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Local flexible manufacturing of green personalized furniture Close To the Customer in time, space and cost

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Customised furniture factories at shopping centres near you

The furniture industry in Europe has been hit hard by the economic downturn, but opportunities abound despite the challenges. An EU initiative envisioned a small-scale factory to manufacture customised furniture products.

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Financial crises and global competition have slowed the furniture sector, which generates an annual turnover of around EUR 130 billion and accounts for 1.4 million jobs. One way to jumpstart this key manufacturing industry is to focus on design and innovation. With this in mind, the EU-funded CTC (Local flexible manufacturing of green personalized furniture close to the customer in time, space and cost) project developed a concept for a mini-factory where customers can choose their own custom-made furniture and then witness its production behind a glass pane. The concept was designed mainly for shopping centres, but also for hardware shops or supporting factory outlets. During the project, the technology used in other similar innovations was analysed to identify gaps and the CTC factory concept architecture and validation scenarios were defined. The CTC concept design along with tools and engineering methods were then articulated in line with manufacturing needs. The project team also outlined design and manufacturing constraints. Following the definition of software architecture, the team analysed communication interfaces. This led to the implementation of a basic design tool that supports customisable product design, along with the design of new software running on a tablet that customers can use with the assistance of shop operators. A standardised mini-factory production system model was developed. The identification of a green label standard that is compatible with CTC concept requirements was also realised. Further, project partners identified 31 key performance indicators to assess the developed tools. CTC has brought the furniture factory to the customer, rather than the other way around. Once the concept is commercialised, consumers will be able to order furniture tailored to their exact needs and preferences, and to watch as the production process unfolds before their very eyes.

Keywords

Furniture, manufacturing, CTC, customisable, product design

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