WP22 – Cyber-Physical Systems and Digitization

When considering the application of material processing techniques (regardless of their nature), process control is a fundamental issue to guarantee the quality and repeatability of the resulting product. To this end, there has been a clear attention towards software that may be capable of controlling traditional manufacturing processes, ensuring that the main KPIs of such process are available to managers, so that preventive and corrective actions can be taken.

With the development of new manufacturing processes, namely additive manufacturing, the control of production processes becomes even more relevant, as it is necessary to ensure that the parameterization corresponds to the needs. Due to the digital nature of additive manufacturing processes, in which file management makes use of cloud systems, it is essential to ensure that there is good interconnectivity between software, equipment and file management systems.

Digital technologies enable a new form of interaction in the same space. This is how the idea sprang up, the idea of ​​an aggregating digital platform and the innovative concept of pitching science to the market.

Thus, the aim of this project is to contribute to process digitization and to the interconnection between manufacturing, design, co-creation and closed-loop monitoring and control. So, in this project, associated companies will develop systems for complete monitoring of general additive manufacturing processes, as well as for projects defined within INOV.AM.

Regarding entrepreneurship and research boosts, it is important to mention the definition of foundations and the implementation of a digital tool that enables contact between scientific solutions and businesses challenges, which would materialize according to private financing models. Thus, the project will introduce the concept of Scientific Shares and it will be implemented and tested with companies that are part of the consortium, as well as other entities.

The general objectives of this project are:

• Providing support, through the development of software, to the various projects that are aggregated within INOV.AM.
• Development of software applied to the control of additive manufacturing processes;
• Development of platforms for marketing products resulting from the processes that are researched  within INOV.AM;
• Development of file management systems for additive manufacturing;
• Enhancement of technologies developed within INOV.AM;
• Providing support, through the development of software, to the various projects that are aggregated within INOV.AM.