June 29, 2017

SME Workshop at WEICO, Feldthurns
As part of the EU network project DaVinci, the IDM (Innovation, Development, Marketing) of the province of Bolzano (Italy) has organized a workshop for small and medium-sized enterprises on the subject of production 4.0 at the machine builder WEICO in Feldthurns on June, 29. Prof. Renato Vidoni was invited to present the project SME 4.0 and especially the work package automation and man-machine interaction. In the following visit of WEICO the participants of the event had the possibility to see first implementations of Industry 4.0 and automation in real production. https://www.idm-suedtirol.com/media/9224c033-e8c4-481f-9f6c-6710c7bcfb27/produktion-4-0.pdf

June 28, 2017

Paper Presentation at FAIM 2017, Modena
Dr. Rafael Rojas (Free University of Bolzano) presented the paper “Enabling Connectivity of Cyber Physical Production Systems: a conceptual framework” (authored Rafael Rojas, Erwin Rauch, Renato Vidoni, Dominik Matt) at FAIM 2017 International Conference on Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing in Modena (Italy). The paper describes a framework how to connect different devices in the smart mini factory lab of the Free University of Bolzano in order to realize a Cyber Physical Production System.  

June 26, 2017

Roundtable “Micro e Mega Trend: the impact of Industry 4.0 on the supply chain”, Fucina
Dr. Guido Orzes (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano) took part to the plenary roundtable “Micro e Mega Trend: the impact of Industry 4.0 on the supply chain” at Negotiorum Fucina 2017, the national conference of the Italian Association of Purchasing and Supply Management (ADACI). During the roundtable, Dr. Orzes discussed with other professors from Bocconi School of Management (Prof. Borgonovi), LUISS Business School (Prof. Wright), University of Bergamo (prof. Golini), and University of Verona (Prof. Russo) the future challenges for the implementation of Industry 4.0 and its effect on the (global) supply chains. This was a good occasion to present to an audience of more than 300 buyers and purchasing managers the main goals and the expected outcomes of the project SME4.0 (in particular for the research field “Organization and Management Models”).

June 26, 2017

Company Visit at Seppi M., Kaltern
A group of engineering students from the Master course in Industrial Mechanical Engineering recently visited Seppi M., the manufacturer of forestry and agricultural machines, with a view to automating production processes. One of the countries for export of this machines is also the region around Chiang Mai.. Alonggot Limcharoen, a guest researcher from Chiang Mai University in Thailand also participated in the excursion. https://www.unibz.it/it/news/124504-ingenieursstudenten-bei-produktionsbesichtigung

June 23, 2017

SME Workshop, Domasa Lake
On Friday, June 23rd, 2017, the last SME workshop in the EU from a serie of meetings took place at Domasa lake, Slovakia. The workshop was led by Prof. Vladimir Modrak from the Faculty of Manufacturing Technologies (TU Kosice) and again aimed at identifying the requirements for the introduction of Industry 4.0 in SMEs. Limited number of participating local SMEs from industrial-manufacturing sector and of different sizes participated on this meeting. Prof. Vladimir Modrak first presented a basic information about the SME 4.0 project and its scope, then uncovered the principles and some applications of Industry 4.0 from research to practice. Finally, the representatives of the 10 participating SMEs took part in an interactive group work and together mapped and defined their innovative requirements for the introduction of Industry 4.0

June 12, 2017

Delegation of IHK Magdeburg at unibz
On Monday 12 of June, a delegation of entrepreneurs and representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) Magdeburg were invited to the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano. After a welcome from the University, Petra Seppi from IDM Südtirol - Innovation Development Marketing - gave an overview of the economic situation in South Tyrol. Prof. Dominik Matt, Faculty of Science and Technology of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, and Prof. Hartmut Zadek, Institute of Material Flow Engineering and Logistics of the Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, presented selected results from their research. Prof. Dominik Matt highlighted the objectives in the research project SME 4.0 as well as its importance for the future development of local SMEs towards Industry 4.0.
https://www.unibz.it/it/news/124321-trends-in-wirtschaft-und-wissenschaft

June 12, 2017

Meeting  between unibz and University of Brescia, Bozen
On Monday, June 12, the research group RISE (Research & Innovation for Smart Enterprises) visited the Research Group Industrial Engineering and Automation (IEA) of the Faculty of Science and Technology of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano. During the meeting the various research projects were presented and potential synergies for future cooperation were identified. The research project "SME 4.0" was presented to the group, where unibz works in collaboration with European and international partners on the introduction of Industry 4.0 in small and medium sized enterprises.

June 9, 2017

Workshop ‘SME 4.0’, Bozen
On Friday, June 9, 2017, the first SME workshop in the EU project SME 4.0 took place at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano. The workshop was held by Prof. Dominik Matt and Dr. Erwin Rauch from the Faculty of Science and Technology and aimed at identifying the requirements for the introduction of Industry 4.0 in SMEs. At the workshop with a limited number of participants, 10 local SMEs from different sectors and different sizes participated. After an introductory presentation of the four-year research project, an introduction to the potentials of Industry 4.0 and a presentation of best practice examples from research and industry followed. In subsequent interactive group work, the specific requirements of SMEs for the introduction of Industry 4.0 were developed and discussed together. The one-day workshop was concluded with a guided tour through the smart-mini-factory laboratory of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano.

June 2, 2017

Seminar ‘Digital Factories for Innovative Product Development’, Malta
On 2 June 2017, the Concurrent Engineering Research Unit (CERU) of the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering organised a seminar entitled 'Digital Factories for Innovative Product Development'.
The seminar was well attended, by both local experts, researchers as well as representatives from the local manufacturing industry.
Dr Erwin Rauch from the Department of Production Systems and Technology, University of Bolzano, presented research work in the field of Industry 4.0, with a special focus on the EU funded RISE project titled 'SME 4.0', relating to the use of digital manufacturing technologies by Small and Medium Enterprises. The availability of research funding opportunities was then presented by Dr James Foden on behalf of MCST.
For further information click here.