Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology
Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology

SmarTool

Introducing digitalization into tool and mold making

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Introducing digitalization into tool and mold making

Tool and mold making is one of the most important areas of industrial manufacturing. Currently, more than one-third of polymer products are manufactured by injection molding and a majority of semi-finished sheet metal products are manufactured by stamping. Since injection molding and stamping are mostly used for mass production, process repeatability and a consistent high quality of the final product are crucial. Improper settings of process variables lead to various defects in the final product and thus to a high amount of rejects. The need to measure and control the process is mandatory.

Big data for manufacturing

Development of an innovative measuring system in stamping and injection moulding tools to increase manufacturing control and production quality.

In many cases, the mold is operated by an injection molding service provider within the supply chain. Consequently, it is impossible for the mold owner or customer to track the quality of the parts in terms of the applied processing parameters. However, this is crucial to relate out-of-tolerance parts to the specific manufacturing conditions and consequently increase efficiency and quality in production.

The aim of the Cornet project SmarTool is to develop an autonomous sensor system for monitoring injection molding and stamping processes. The system consists of a tool-external component for recording and documenting production data, such as the actual processing parameters like tool temperature or the processing forces, but also for determining the number of processed parts and for geolocating the tool. In conjunction with a laser marking system for injection molding, it will be possible to clearly link the production data to each individual component. The necessary energy supply for the sensor system is to be generated by the respective process kinematics. The immediate technological added value is that the customer can view the production at any time and any place and compare the actual production conditions with the agreed framework conditions. In addition, the collected data for component tracking enables further optimization of the manufacturing processes as well as the creation of new business models for the tool manufacturer.

Consortium

  • Fraunhofer IPK
  • FQS-Forschungsgemeinschaft Qualität e.V.
  • SENAI Innovation Institute for Manufacturing Systems, Joinville, Brasilien
  • SENAI Innovation Institute for Embeddeded Systems, Florianópolis, Brasilien
  • Project consortium of eleven Brazilian and five German companies from the automotive, tool and die, and medical technology sectors

Förderhinweis

Das CORNET-Vorhaben 345 EN der Forschungsgemeinschaft Qualität e.V. (FQS), August-Schanz-Straße 21A, 60433 Frankfurt am Main wurde über die AiF im Rahmen des Programms zur Förderung der Industriellen Gemeinschaftsforschung (IGF) durch das Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz aufgrund eines Beschlusses des Deutschen Bundestages gefördert.

Funding notice: The CORNET project 345 EN of the Federation of Quality Research and Science (FQS), August-Schanz-Straße 21A, 60433 Frankfurt am Main, Germany, was funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action through the AiF under the Industrial Collective Research (IGF) programme on the basis of a decision by the German Bundestag.

Interesting for:

  • Manufacturing industry
  • Companies in tool and mold making

You are looking for:

  • Injection Molding
  • Punching
  • Sensors
  • Process monitoring

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