Produsys Machinery and Production Systems Advanced research based european products for the global market Project outline 12
Executive Summary Machinery and Production Systems (MPSs) are medium high-tech products. They are the first technological product on export and greatly contribute to the balance of payments. Europe is leading the global market of MPSs. Italy, Spain and Portugal are relevant players in this market. MPSs play a fundamental role in the industrial development of Advanced and New Industrial Countries. They supply all the 20 sectors making up manufacturing. European MPSs manufacturers are challenged by: - New Industrial Countries, in which labour cost is low and which are already investing in RTD related to MPSs - Advanced Countries, that are leaders in high-tech Components and Systems. As reported in Manufuture Vision 2020, MPSs of the future have to take into account that: - global competition is rising, - science and technology are advancing fast, - increase in demand and requirements for economical, social and environmental sustainability. Hence, it is necessary for Italy, Spain and Portugal to promote and support RTD activities necessary for the development of high-tech and science based families of Machinery and Production Systems (hw e sw): - considering that such development may come from the convergence of current high-tech and new emerging, even disruptive, technologies - aiming at strengthening the existing firms and giving birth to new firms: i.e. Technology Suppliers Science based, capable of implementing the above cited innovation strategy - involving public/private partnership and high tech enterprises. Following this common vision, CNR, FATRONIK and INESC Porto are deeply interested in developing new generations of MPSs, for various manufacturing sectors. 13
Supported by the COTEC Foundations for the coordination and fund rising tasks, the pilot initiative Produsys is launched by the above mentioned Institutions. The goal of the project is the research based development of new generations MPSs. Set to compete on the global market, while responding to sustainability requirements, innovative MPSs will develop into new generations, through the convergence of current high-tech and new emerging, even, disruptive technologies. Two Joint Projects have been envisaged concerning, respectively, Production Systems and Machinery. They would cover, respectively: Agile Production Systems for Customised Products and Intelligent Production Systems for highly flexible productions - New Business Concepts for the Machine Tool Industry and User Centric Autonomous Machine Two further Projects may be envisaged. They concern: - Technologies and manufacturing systems for metal forming - Advanced materials and surface engineering technologies PRODUSYS is likely to propel the virtuous circle Research-Innovation- Competitiveness-Development, leading to positive social, operational and technological impacts on research and industrial partners and countries involved. Aim and outline of the project Manufacturing (i.e. products, processes sustaining products life cycles, firms) is fundamental for assuring wealth, jobs and quality of life. It operates within the continuously changing natural-economical-social-technological (NEST) context. Globalisation is making NEST changes faster and more complex than ever before. Such changes are drivers for products, processes, enterprises evolution/innovation - In a globalising context where goods, capitals, knowledge (K) may move freely, Countries must fiercely compete on the global market, to assure and, possibly, improve their own share of wealth, jobs, quality. RTD based K and labour cost, among other factors, are relevant enablers for competitiveness and sustainability. New Industrial Countries are competing on low labour cost, while: - attracting and acquiring current industrial K through industry delocalisation, patent, foreign expert; 14
- developing their own K, through new industrial experience and recent set-up of RTD Institutes. Advanced Countries (AC) are forced to compete on RDT produced K embedded in Products, Processes, Enterprise. The manufacturing activity in Europe represents today approximately 22% of the EU GNP. It is estimated that in total 75% of the EU GDP and 70% of employment in Europe is related to manufacturing. This means that each job in manufacturing is linked to two jobs in manufacturing related services. In Europe, Manufacturing accounts for 40 million jobs, directly, and 80 million through different services. Its turnover is in excess of 4000 billion Euro. Hence, Industry makes an essential contribution to Europe s prosperity. In Europe, as well as in other advanced Regions and Nations, there is a big concern at the loss of manufacturing activities to lower wages economies. The industrialisation would be inevitably accompanied by loss of productive employment related services. Following the MANUFUTURE approach a concerted effort with different stakeholders is starting to transform European Manufacturing from a resource-intensive to a K intensive innovative sector to: - respond to the competition and sustainability challenges - assure a new European leadership, at global level, in K based advanced Manufacturing; - hence, securing high added value employment; - winning a major share of world manufacturing output. MPSs are medium/high-tech products. They are the first technological product on export and greatly contribute to the balance of payments. Europe is leading the global market of MPSs. Italy, Spain and Portugal are relevant players in this market. MPSs play a fundamental role in the industrial development of both Advanced and New Industrial Countries. They supply all the 20 sectors making up manufacturing. Hence, it is necessary for Italy, Spain and Portugal to promote and support researchbased innovation through: - RTD activities necessary for the development of high-tech and science based families of MPSs (hw e sw) 15
- considering that such development may come from the convergence of current high-tech and new emerging, even disruptive, technologies - aiming at strengthening the existing firms and giving birth to new firms: i.e. Technology Suppliers Science based, capable of implementing the above cited innovation strategy - involving public private partnership and high tech enterprises - developing joint foresight studies on Production Systems. Following this common vision, CNR, FATRONIK and INESC Porto, are deeply interested in promoting and contributing to the development of new generations of MPSs, for various manufacturing sectors. To this aim, they have already jointly acted, at different levels, i.e. - contributing to the development and launch of the European Manufuture Platform - and, then, of the respective Italian, Spanish and Portuguese Technological Platforms, within the Manufuture approach - carrying out cooperative RTD activities, within European and National Research Projects of great relevance, involving large Consortia, promoted and led by them. Two Joint Projects may be envisaged concerning, respectively: Production Systems and Machinery. 1. Production Systems A first demonstrator of a 2 nd generation innovative high-tech Shoe Production System, (see figure 1), was developed mostly within the EuroShoE Project. Led by ITIA ( the Institute of Industrial Technologies and Automation of CNR ), with a strong role of INESC Porto, EuroShoE involved 34 partners of 10 different EU Countries and with an overall budget of 17 milion euros (50% financed by the EU Commission). It was meant to respond to the emerging demand paradigm of custom made products. In particular, its paradigm may be described as a new business and production framework for custom made shoes. 14 partners from Italy, Spain, Portugal were involved in the development of the demonstrator, Their willingness of developing a 3 rd generation and of going as far as the market, is known. 16
The envisaged COTEC Production System Project, a joint R&D effort, is aiming at important results : - in the medium- short term the advanced 2 nd generation High-Tech Production System for customized products (sub-project 1), that would set the pace on the global market; - in the medium term the 3 rd generation High-Tech Intelligent Production System (sub- project 2), based on the most advanced enabling technologies, thus ensuring European Machinery Industry a very strong Leadership. Title proposals of the Sub-projects are respectively : Agile Production Systems for Customised Products Intelligent Production Systems for highly flexible productions Joint proposals to implement the two sub-projects may be submitted to: - the National Platforms Programmes, - the 7 th European Framework Programme - the Eureka Initiative. These projects will be synergetic with other ongoing projects both at National and European level. 2. Machinery Since 1998 Fatronik and ITIA ( the Institute of Industrial Technologies and Automation of CNR ) have played, both at national and European level, in the European projects Robotool and Mach 21 - a significant role in the development of innovative machine tools based on parallel kinematic architectures. Several demonstrators of innovative machine tools (see figure 2) were developed and presented during the most important European machine tools exhibitions (Emo 2001 and EMO 2003). Currently Fatronik and ITIA-CNR are involved, respectively as project coordinator and as a core-team partner, in the 6th Framework Programme European NEXT Integrated Project involving 26 partners from 9 different EU countries and with an overall budget of 22 milion euros (50% funded by the EU Commission). The Integrated Project NEXT aims at committing the main players in European production equipment industry to new frontiers in diverse fields. The main objectives relate to green machining, usability and machine autonomy, process controlled high performance production equipment, the definition of new ways of doing business in the production machinery sector (e.g. selling production hours instead of machines), new contents for training, marketing and dissemination around production equipment. 17
11 partners from Italy and Spain are involved in the development of net technological solutions and new business paradigms for production machinery. The envisaged COTEC Machinery Project, a joint R&D effort, is aiming at important results : - in the medium- short term New Business Concepts for the Machine Tool Industry (sub-project 1), combining an increased offer of value added services (warranty, operation, take back after use...) with machines tailored to customer; - in the long term User Centric Autonomous Machine, (sub- project 2), a next-generation based on the most advanced enabling technologies, thus ensuring European machinery industry a very strong leadership. Title proposals of the sub-projects are respectively: New Business Concepts for the Machine Tool Industry User Centric Autonomous Machine. Joint proposals to implement the two sub-projects may be submitted to: - the National Platforms Programmes, - the 7 th European Framework Programme - the Eureka Initiative. These projects will be synergetic with other ongoing projects both at National and European level. 18
PROJECT PRODUCTION SYSTEMS: SOME PARTNERS BACKGROUND RESULTS PNR - SPI ( MIUR) EUROShoE ( EC ) 2 nd generation high-tech Customised Shoe Production System Demonstrator located in the ITIA-CNR Lab in Vigevano The core of the Shoe Production System was developed by ITIA-CNR, within the National Research Programme (PNR) on Innovative Production Systems (SPI) launched by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR). It was turned - within the European Project EuroShoE - into a customised Shoe Production System demonstrator by ITIA-CNR, in cooperation with European Partners. In particular, INESC Porto contributed through the development of a flexible logistic system and its integration in the Shoe Production System. New generation of automatic storage and distribution systems for highly flexible production systems (developed by INESC Porto) 19
Furthermore, two other projects have been envisaged; they deal with R&D themes that can contribute to strongly innovate components and sub-systems of MPSs. These projects are focused on: - Technologies and manufacturing systems for metal forming - Advanced materials and surface engineering technologies. A preliminary draft of these projects has been prepared by Italy s advanced research Centers (within University of Rome III and University of Rome Tor Vergata ). Relationships with Spanish and Portuguese research Institutions have already been established and consensus on the outline of these projects has been achieved. Hence there are very favorable pre-conditions to transform the preliminary drafts into full proposals of the projects. This can be implemented then under the sponsorship of the COTEC organizations. PROJECT MACHINERY: SOME PARTNERS BACKGROUND RESULTS PNR-SPI (MIUR) Mach 21 (EC) Innovative six axis parallel kinematic machine, developed by ITIA-CNR and located in its Lab in Bari The Ulyses 3-axis machining center developed by Fatronik 20
Concluding remarks In the general recognition of the need of enhancing innovation for all manufacturing sectors, this joint action offers the participating countries at various Institutional levels the opportunity to start a new policy on research based technology development exploiting R&D excellence in a priority economic sector of our countries. The PRODUSYS proposal of the two Joint projects, referring to a common strategic vision of the participating Institutions on Machinery and Production Systems (MPSs) for the manufacturing sectors, is supported by CNR in Italy together with Fundaciòn Fatronik in Spain, and INESC Porto in Portugal. PRODUSYS promotes R&D cooperation at European level in the frame of the growth of political attention to industry needs, as operated by means of European and National Technology Platforms, 7th Framework Programme and EUREKA Factory DNA Cluster Project. The PRODUSYS Project is in line with the need to pursue the implementation of ERA through a cooperation of knowledge at internal market level for the benefit of the leadership in a key European industrial area. COTECs support in this direction can be strategic as R&D results are to be considered of high relevance for industrial innovation performance. A joint accompanying measure by each national COTEC in term of fast and appropriate assistance to the joint projects may ensure knowledge transfer in each national community. In the general recognition of the need of enhancing innovation for all manufacturing sectors, this joint action offers the participating countries at various Institutional levels the opportunity to start a new policy on research based technology development exploiting R&D excellence in a priority economic sector of Italy, Spain and Portugal 21