The first day of the first InnovationForum of the InnovationCampus Future Mobility (ICM) was actually almost over when things got exciting again. In the last workshop, various teams were asked to define the decisive research fields on the topic of advanced manufacturing on the electric motor. When an industry participant described a seemingly unsolvable concrete problem from a company, Dr. Mathias Menold from the Institut für Strahlwerkzeuge (IFSW) at the University of Stuttgart immediately intervened. Because theoretically a solution already exists at the IFSW, it just needs to be implemented for the application. So in a small moment away from the big lectures and discussions, exactly what an ICM InnovationForum is for happened: it deepens the exchange between research and industry to accelerate the transfer of science and thus the development of innovations. "The format provides us with good ideas for new research approaches and creates valuable networks," says Menold.
Exchange of ideas between research and industry
At the first ICM InnovationForum, experts from science and industry exchanged ideas on the topic of "Advanced Manufacturing on the Electric Motor". Impulses for new approaches to solutions were not only provided by the lectures.
The InnovationForums and workshops of the ICM serve as platforms for academia and industry to discuss new mobility and production technologies and jointly move into the future. "We expect impulses from industry regarding the direction in which the ICM should push research, and we want to show approaches and solutions our partner institutes have for specific industry challenges," explains Matthias Vollat, ICM's transfer manager. He organized the first InnovationForum, which took place in July at the Hohenwart Forum in Pforzheim.
The theme, 'Advanced Manufacturing in the Electric Motor,' featured top researchers and developers from companies providing insights into their respective fields and their integration into modern and advanced manufacturing processes. In the research segment, presentations covered the fundamental requirements and possibilities offered by Advanced Manufacturing, the potential of laser-based or binder-based additive manufacturing for mobility systems, and agile production methods. In other parts of the program, industry representatives, for example, presented applications, perspectives of laser and system technology for the electric motor, or the possibilities of sensor-driven quality control for agile production methods.
Additive manufacturing offers potential in functional integration and remanufacturing
"Interesting, additive manufacturing as a technology of the future, and laser as a universal machine." Kai Mehlstäubl of Daimler Truck summarizes the first InnovationForum with these keywords. In fact, the content primarily revolved around additive manufacturing processes. Equally important as the content, though, are the impulses for application that arise from them. "There is still a bit of a gap in relation to large-scale manufacturing, but we are taking away many interesting approaches and ideas from the presentations," says Markus Urbaschek of Daimler Truck. He is thinking, for example, of functional integration in components of engine cooling, which is only achievable through additive methods, or the flexible manufacturing of tools for equipment. Other participants in the forum see the potential of additive processes in areas such as remanufacturing used components or the flexible production of machine components to avoid downtime until original spare parts arrive. These are good ideas that now just need to find their way into industrial application.
Additional information
The ICM InnovationForums and ICM Workshops provide participants with the opportunity to benefit from new insights from cutting-edge research while simultaneously advancing the transfer of research findings into the industry. The following dates are already scheduled:
- Another ICM InnovationForum in the field of Mobility Technologies will take place on February 7th and 8th, 2024.
- On November 30th, ICM will host the Standardized Automotive Software Workshop.
Contact
Benjamin Büchner
Editor and Public Relations, InnovationCampus Future Mobility ICM
E-Mail: medien(at)icm-bw.de