Smart Manufacturing Platform for Industrial Part Production through Artificial Intelligence, Big Data & Robotics

Project Information

BrainedFactory

Grant agreement ID: 816098

DOI

10.3030/816098

Project closed

EC signature date 9 May 2018

Start date 1 May 2018

End date 31 August 2018

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

PINTOTECNO SRL
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BrainedFactory (Smart Manufacturing Platform for Industrial Part Production through Artificial Intelligence, Big Data & Robotics)

Reporting period: 2018-05-01 to 2018-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

European manufacturing companies must tackle the inefficiencies in their processes to compete in the global market. This implies transforming their corporate strategies and industrial plants to become fully digital. This is the goal of Industry 4.0 which targets manufacturing issues of supply and demand, inventory management, quality control, process management or time to market.
Adopting an Industry 4.0 model means transforming the whole manufacturing process, adding connected capabilities throughout the production line and integrating business software with industrial software. However, to achieve this, it is first necessary to solve challenges, relating to complex software development, reliability, stability, automation and availability.
The successful implementation of automated Industry 4.0 principles is essential for the EU manufacturing industry, since it leads to lead time reduction, optimized design and added value, higher control over production, lower manufacturing costs and energy and waste reduction.
BrainedFactory will combine the latest advances in Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Image Recognition, to provide a fully Software-as-a-Service platform to ease the transition towards Industry 4.0. Due to its flexibility and highly customizable nature, BrainedFactory will be implementable in a large spectrum of companies in the manufacturing sector.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Our R&D team analyzed the necessary technical specification of BrainedFactory, as well as the potential technical improvements and further developments that could be achieved on later stages. Our team then analyzed the technical feasibility of the different technical stages of BrainedFactory for its main components, including software and hardware development, integration, testing and validation, necessary to reach a TRL9. A risk assessment for all technical activities was also carried out, identifying the main technical barriers, as well as the best suited strategies to mitigate them.
Or commercial/sales team then performed a complete market study, featuring a comprehensive analysis of both the hydraulic equipment manufacturing system (as our traditional market) and the Industry 4.0 solution market (as our potential market for BrainedFactory). The study covered volume and growth, distribution methods, drivers and restraints, segmentation and forecasts. With the obtained data, we were able to perform business analysis through methods such as the GE matrix, the HAX triangle, the Penta Model and the SWOT analysis. A complete Freedom-to-Operate analysis was also performed to evaluate the risk of IP infringement, resulting in no apparent threats.
With the data from the market analysis, we were also able to carry out detailed sales forecasts, both with and without the development of BrainedFactory, thus extracting its real impact for Pintotecno. Finally, an adapted Business Plan for BrainedFactory was prepared, outlining the necessary positioning and actions that need to be carried prior to full commercialization.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

BrainedFactory currently uses complex algorithms and implements them to extract the exact machining time and costs for the production of any given piece of hydraulic material. The estimation is based on the consideration of key characteristics of the product. The software provides a real-time quotation, a complete cost estimation and an optimized part design. We call this tool RQP, for Rapid Quotation Prototyping. We will automate RQP tool communication with the production line through a Big Data platform.
As a tailored solution with a high focus on quotation management, machining cost reduction and overall manufacturing process optimization, BrainedFactory goes beyond solutions from large vendors, which offer providing more complex and generic solutions, at higher prices. Existing solutions cover the production cycle partially and lack of full integration with business software (i.e. ERP, CRM…). BrainedFactory will provide a much shorter time to produce parts throughout a shorter time to quote and deliver extremely accurate quotations, as well as optimize order and cost management. Additionally, it will offer virtually unlimited customization possibilities with zero impact on production time and plant scheduling.

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