The Malta Council for Science & Technology has been awarded €710,000 under the European Regional Development Fund to proceed with The Manufacturing Research Platform (MRP) project, which not only aims to highlight the importance of research and information on manufacturing, but also to assist and hasten the transformation of the local manufacturing industry to higher value added activity.
In order to encourage increased industry involvement, as well as to demonstrate the benefits of research and innovation, the MRP is carrying out research projects in Energy Efficiency, Information & Communication Technology, and Innovation – all within the manufacturing industry.
One of the main requirements for all three of the MRP projects is that they were not theoretical, but practical, hands-on, genuine and identifiable industrial deliveries. The projects also had to work within the manufacturing industry.
For the Innovation Project, the following companies were chosen for observation due to their substantial ongoing involvement in the local manufacturing industry, as well as their diversity: FXB Ltd, Playmobil Ltd, Toly Malta Ltd, Techniplast Ltd and Rayair Automation Ltd. Due to his proficient use of IT in manufacturing, as well as the application of design methods in product development, engineer Emmanuel Francalanza was appointed the intermediary for all entities of this project concerned. Francalanza said, “The deliverables had to be wide ranging solutions and couldn’t be for just one company. We felt that these companies created the right symphony.”
The team spent time on the different company sites understanding the functionality and challenges with their respective methods of working. After studying the companies in detail, a strong need was identified. That need was to bridge innovation and collaboration, particularly because of the distances between manufacturers, designers and customers, which costs companies time and finance in travel. As a result, two processes took place: the first was the development of an industrial collaboration structure for stimulating innovation, while the second was the growth of product development simulation. All man-made products (furniture, cosmetic compact cases, automation machinery, cars, TVs, MP3 players and so on) are designed. They are then manufactured, then sold and finally, distributed to the consumer.
Due to increasing product complexity, the manufacturers, designers and customers need to collaborate and communicate regularly in order to deliver good quality product development with a competitive cost in a short lead-time. The nature of collaboration taking place between these different areas influences how innovative and competitive the final products are. As a result of the distance between manufacturers, designers and customers, the main objective of this initiative was to contribute a structure through which these three departments could collaborate irrespective of their location. They would be able to improve the innovation of the product through improved collaboration.
The design phase of a product is the most important part of a product’s life cycle, as all decisions made during this process have an overall impact on innovative designs and manufacturing methods. Designing an innovative product may require new or improved methods of production, which would lead to innovative manufacturing methods and processes. As a result, the potential implications of decisions made during these early life stages must be anticipated and understood in order to avoid domino-effect problems in the future.
Once the requirements were identified, it was possible to start formulating a solution.
This was to create a portal that could support decision-making in the product development stages with the use of simulation and other techniques. This structure was based on a number of digital manufacturing technologies (such as artificial intelligence and simulation), which proactively supports and leads to “life-oriented” innovative solutions. The customers, designers and manufacturers could have easy access or information about the tools. It was important that this portal was created in the simplest and easiest format to open and use. It had to be direct and easily provide the manufacturers with what they needed without complicated interfaces that would take time to figure out.
The three solutions created were as follows:
1. The first solution is an innovation management portal accessible via the web. The solution brings the portal and innovation tools together with the aim of facilitating innovation for both product and manufacturing system designers. The same tool shows the user how to use the portal and innovation management techniques through steps. Audio and visual can be shared at the same time, which, again, helps collaboration since time is money. The idea is that if people can innovate and collaborate faster, they can spend more time thinking instead of wasting time trying to communicate. The portal also allows access to a product design solution that was developed once the team identified what the market needed. Software tools allow product designers to come up with innovative requirements.
A designer can collaborate with another designer by logging in and downloading details so that they can brainstorm together without having to be in the same room or even country. Anything modified in the product on one side immediately shows on the other side.
2. The second solution is an augmented reality software (virtual layer on top of reality). This technology is used to help customers and suppliers to collaborate and communicate by allowing the product and product design to be illustrated through a virtual layer.
3. Once defining design requirements, the manufacturing solution was devised. A tool was developed that enables various manufacturing engineers to view what processes they have available. It’s a 2D interface similar to 2D planning software and its innovation lies in its link to an Artificial Intelligence knowledge-based system.
Once engineers place processes, the tool will allow the engineer to view machines available from inventory. Also, the factory must be designed in a way to accommodate this process efficiently (i.e. which particular machines need to be used and where they should go in the factory layout). The tool doesn’t take decisions for the engineer, but rather issues a warning if a placement is inaccurate. It simulates the many environments that are created. The software is also cross platform capable in that it can be used with Windows, Macs or IOS, hence it is iPhone, android and tablet compatible.
Francalanza concludes, “This project has enabled us researchers to work closely with key stakeholders in the Maltese manufacturing industry, understand their needs, and develop solutions to improve their competitiveness.”
For more information, visit www.manufacturingresearch.eu