic granulate. This allows components to be printed directly from recycled and shredded plastic or from injection molding material without first having to produce filament.
additive manufacturing, Plastics Recycling. 3D-Printing
Aluminum melting ovens have a very high energy consumption. Opening the oven doors for the visual monitoring of the melting preocess to be carried out by the operator increases the energy requirement and endangers occupational safety. To increase the energy efficiency of the oven, an optical measurement system was developed that monitors both the melting process and the condition of the melt pool. At the same time, the degree of automation was increased and occupational safety improved.
process optimization, energy efficiency, optical process monitoring
In this paper, a new solution for the facility layout problem is presented. The approach was integrated into a planning software. The aim of the MeFaP research project was mainly the development of a user-friendly decision support regarding the facility layout problem for small and medium-sized companies. Therefore, a realistic modelling of the planning problem was focused on. Thus, a path planning with area allocation was integrated, for example. The metaheuristic Tabu Search was selected as a solution approach. To ensure an efficient optimisation, the optimisation is performed in two steps, once without and then with route planning. The experiments were performed with the objectives material flow distance, temperature and cleanliness, which are briefly described. The results of the experiments were compared with current solution approaches.
facility layout problem, factory planning, multi-criteria, metaheuristic, tabu search, software
Reducing the planning and development time for efficient staging sequences in closed die forging offers companies in the forging industry a high potential for responding to competitive to respond to competitive challenges and remain competitive.The digitization of development processes opens up innovative support options for companies.
forging sequence desing, forming technology, digitization, process development, CAD
In order to enable even complex processes such as the joining of additively manufactured components by laser in production in a quality-assured way, the existence of specialist knowledge in companies is absolutely essential. To bundle this knowledge for process control and monitoring independently of personnel, an expert system is being developed in the IGF research project of FQS - Forschungsgemeinschaft Qualität e.V. entitled "Quality assurance in laser beam welding of additively manufactured thermoplastic components (QualLa)". By integrating specialist knowledge into the expert system, this knowledge can be secured in companies in the long term and processes can continuously be carried out with high qualitative standards.
additive manufacturing, 3D printing, FDM, laser transmission welding, laser beam welding
In the forging industry, which is dominated by SMEs, the tool life of forging dies is usually determined on the basis of empirical values and subjective decisions. In order to avoid considerable logistical and economic expenses as a result of unplanned downtimes and die failure, the tool life is often set many times lower and a waste of existing residual tool life is caused. One possibility to determine the remaining tool life of forging tools is a combined measuring method, which is to be developed at the Institut für Integrierte Produktion Hannover (IPH) gGmbH.
Forming technology, tool life, process monitoring
Planning a factory is a major challenge, especially for small and medium-sized manufacturing companies that have little experience. We explain how factory planning projects work and which digital tools simplify and accelerate planning.
factory planning, analysis, structural planning, dimensioning, warehouse planning, layout evaluation
IPH has made it its business to integrate the core idea of sustainability into its mission statement – in research, but also in its daily work.
In numerous research projects, the scientists are working on recycling plastics, reducing the energy requirements of vehicles, developing lightweight construction concepts, reducing waste in components produced by forming technology and intelligently integrating renewable energies into production – and for example they are also shedding light on questions relating to the environmentally compatible dismantling, repowering and new construction of wind turbines.
In addition, IPH and an interdisciplinary team of employees are committed to making the entire company more sustainable as part of the "ÖKOPROFIT" program.
sustainability, resources, environmental protection, economic efficiency
In Germany, demand for commercial drones is forecast to increase by 200% by 2025. As the use of drones increases, so does the danger they pose. This article describes a research project that aims to develop an acoustic operational monitoring system to improve the safety of critical components.
UAS, drones, operational monitoring
The manual handling of forged parts is physically demanding for forging employees. These physical stresses are reflected in damage to the hand-arm system and back and lead to forging employee absenteeism. In order to protect the health of forging employees, the aim is to reduce the basic stress caused by the dead weight of the forging tongs by using lightweight forging tongs.
forging tongs, ergonomics, lightweight design
