EDUCATION

• Industrial robotics and automation
• Virtual commissioning
• Machine tool operating
• Machine tool accuracy measuring

RESEARCH

• AR / VR application for industrial application
• Machine tool accuracy improvement
• Robotic machining

INDUSTRY COOPERATION

• AROS implementation (AR/VR)
• Machine tools accuracy improvement implementation

INSTITUTE OF PRODUCTION MACHINES, SYSTEMS AND ROBOTICS

• Institute is located on the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology
• Including multiple departments (Production Machines, Systems, Robots, Manufacturing Systems and Virtual Reality, Electrical Engineering, Quality, Reliability and Safety)

Question category: Purpose of the facility

(x) Teaching
(x) Training
(x) Innovation/Research
( ) DIY
( ) Networking
( ) Other: Business in process automation and digitalization of factories

Describe your testbed (projects, research, main focusing)

Testbed production system (UVSSR CELL) is focused on the area of chip machining and automatic workpiece handling and measurement of geometric, dynamic and thermal behavior of the machine. The workplace includes a turning center, milling center, ABB robot IRB 4400 with 5m trek, workpiece measuring equipment. The workplace is equipped with safety systems and operational data collection. Data processing results are presented using virtual and augmented reality and used in algorithms of artificial intelligence to achieve precision error compensation of included machine tools. The goal is a production system with autonomous decision making for the competence of the production process.

What type of manufacturing is practiced or modeled at your testbed/Pilotfabrik? (Multiple answers possible)

(x) Discrete manufacturing (e.g. electronics, machine tools, vehicles and vehicle components)
( ) Process manufacturing (e.g. chemicals, paints, fuels, biochemical products)

In which phases of the product life cycle do the focal points of your testbed lie? (Multiple answers possible)

(x) Product development/product design
(x) Prototype construction
(x) Manufacturing/Production
( ) Assembly
( ) Logistics
(x) Service
( ) Recycling/upcycling/repair

What software do you use for virtualization, data acquisition and communication?

Processimulate, NX MCD, TIA portal and SIL and HIL techniques - design and debugging of manufacturing system control algorithms and virtual commissioning
Create MyVirtual Machine – Design and virtual commissioning of machine tools
Fusion 360 – machining simulation and debugging
OPC UA - data acquisition
Custom software based on Unity - visualization of measured data using virtual and augmented reality

Do you already have experience with these communication technologies? Do You use them in practical applications?

(x) OPC UA
(x) OPC UA TSN
(x) MQTT
(x) Industrial Ethernet (Profinet, PowerLink, EtherCAT, Ethernet IP, ...)
(x) Other

What kind of architecture do you use in your systems or projects? Please write a small description

(x) Hierarchical with gateways
(x) Pyramid with industrial Ethernet
( ) Decentralized

What specifications of the digital twin do you use?

Volumetric thermal error prediction

What is the focus of current research and development activities?

The goal is a production system with autonomous decision making to increase precision of the machine tools and the competence of the production process.

What is the focus of future research and development activities?

Automatic compensation of machine tool errors based on its digital twin.

What are the technologies and approaches that set your facility apart, or that differentiate you from competition?

The evaluation of data for machine correction is done by our own algorithms. And for the Virtual and augmented reality we are developing our own software based on unity engine and open-source communication platforms e.g. RabbitMQ. Our software is not depended on third party software.

Which equipment (investment sum >30.000,-- €) is available in your testbed?

Minimum 200000 €

Which target groups have active access to your infrastructure? (Multiple answers possible)

( ) Startups
(x) SME
(x) Large enterprises
(x) Students/Pupils
(x) Researchers
( ) Makers
( ) Other:

Does your testbed offer workshops or continuing education courses, if so which ones? (Multiple answers possible)

(x) Standardized courses
(x) Individual programs for companies
( ) Individual programs for educational institutions
( ) Publicly accessible continuing education
( ) Other: On demand.

Which of these formats are increasingly being used? (Multiple answers possible)

( ) Standardized courses
(x) Individual programs for companies
( ) Individual programs for educational institutions
(x) Publicly accessible continuing education
( ) Other:

Are there any plans to expand the range of training and further education courses, if so which ones and for which target group?

We are trying to virtualize whole testbed to make it more approachable for students and companies. Thanks to virtualized testbed we can provide the knowledge without expensive hardware followed by real implementation on the real testbed (UVSSR CELL). Implementation further technologies e.g. additive manufacturing.

To which target group(s) are your training programs available? (Multiple answers possible)

( ) Startups
(x) SME
(x) Large enterprises
(x) Students/Pupils
(x) Researchers
( ) Makers
( ) Self-employed
( ) Pilot & Learning Factories
( ) Other:

What opportunities do you offer companies to support them in product development? (Multiple answers possible)

(x) Consulting regarding prototyping and product development
(x) Testing of external developments/products in existing infrastructure of the testbed
( ) Access to production data
( ) Networking with investors
( ) Other:

Please rank the following groups of companies according to the intensity of their cooperation with you (ranking)

(1) Large companies (> 250 employees)
(2) Medium-sized companies (>50 employees)
(3) Small companies (<50 employees)
( ) Startups
( ) Self-employed

Are there one or more specific target groups that increasingly use your offer? (Multiple answers possible)

( ) Startups
(x) SME
(x) Large enterprises
( ) Self-employed
( ) Other:

Are there special offers for small and medium-sized enterprises, if so which ones?

Offers of possible technology testing are emerging based on requirements of companies.

For which events can companies use your premises? (Multiple answers possible)

(x) Product presentations
( ) Networking events
(x) Corporate events
( ) Other:
( ) None

What dissemination and communication activities are you currently undertaking to address companies?

( ) Events and functions
(x) Partnerships (if yes, which ones)
( ) Media cooperations
(x) Word of Mouth
( ) Other:

Do companies in your region know about your offerings and services?

( ) Most companies are well informed
( ) Some companies are well informed
(x) Few companies are well informed
( ) Most companies are not well informed

What activities are you currently engaged in to motivate companies to work with you?

We are trying to deepen our current partnerships with companies thus build our name and acquire more partners for our research.

Do you already cooperate with other similar institutions, if yes with which one or do you plan a cooperation / collaboration and if yes, with which institution

We are not opposed to mutually beneficial cooperation.

Are you part of one or more project consortia related to regional, national or large international EU research framework or cooperation programs (e.g. Horizon2020, Interreg, etc.), if yes which, or do you plan to participate in such programs and if yes, in which ones?

Yes
LEVEL-UP - Protocols and Strategies for extending the useful Life of major capital investments and Large Industrial Equipment - H2020-NMBP-TR-IND-2018-2020

Which Industrie 4.0 topics are you most interested in for a possible cooperation with one or more project partners?

The field of the augmented and virtual reality, data mining, data processing and artificial intelligence algorithms and its implementation in industry.

Contakt: Ing. Jan Jirsa, email: Jan.Jirsa@vspj.cz