Wandelbare Modellfabrik

• Subject Area: Systems Engineering ; Mechanics and Constructive Mechanical Engineering
• Term: Funded in 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 417201248

The applied research factory is required as initial equipment and necessary completion of the W3 professorship's machine- and factory-based research with the aim of researching innovative methods of engineering of variable production systems. Due to its modular structure, the factory is the basis for the research of a multitude of scientific questions. The basic research question is: how can the future system engineering of convertible plants be decisively improved? What does Engineering 4.0 look like in a digitized future? The research factory applied for is new in the variable mixture of real and virtual assets. The factory is modular and will be used to research, develop and test new methods of system engineering. The factory is the basis of a multitude of scientific research, e.g. the development of a sustainable "Plug&Produce" overall concept for real and mixed real/virtual machines, the more cost-effective and risk-reduced development of real modules; the seamless conversion as well as the migration of existing plants in the shortest time etc. The factory is universal: it is constantly changing and is therefore a flexible system that can be redesigned for a variety of applications. The factory mixes modules of real and virtual nature. The augmented reality method opens up new possibilities in engineering. Information models help to orchestrate the data streams. The plant is conceptually designed for organic growth: virtual modules continue to supplement the existing physical modules, making the possible variety of the plant infinitely expandable and still credibly testable. The facility offers a variety of interfaces and enables interdisciplinary cooperation with different domains and research groups from schools at the Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences – the school of design, the school of engineering and the business school. This opens up new innovations at the interface between these domains that have not yet been conceived and promise to go beyond the scope of this application. The system thus addresses one of the core challenges of digitization: the manageability of the engineering of changeability in production systems.The research factory is thus a future-proof basis for research in the field of system engineering and for the acquisition of publicly funded third-party projects. This forms the foundation for the technical focus of the newly established W3 professorship for mechatronic system development.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Wandelbare Modellfabrik
• Instrumentation Group: 2320 Greif- und Hebewerkzeuge, Verladeeinrichtungen
• Applicant Institution: Hochschule Pforzheim - Gestaltung, Technik, Wirtschaft und Recht
• Leader: Professor Dr.-Ing. Rainer Drath