Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology
ECOFACT will gather cutting-edge knowledge and experience from production processes, professional simulation tools as well as energy and resource planning standards, to develop and demonstrate an integrated approach, methodology and platform for boosting efficiency of both energy and material resources (linked as an ERMS10 tool) at factory level while the impact on the whole value chain is considered.
The project will be industry-driven and focus on the development of a single, flexible high-level platform for holistic management and decision-support at the service layer on top of a structure of 4 interwoven innovation levels, which will be considered as key enablers for the proposed solution. These levels include: (i) field monitoring, (ii) edge control, (iii) a Data Brokerage Layer (DBL), and (iv) an Apps & Services layer (see Figure 2).
The core of the ECOFACT platform as such, will be built at this high-level (Apps & Services) layer in a multi-service approach providing an innovative holistic combination of functionalities for advanced energy-efficient, sustainable process/product design and manufacturing management.