••• 12••• Innovationen Sustainable process chains The manufacturing of resilient and smart tools Whether drilling, turning or milling: In machining – as well as in primary forming and reforming, die casting and many other applications – tools are of pivotal importance for industrial production. Their performance significantly influences both the quality and the cost of themanufactured product and, consequently, the economic and ecological sustainability of the production process. One objective of the work at the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST in Braunschweig is the development of resilient and smart tools under the requirements of sustainability. The researchers thereby take the entire process chain into account – from tool design and material characterization, through pre-treatment, cleaning, and customized surface treatments and coatings, and on to testing and application. The key to the manufacture of resilient high-tech tools which retain their value-adding and economic operability under even the highest stresses is an optimized tool construction. This encompasses both the selection of the material and the design, thereby taking into account geometry and topography as well as the use of heat treatments and suitable coatings. At the Fraunhofer IST, optimizations in the manufacturing process are therefore investigated throughout the entire process chain. The process begins with an analysis or characterization of the materials to be machined and an optimum design of the tool, which also includes the selection of a suitable coating. The actual production process for the tools begins with the manufacture of the basic body. Following pre-treatment, e.g. etching, sandblasting and cleaning, the focus is directed on the optimal design of the surface. Depending on the tool and its intended use, this can, for example, be hardening by means of plasma diffusion treatment or a customized coating. In addition to access to a wide range of technologies and industrial equipment, the experts at the Fraunhofer IST can draw on many years of experience and user knowledge, enabling, for example, friction and wear properties to be specifically adjusted and tool life to be optimized. In order to exploit all efficiency potentials in terms of both energy and resource consumption, they combine the tribological functional coatings with thin-film sensor technology where necessary. Very thin sensor layers, directly in the main stress zones of the tools, enable the recording of relevant process data such as pressure, temperature or wear. These socalled smart tools therefore fulfil the prerequisites for the digitalization of processes and process chains and, furthermore, offer a diverse range of approaches for the optimization of production in terms of quality, safety, productivity and flexibility. The concluding step in the process chain is the testing and quality assurance of the tools. For the sustainability assessment of the various measures, developmentrelated life-cycle analyses (LCA, LCC) are performed at the institute. The use of resilient and smart tools in conjunction with a digital process chain offers major potential for safe, efficient, flexible and sustainable production and can therefore provide a contribution towards increasing Germany’s competitiveness and securing its position as a production location. Components during plasma nitriding treatment Foto: Fraunhofer IST Messe-Rundgang und Networking Zimmerertag am LIGNA-Dienstag Ob Geselle oder Meister, ob kleiner oder mittlerer Betrieb – für Zimmerer ist der LIGNA-Dienstag, der 16. Mai 2023, der Zimmerertag, an dem auf dem Messegelände Hannover Zimmerer aus ganz Deutschland zusammenkommen. Die Kollegen erwartet ein unverwechselbares, auf sie zugeschnittenes Programm mit einem exklusiven Messerundgang und geselligen Networkingevents. Die Firma Weinmann unterstützt den Zimmerertag in diesem Jahr als Partner. Der Tag startet mit einer Begrüßung um 10:15 Uhr. Der im Anschluss stattfindende Rundgang führt die Zimmerer auf die Stände ausgewählter Aussteller. Sie erhalten beispielweise bei der Dietrich´s Technology GmbH einen Einblick in die PlanerSuite, dem neuen Tool für die Holzbauplanung, und können beim nordbayerischen Familienunternehmen Auwärter eine der ersten Wechselpritschen für PKWAnhänger, die XPU35, kennenlernen. Zudem werden im Rahmen des Zimmerertags im NRW-Pavillon (Pavillon 35) folgende Themen zum Bauen mit Laubholz präsentier t: „Potenziale der Baumar t Birke in NRW für das Bauen mit Holz“, „Nachhaltiges Hochleistungstragwerk mit Vollholzknotenpunkten aus Brettsperrholz-Bauteilen, Buche-Dübeln und Furnierschichtholz-Platten für den Neubau der Luftschiffhalle am Flughafen Essen/ Mühlheim“ sowie „FlexiMoH – flexibles Modulsystem in Holzbauweise unter Verwendung von BauBuche“. Die Anmeldung zum Zimmerertag erfolgt über die Website der LIGNA und beinhaltet ein kostenfreies LIGNA-Ticket. Am LIGNA-Dienstag stehen die Zimmerer im Mittelpunkt Foto: Deutsche Messe AG Forest Bioeconomy in Action Another focus of the course will be the wood technology properties of wood construction products and wood-based materials made from calamity woods. The use of spruce calamity wood in building products will be shown, among other things, in the context of the demonstrator for the Tiny House of a start-up company from NRW. Further topics of the NRW joint stand are the networking of planning, timber harvesting and logistics on the basis of digital twins within the framework of the joint project “Smart Forestry”. Via situation-specific, freely configurable value creation networks, it enables communication of all actors “at eye level” in the control, evaluation and optimization of the timber harvesting process as well as its integration in upstream and downstream process stages. The focus of the joint project “Intelliway” is on sensor-based monitoring of the condition of the forest road network and the planning of maintenance measures. The sensor data are collected automatically when the paths are used. Machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) methods are used to analyze the sensor data, detect existing trail damage and identify damage classes for individual trail sections. Improved and sustainable production processes can significantly increase value creation and competitiveness in wood processing companies. At the joint stand, the Effizienz-Agentur NRW (Efficiency Agency) will be available to answer all questions on the implementation and promotion of measures to increase resource efficiency in the timber industry. Wald und Holz NRW and the German Forestry Council (DFWR) cordially invite visitors to LIGNA 2023 to attend the joint meeting evening with NRW Forestry Minister Silke Gorißen and DFWR President Georg Schirmbeck on May 16 from 6:00 p.m. in Pavilion P35 under the EXPO roof. Continued from Page 11
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