Direct Digital Manufacturing

Digital product development

Smart products are characterized by intelligence and communication skills. Due to ever-shorter development cycles and increasing individualization of these products, cross-disciplinary product creation based on consistent development data along the digital value chain is becoming increasingly important. The main focus of the research work lies in the optimal integration of the methods of software engineering and the corresponding application lifecycle management (ALM) into the classical product development process, which is embedded in the so-called product lifecycle management (PLM). The strategy of the “Digital Twin Theory” developed by us using the Industry 4.0 management shell plays a significant role in this process. An extract of our work is:

  • Use cases of PLM/ALM integration (especially with Siemens Teamcenter and Polarion ALM)
  • Integration of software components in a bill of material
  • Construction of mechatronic demonstrators
  • Implementations of the industry 4.0 management shell
  • Function-oriented complexity management

The research goal is to design efficient development processes for smart products. In our research projects we integrate the SmartLight developed and produced by us. The SmartLight is a simple mechatronic multifunctional device that can be used to test new development methods.

Contact

Contact person:

Prof. Dr. Ing. Andreas Deuter

Technische Hochschule OWL

Campusallee 12 | 32657 Lemgo

 

Simulation and optimization

The successful development of novel products often requires the use of expensive and complex tools and processes. Due to the high costs involved, many companies shy away from the departure to new shores and hold on to the old familiar. With the help of tools, we support the planning and design of test samples, real value measurements (flows, temperatures, forces, microscopic analyses, etc.). Based on this, we can carry out the following investigations with computer-aided analyses:

  • mathematical model development for computer-based simulation of physical phenomena
  • creation and detailed evaluation of computer simulations (FEM, fluid flows, chemical processes etc.)
  • virtual product design and optimisation (time and cost savings by minimising prototypes).

Contact

Contact person:

Mark Reuber

IWT | Technische Hochschule OWL

Campusallee 1 | 32657 Lemgo