The lecture introduced IPH – Institut für Integrierte Produktion Hannover gGmbH with its three fields of activity: forming technology, logistics and automation technology. Furthermore, research and consulting projects were discussed. In addition, the challenges regarding the implementation of lean production were presented as a major focus of current research.
production system, lean production, expert system, knowledge management, data mining
To meet the growing demand for energy, further developments are necessary in the field of renewable energies. In two research projects, engineers of IPH - Institut für Integrierte Produktion Hannover have investigated how to increase the efficiency of wind turbines.
xxl products, large-scale products, wind turbines, data mining
The performance in logistics is vitally important for Companies. However the achievement of logistics objectives is deflating in practice. A possible reason are divergent employee and company interests, which constrict an efficient order processing. Once more employees are in focus in research and practice. How to resolve these differences in employee and company interests to enhance logistics? The Incentive System which is developed by IFA and IPH in Hannover provides solutions for an effective support of logistic objectives.
incentive system, logistics, divergent employee and company interests
Warm forged parts have advantages in comparison to conventional hot forged parts: Closer tolerance, reduced surface roughness, no scale and reduced decarburization. However, the geometrical spectrum of warm forged parts is restricted by high flow stress. To overcome this geometrical limitation, new rolling and forging processes have been developed in the Seventh framework programme EU in research project “DeVaPro – Development of a Variable Warm Forging Process Chain”. In the focus is layout of warm preforming operation by cross wedge rolling followed by an intermediate heating and warm final forming in conventional dies. In this paper results of initial experimental tests and results of application of warm cross wedge rolling are shown.
shrinkage compensation, fem
The aim is the development of a function-based method to support the planning of offerings in injection molding. It is assumed that tools and shapes are unique items, but the tools’ functions are recurrent. Possible post-calculations are captured and can be used better for the calculation of offerings via the function-based calculation. Methods of similarity search assist in prediction and precise determination of manufacturing expense of a tool. In order of the validation of the concept by real data the software-demonstrator is linked to existent post-calculation tools and transferred conceptually to further unique products.
function-based method, tender preparation, injection molding
Thin diamond cutting discs help to increase efficiency in the production of slabs and tiles out of natural stone. The reduced stiffness of the discs, however, may lead to higher tool deflection and reduced cutting quality. This can be compensated by using higher cutting speeds. So far, such an intervention needs to be supervised by an operator. For ergonomic and economic reasons this is not an option for the industry. Up to now, no system able to monitor the tool vibrations near the source during the cutting process exists. On this account, such a system has been developed. Due to the integration of piezoelectric elements in the grinding tool, the vibrations can be measured right at the source. This ensures the high accuracy of the measuring process. The measured data will be transmitted wirelessly to a computer evaluating the results. Cutting tests show that the sensor integrated tool is able to monitor the tool vibration during the grinding process. This paper describes the sensorintegrated grinding tool and shows the results of cutting tests.
cutting disc, monitoring, grinding, granite
To produce slabs and tiles out of natural stone abrasive cutting with circular tools is of primary importance compared to gang or rope saws. To improve the economy and ecology of abrasive cutting processes various approaches exist, such as the reduction of the tool width or the increase of the material removal rate via creep-feed grinding. Those approaches reach their limits due to tool deflection. Knowledge of the tool behavior within the process can improve the profitability of the grinding process. This information can be gained with the help of a tool monitoring system. The paper describes an approach to monitor the axial tool vibrations throughout the grinding process.
grinding process, abrasive cutting, processing quality, grinding-performance, material removal
Against the background of growing dynamics in the economic environment, new approaches to analyze and influence the dynamic behavior in production networks need to be found. The analysis of nonlinear dynamics can help to differentiate causes of the formation dynamics. A significant cause is the different logistic reactivity of the supply chain partners.
dynamic, production network, supply chain, supply chain management
Sheet metal parts often have to be connected by fasteners. Fasteners like bolts are mostly welded individually after the forming process and outside the working tool. This spatial separation of production steps requires complex handling operations and has negative impact upon the positioning accuracy of the fasteners. Every executable manufacturing step inside the sheet metal working tool shortens the process chain significantly. Furthermore, using a combined process the precision of position and orientation of fasteners improves. The challenges of integrating the welding process into the sheet metal working tool are handling the emissions and associated pollutions of the tool as well as creating a reliable monitoring-system for the welding-process. Within the scope of a research project, a reliable technology for the integration of condenser discharge stud welding with tip ignition was developed and tested. It complements existing solutions for integrated resistance welding processes.
sheet metal, capacitor discharge arc stud welding, cd arc stud welding, tip ignition, follow-on tool
Many forged parts include piercings e.g. as bearings. The web of the forged pieces has to be pierced in an additional manufacturing step. By integrating this so far separately performed operation into the final forging step the process chain can be shortened. However, up to date there is no information available on how the process parameters influence quality relevant factors. Therefore, a combined forging-/piercing process is designed and performed. The results of previous research projects showed that the variation of the inserted mass and the forging temperature have a distinct effect on the dimensional and form accuracy of the work pieces. In this project different punch and work piece geometries and the influence of a different forming sequence on tool stress and the material flow was investigated. The punch and work piece geometry show no effect on form accuracy of the piercing while an inappropriate forming sequence leads to failure of the tool.
forging, flashless, precision, piercing
In the past, scientific analysis of development and production of large-scale products has not been conducted very often. In the joint project „Innovations for the production of large-scale products“, sponsered by two German ministries in the state of lower saxony, IPH – Institut für Integrierte Produktion Hannover gemeinnützige GmbH will make a contribution to reply scientific questions in consideration of development, production and recycling of large-scale products.
xxl-products, development, manufacturing, recycling
Today barcode and data matrix code are in different variants spread as standard in logistics. They are extremely cost-effective and can be attached to almost all carriers or products. The major drawbacks of barcodes, however, are in the low memory capacitiy, the immutability of the stored information and the necessary line of sight between code and reader. In many applications the requirements are beyond the performance of barcode and matrix code. But can RFID really replace the barcode? To answer this question one must know the characteristics of RFID and the application conditions.
rfid, potential benefits, identification technologies
Today barcode and data matrix code are in different variants spread as standard in logistics. They are extremely cost-effective and can be attached to almost all carriers or products. The major drawbacks of barcodes, however, are in the low memory capacitiy, the immutability of the stored information and the necessary line of sight between code and reader. In many applications the requirements are beyond the performance of barcode and matrix code. But can RFID really replace the barcode? To answer this question one must know the characteristics of RFID and the application conditions.
rfid, potential benefits, identification technologies
Still profitability and quality are decisive competitive factors in production business. Therefore injection molding faces the challenge to produce valuable parts with constant quality at a lower cost. An innovative software for automatic and close-contoured construction of cooling channels supports that by use of artificial intelligence developed by the IPH – Institute for integrated Production Hannover gGmbH together with several companies.
profitability and quality, injection molding, close-contoured construction of cooling channels
Still profitability and quality are decisive competitive factors in production business. Therefore injection molding faces the challenge to produce valuable parts with constant quality at a lower cost. An innovative software helps by constructing close-contoured channels and reducing the cycle time with minimized engineering effort.
profitability and quality, injection molding, close-contoured construction of cooling channels
To improve its production and reduce inventories, the mechanical and plant engineering company "Koller" is currently conducting a new software. Without the hardware, the actual investment is 350,000 EUR in total.
lean production, erp systems
The quality of molded products and production cycle times are influenced by mold temperature control systems. Today experienced technical designers are developing form-fitting temperature control systems manually. Afterwards they analyzes the systems in iterative and experimental simulations. Here, a method for automatic design of mold temperature control systems is presented. The method uses nature-inspired algorithms, which improve the economical benefit of the construction process and the injection molding process.
injection molding, conformal cooling systems, design, nature-inspired algorithms
Enlarging the height of wind turbine generators leads to exponential increase of the usable wind energy. However the construction’s weight increases equally. Therefore a systematic approach to design lightweight towers for onshore wind turbine generators has been developed in a research project. Different concepts of bionic, aerospace and automotive origin have been used to create lightweight structures for the towers. These lightweight towers have been analyzed by FEA simulations e. g. regarding their fatigue stress. The investigation’s result is a lightweight structure which enables to build wind turbine generator towers of lower wall thickness. Thus a weight reduction up to 20 % can be achieved in comparison to standard towers.
xxl-product, large-scale, xxl, wind turbine, wind power, lightweight construction, tower constructio
Transport and storage systems have become extremely efficient because of a high degree of automation. Unfortunately flexibility is lost, because modifications of the systems are very complex. This discrepancy should be resolved in the research project "ISI-WALK". Logistic systems will be designed flexibly and efficiently with use of intelligent interfaces.
logistics, flexibility, interfaces
Production downtimes and maintenance costs affect the choice of an economic maintenance strategy. Predictive maintenance of machines promises a solution for both interests, when machine conditions can be predicted. The digital machine file supports this task by a combination of data exchange and artificial intelligence.
condition monitoring, artificial intelligence
