
Companies want to produce as efficiently as possible and make optimum use of their machines. The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM is researching how inline process and product monitoring can help companies achieve this.
The Re(Pro)³ project – resource-optimized production through inline process and product monitoring – is investigating the combination of condition monitoring, predictive maintenance and automated quality monitoring to help companies detect production errors at an early stage and reduce reject rates. The aim of the project is to develop an image-based system that analyzes changes in product quality and process variables over time. »This combination of condition monitoring and surface inspection helps us to identify the causes of defects more precisely and at an earlier stage. With this knowledge, companies can replace wear-prone components in good time or adapt the system control to reduce rejects. This saves time, material and energy,« explains Institute Director Prof. Dr. Anita Schöbel.
The Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Science and Health is funding Re(Pro)³ with almost €800,000. Ministerial Director Katharina Heil focuses on the potential of artificial intelligence: »The funding contributes to strengthening our research institutions and our economy in the field of the key technologies of digitalization and AI, contributes to the state's AI agenda and helps to expand our leading position in AI research nationwide, as is also provided for in our current coalition agreement.«
Nobody Can Afford Waste
The »Image Processing« and »System Analysis, Prognosis and Control« departments are pooling their expertise and developing software in Re(Pro)³ that enables more resource-friendly and efficient production processes. After all, nobody can afford to waste any more.
The researchers from the »Image Processing« department are contributing their expertise in surface inspection and virtual inspection planning. The »System Analysis, Prognosis and Control« department focuses on the areas of condition monitoring, predictive maintenance and system control.
The researchers see applications in the textile industry, the plastics and metal industry, the packaging industry and the building materials industry, for example wall cladding made from fiber materials.
At e-world energy and water, our researchers from the »System Analysis, Prognosis and Control« department will be presenting their demonstrator in Hall 4, Stand 4H115. They illustrate how modern imaging methods can be used in the areas of condition monitoring, predictive maintenance and quality control.
Press Contact
Ilka Blauth
Fraunhofer-Institut für Techno- und Wirtschaftsmathematik ITWM
Fraunhofer-Platz 1
67663 Kaiserslautern
Telefon +49 631 31600-4674
Esther Packullat
Fraunhofer-Institut für Techno- und Wirtschaftsmathematik ITWM
Fraunhofer-Platz 1
67663 Kaiserslautern
Telefon +49 631 31600-4867
About the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM
The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM in Kaiserslautern is one of the largest research institutes for applied mathematics in the world. We see it as our task to further develop mathematics as a key technology and to provide innovative impulses. Our focus is on the implementation of mathematical methods and technology in application projects and their further development in research projects. The close cooperation with partners from industry guarantees the high practical relevance of our work.
Their integral building blocks are consulting, implementation and support in the application of high-performance computing technology and the provision of customized software solutions. Our various areas of expertise address a wide range of customers: the automotive industry, mechanical engineering, the chemical industry, energy and the financial sector. This also benefits from our excellent networking, for example in the Simulation and Software-based Innovation Center.
About the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, based in Germany, is the world's leading organization for application-oriented research. With its focus on future-oriented key technologies and the utilization of results in business and industry, it plays a central role in the innovation process. As a guide and driving force for innovative developments and scientific excellence, it helps to shape our society and our future. Founded in 1949, the organization currently operates 76 institutes and research facilities in Germany. More than 30,000 employees, most of whom are trained in the natural sciences or engineering, work on the annual research volume of 2.9 billion euros. Contract research accounts for 2.5 billion euros of this total.