FluPro

Fluid Production.

Development and implementation of an anthropocentric, cyberphysical production concept

Contact

Anwar Al Assadi

Fraunhofer IPA

Anwar Al Assadi is project manager of the FluPro project and responsible for robot programming and control. In addition, he is an expert in the field of machine learning and analysis of bolting processes.

Fluid Production

An anthropocentric, cyberphysical production concept

The aim of the joint project Fluid Production is to develop and implement an anthropocentric, cyberphysical production concept for automobile production. For this purpose, all means of production will be broken down into location-flexible modules in order to be able to dynamically form and dissolve machine systems and to abolish the separation between value creation and logistics that is common today.

Optimal adaptation to current needs

The term "Fluid Production" originates from the vision that cyberphysical production systems (CPPS) permanently merge into new resources according to the actual demands. In this way, production – similar to a fluid that adapts its outer shape according to the pressures acting on it – always adapts optimally to current requirements. For this purpose, all production facilities are broken down into location-flexible modules in order to dynamically form and dissolve units. In this way, the current separation between value creation and logistics is overcome.

The modules are designed with a focus on the role of the human being as an active designer of his production environment. The result is a new, highly flexible production system that enables short-term decisions to be made before the actual value creation process begins and places the employee at the centre of production design.

 

Impressions of the project

The realization of the fluid production system is based on five subprojects

In the first subproject (SP1) – in close cooperation with the sister projects FlexCAR and Digital Fingerprint – fluid production is planned and the role of humans as the central designer of the production system is outlined.

In SP2 the cyberphysical resources of the fluid production system will be developed and prototyped as "production-related fluid particles".

SP3 enlarges upon questions of production control from order to real-time control and is dedicated to the specification of cyberphysical systems as industry 4.0 components of automotive production.

SP4 examines which methods and business processes are required to make the technical results developed in SP2 and SP3 employable in operational practice.

In SP5 the fluid production is implemented exemplarily and the performance is tested. The adaptability of the fluid production is demonstrated by switching to a currently unknown product.

"As experts for system integration and driverless transport systems, we use the modern working environment of ARENA2036 to network with other partners and to develop groundbreaking innovations in research and development projects. For us, ARENA2036 is the ideal place to shorten the transfer from the idea to industrial use, so that we are already equipped for future challenges today."

Dipl.-Ing. Ralf Bär

CEO

BÄR Automation GmbH

"ARENA2036 gives us the opportunity for successful collaboration with a variety of different companies – from start-ups to large corporations. This enables us to quickly develop and implement forward-looking and relevant use cases with potential partners and users. In addition, the Arena gives us an extended insight into future trends in automotive production and allows us to access groundbreaking key technologies at an early stage."

Dr. Thomas Meißner & Dr. Roland Schaefer

Head of Project and Consortia Management &
Vice President Innovation

Balluff GmbH