Miniaturization, advanced high performance materials and functional surface structures are all drivers behind key enabling technologies in high added value production. It is in such areas that ultrashort pulse lasers have enabled completely new machining concepts, where the big advantages of laser machining are combined with a quasi non-thermal and therefore mild process, which can be used to machine any material with high precision. An important obstacle however that hinders the full exploitation of the unique process characteristics, is the lack of a smart / adaptive machining technology. The laser process in principle is very accurate, but small deviations, e.g. in the materials to be processed, can compromise the accuracy to a very large extend. Therefore feedback systems are needed to keep the process accurate. Within this project the goal is to develop an adaptive laser micromachining system, based on ultrashort pulsed laser ablation and a novel depth measurement sensor, together with advanced data analysis software and automated system calibration routines. The sensor can be used inline with the laser ablation process, enabling adaptive processes by fast and accurate 3D surface measurements. The integrated sensor can be used to: • measure the surface topography while machining a part, in order to adapt the micromachining process, leading to highly increased machining accuracies and no defects, • measure the surface topography before machining, to scan for existing surface defects that can be removed in an automatically generated machining process, • measure complex shaped objects prior to machining, to precisely align the machining pattern to the workpiece, • quickly validate results after machining. Therefore, the main objective of this project is to develop a sensor based adaptive micro machining system using ultra short pulsed lasers for zero failure manufacturing.

Manufacturing represents approximately 21 % of the EU’s GDP and 20 % of its employment, providing more than 30 million jobs in 230 000 enterprises, mostly SMEs. Moreover, each job in industry is considered to be linked to two more in related services. European manufacturing is also a dominant element in international trade, leading the world in areas such as automotive, machinery and agricultural engineering. Already threatened by both the lower-wage economies and other high-tech rivals, the situation of EU companies was even made more difficult by the downturn. The Z-Fact0r consortium has conducted an extensive state-of-the-art research (see section 1.4) and realised that although a number of activities (see section 1.3) have been trying to address the need for zero-defect manufacturing, still there is a vast business opportunity for innovative, high-ROI (Return on Investment) solutions to ensure, better quality and higher productivity in the European manufacturing industries. The Z-Fact0r solution comprises the introduction of five (5) multi-stage production-based strategies targeting (i) the early detection of the defect (Z-DETECT), (ii) the prediction of the defect generation (Z-PREDICT), (iii) the prevention of defect generation by recalibrating the production line (multi-stage), as well as defect propagation in later stages of the production (Z-PREVENT), (iv) the reworking/remanufacturing of the product, if this is possible, using additive and subtractive manufacturing techniques (Z-REPAIR) and (v) the management of the aforementioned strategies through event modelling, KPI (key performance indicators) monitoring and real-time decision support (Z-MANAGE). To do that we have brought together a total of thirteen (13) EU-based partners, representing both industry and academia, having ample experience in cutting-edge technologies and active presence in the EU manufacturing.

The undergoing transformation in our current socio-economic models, led by the advent of emerging technologies, has changed the relation of customers to products and services. Customers play no longer a passive role in the product and service development process as they express their product and service experiences and opinions through several channels such as discussion forums, blogs, chat, idea voting, and more. In addition, sensor systems in combination with products incorporated in the Internet of Things (IoT), are becoming increasingly common. The potential endless amounts of available information offer a rich ground for value creation in the product-service innovation chain. In this context FALCON envisions to provide a framework to enable the realization of new products and value-adding services, resulting from user-experiences and product and related services usage; undertaken with the principles of sustainability and social responsibility. FALCON will create impact through the following objectives: First the project will address product-service information collection through collaborative intelligence and Product Embedded Information Devices. Second, it will enable new mechanisms for product-service knowledge representation, exploitation, openness and diffusion. Third, it will strengthen collaboration and new product-service development through new feedback and feed forward mechanisms in the product life-cycle. Fourth, FALCON will explore manufacturing intelligence to support innovative product-services design and finally FALCON will improve product-service lifecycle assessment approaches through the real-time collection of product-service usage information and related experiences. The project is driven by a consortium of highly recognized researchers (BIBA, EPFL, TU Delft ), experienced solution providers (UBITECH, Holonix, Softeco, i-Deal) and industrial companies (Arcelik, Philipps, Dena Cashmere, DATAPIXEL, Vinci Consulting).

The METAMORPHA concept is a single agile USP laser micromachining platform to replace many conventional manufacturing process chains. It has the potential to eliminate thousands of environmentally damaging production processes. METAMORPHA is all-electric, all-digital, produces no waste chemicals and enables novel processes for product rework and repair. All-in-one module: The key to this agility is a combination of two cascaded spatial light modulators (SLM) and a galvo scanner resulting in the most sophisticated beam shaping and steering ever developed. This allows a single module to perform the job of several laser processing heads: e.g. polishing, milling, drilling and cutting (importantly including any wall angle). Made-to-measure laser processes: Each infeed component is scanned with a high resolution 3D sensor. A machine learning algorithm determines an individualised laser process to maximise efficiency and ensure "first time right". In-line process control: Data from additional online sensors are processed using an edge device running a self-learning algorithm to provide real-time feedback for system control. The ultra-fast edge-based signal processing and synchronisation are key project topics. Agile and scalable: Suitable for any standard industrial production line including 2-, 3- or 5-axis, rotating and roll-to-roll, and for scale up to parallel processing with multiple modules. The three end use cases (UCs) show the versatility and scope for replacing existing process chains: UC-1 PHILIPS: Small complex metal parts (shaving heads) requiring 90 degree wall angles. UC-2 TKSE: Large area embossing rollers and the re-writing of old rollers. UC-3 CERAT: Very hard carbide parts and refurbishment of worn parts. Sustainability assessment: A life cycle analysis (LCA) and social LCA will be carried out to quantify the environmental and socioeconomic benefits. A detailed plan for exploitation and an extensive dissemination and communication plan are in place.