Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming TechnologyResource efficiency is required in production not only due to high energy cost. The new energy policies also raise issues of resource availability and security of resource supply. In order to optimize resource and energy efficiency, we analyze and evaluate value-added chains, processes, production plants, infrastructure and industrial facilities. Moreover, we determine energy potentials and point out possible improvements, we provide energy-oriented approaches for production planning and controlling. In addition, we support our clients by offering customized solutions for sustainable, economical and energy-efficient production.
Resource-efficient production
Tabbed contents
Main Research Topics
Consultations on energy efficiency
Energy efficiency plays a decisive role in new policies, but also in factories. However, which switch levers can be used to reduce cost and continuously identify new potentials at the same time? By analyzing Sankey diagrams and applying best practices, we find potentials in enterprises and support them by developing new concepts of energy mix.
Resource-efficient factory operation
Complying with all logistic dependent variables (lead time, adherence to delivery dates etc.) will also be of highest priority in future value-added systems. The selection of the correct control processes significantly influences the resulting dependent variables. The complexity is increased by adding further criteria, above all those related to resource efficiency. In this context MES are continuously adapted to new requirements. Current research activities deal with integrating building management systems and energy management systems in order to efficiently control energy flows at field levels in addition to controlling material flows in production planning. These research activities enable us to develop customer-specific concepts on resource-efficient production organization. Moreover, we implement these concepts in the customers’ enterprises.
Simulation studies on material flow and energy flow
Stochastic influences and complex interactions are major challenges when it comes to increasing efficiency in production plants. Even complicated manufacturing processes can be represented, examined and optimized by using simulation of material flow. For this purpose we successfully apply the software Siemens Tecnomatix Plant Simulation across all sectors. Using this software, we developed the extension eniBRIC which allows for simultaneous simulation of material and energy flow in one production process, enabling predictive investigations on the effects of numerous individual measures.
Analyses for supporting decision-making
The fundamental structural change of industrial production gains more and more importance not only for companies, but also for industry associations and project sponsors. We offer open-ended scientific analyses for supporting your decision making in order to tap into innovation potentials early on, to successfully design development processes and to identify promising fields of activity. The focus lies on conveying systematic understanding for complex future topics, opening up potentials and determining the suitability of sustainable technologies and their contribution to increasing resource efficiency.
Reference projects
- SmARPro: virtual technologies for the factory of the future
- REEMAIN: resource and energy efficient manufacturing
- eniMES-Framework: energy-sensitive control of production
- Performance indicators for mass production plants
- Innovation Alliance Green Carbody Technologies InnoCaT: holistic balancing
- Innovation Alliance Green Carbody Technologies InnoCaT: energy management platform and components of an energy-sensitive logistics system for production
- Saxon Cluster of Excellence Energy-Efficient Product and Process Innovations in Production Engineering: methodical analysis and evaluation of energy consumption in logistics systems
- Saxon Cluster of Excellence Energy-Efficient Product and Process Innovations in Production Engineering: combined simulation of energy and material flow for process evaluation
Trends
- Synchronizing demand and supply of energy
- Factories serving as energy producers on the energy market
- Intelligent data management of energy and resources
- Resource-efficient plant operation
Portfolio
Factory organization
- Simulation studies on material flow (also including energy flow)
- Analyses of value streams
- Planning of logistics / production system
- Analysis of capacity and bottlenecks, optimization
Energy and resource efficiency
- Consultations on energy / resource efficiency
- Design of energy-efficient processes
- Energy supply concepts
- Visualization of energy data
Data and information in production
- SmartData – acquisition, management and evaluation of large data volumes
- Software engineering in industrial quality (Java, .NET, etc.)
- Solutions for determining indicators (TEEP, OEE, etc.) and condition-oriented maintenance
- Product tracking, use of auto-ID solutions
Human-centered production
- Assistance systems/mobile IT
- Studies on ergonomics and time management (MTM, REFA)
- Customer specific trainings
- Web-based development of apps