Objective
Competition in bicycle production is killing Western European producers, due to the low wages in Asia and Eastern Europe compared to what is normally paid in Western Europe. To survive in this competition a higher productivity is needed in addition to unique selling points. The aim of this project is to develop a production technology for mass production of bicycle frames tailored to individual customer requirements, with increased flexibility compared to current production methods, so that European producers can respond quickly to demand and remain competitive. Therefore in this project it is proposed to: increase the flexibility in frame geometry built without lugs by using brazed joints having increased strength at wider gaps e.g. between 0.3 and 1 mm, develop brazing alloys suitable for brazing those joints at temperatures of around 800 900°C, a temperature range suitable for high tensile strength steel tubing, develop faster tube preparation techniques like milling (high speed), shearing or laser (plasma) cutting to machine varying angles at the butting end of one tube to be brazed to another, develop flexible brazing fixtures to enable torch brazing of most of the frame geometry's desired, the development of this combination of technologies will make European bicycle producers more competitive in both domestic and world markets. The new technologies are expected to be important for other industries, which rely on brazing. One of these might be the t`urniture industry. The expected savings for the European bicycle industry, on an annual basis, could be as high as 23.3 million ECU. Similar savings may be expected in the production of steel framed furniture and in the manufacture of tubing for heat exchangers. The consortium consists of: End users who produces products and parts by brazing of components: Sparta, CAR, Ahrend, Fraja, Van Raam Aalten Manufacturers of fixtures: A.P. van den Berg and Everwand & Fell Manufacturer of bicycle frames: Fraja Designer of bicycle frames: Sparta Manufacturer of brazes: Berkenhoff Manufacturer of tubes: Hoogovens Manufacturer of notching machines:Diekman The listed objectives of the proposed program directly refer to the priority area's of the BRITE/EURAM programme: 1.1.1.S: adoptions and application of new techniques: The use of wide gap brazing for bicycle and furniture industries makes it possible to braze without lugs and so the process is flexible. 1.1.3.S: improvement of traditional process and development of new ones: Brazing is a very old process for the bicycle industry. By developing new brazing alloys, it is possible to braze the bicycle frames without lugs, but having wide gaps. So small series and customised frames can be brazed with less throughput time and improved quality. 1.1.7.M: development of new and improved production system for cutting of the tubes to provide increased speed.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences economics and business economics production economics productivity
- natural sciences mathematics pure mathematics geometry
- natural sciences physical sciences optics laser physics
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
7300 AA Apeldoorn
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.