Interreg

The project develops and investigates processes, machines and materials for the production of goods in small batches (number of pieces: 1-1,000). These are particularly challenging in the production process, and especially with regard to economic considerations, since fixed costs (e.g., development and production of moulds, set-up costs) represent a considerable proportion of the production costs, thereby rendering the products either comparatively expensive or uneconomical.

In the face of the ever-increasing demand for individual solutions and products, as well as the increasing demand for prototypes due to ever shorter innovation cycles, there has been a strong trend for several years towards flexible production processes. The project “Smart Production” addresses this challenge with the development of
a) intelligent 3D printing techniques for materials that were previously unprintable,
b) a flexibly programmable deep-drawing tool, and
c) new non-destructive measuring systems for quality control
This will make the production of small batches cheaper and more flexible. In addition to employing industrially usable soft materials in additive processes, the project aims to carry out a scale-up that has not yet existed of up to approximately 2 m² for both 3D printing and for the flexible deep-drawing mould. New measuring methods will lead to savings on materials, avoid waste, and create a better quality of products, as well as producing new operational purposes.

In the area of additive manufacturing, it was shown that TPE can be printed in different hardnesses. The current area of application in the project are laboratory samples for door seals. At the moment a conveyor belt printer is being worked on, which could, for example, print door seals in one piece.
With the Fleximould it is possible to thermoform suitable materials on a size of 1600 mm x 600 mm and 300 mm height. The form is automatically adjusted in several hours with pins based on a file template. Currently, work is being done on smoothing the surface so that the pin imprints are compensated.
For the non-destructive coating thickness measurement system, the subsystems THz measurement technology and robotics were combined, so that it is possible to inspect larger areas. Currently, the subsystems and their communication are being improved in order to achieve an optimal overall system.