In the monthly “Jour Fixe” of the CU West cluster of Composites United e. V., companies from one technology field briefly introduce themselves. An expert introduces a central topic from this technology field and discusses the topic with the company representatives and the participants. In the event on May 16, 2022, the opportunities for efficiency gains through automation, digital twins and machine learning were discussed. As the key to mass production of composites parts, digitization is a central topic for the future.

During the 10th Jour Fixe the following companies presented themselves:

FFT Production Systems is a leading global supplier of innovative, flexible and highly complex manufacturing systems, they are also specialists in the development, design and implementation, providing turn-key solutions for intelligent production systems in the automotive, aerospace and also other sectors. Patrick Gerhardt gave an overview about the companies activities (developments and technologies) and participation in government funded projects.

ESI Group is the worldwide leader in virtual manufacturing solutions providing reliable and customized software anchored on predictive physics modeling and virtual prototyping expertise allowing industries to make the right decisions at the right time, while managing their complexity. The company principally acts in the automotive & land transportation, aerospace, defense & naval, energy and heavy industries. (Speaker: Frederic Masseria)

You can find the presentations on our Carbon Connected platform at: https://www.carbon-connected.de/Group/CU.West/uebersicht

Dr. Miro Duhovic, head of process simulation at the Leibniz-Institut für Verbundwerkstoffe GmbH (IVW) i, introduced the discussion with the participants and speakers with a technical paper and summarized the discussion in conclusion:

„We are only at the beginning of the digitalization age and it is important that research reflects what is really required by the industry. This can start with small steps and be focussed on specific goals in order to achieve “more efficiency and automation” for specific customer orientated processes. Physics based simulation tools, digital twins of production systems and the implementation of machine learning are some of the tools which can help us along the way. These can either be simple or complex depending on the requirements. Fiber reinforced polymer composites are complex material systems which can certainly benefit. Here we need to focus on applying our enhanced knowledge about the materials and their behavior during manufacturing processes in order to improve predictions and at the end optimize performance.”

The contact person for your questions and the series of events is Dr. Heinz Kolz, Managing Director of the cluster CU West: heinz.kolz@composites-united.com.