Introducing digital transformation in industry to improve business productivity

We have developed technology in collaboration with Fagor Ederlan to reduce the weight of engine blocks, the heaviest single part in a car. It consists of a high pressure casting process with great productivity and premium part quality. It enables vehicles to adapt to European legislation on CO₂ and NOx emissions.

We have been strongly committed to additive manufacturing for over 10 years. It provides advantages such as material diversity, the ability to manufacture high resolution parts, reductions in energy consumption and manufacturing time, and material reuse. One of our developments is the Binder Jetting technique, based on thermal projection in which the binder is deposited over a powder layer.

Digitalisation is also a key tool for areas such as prediction and maintenance for equipment and industries. We presented a series of developments along these lines at the Maintenance area of the +Industry trade show, including a wind turbine maintenance system, a predictive maintenance system based on AI techniques which is used to optimise asset management, and new inspection techniques for aeronautical components.  

The wind turbine maintenance system consists in monitoring the structural health of the main shafts. It can detect and monitor cracks in real time, estimating the useful life and conducting a follow-up of the components until a warning is issued that the shaft needs to be replaced. It has now been installed in almost 100 machines.

The predictive maintenance system is based on artificial intelligence techniques such as digital twins, sensors, IoT platforms, and machine learning technologies. It optimises maintenance management and improves asset reliability and availability by merging operational data with simulations. Thus, it provides knowledge on the current and future health of equipment and production lines. This system is now being developed with PETRONOR.

We have also worked on developing new inspection techniques for aeronautical components, produced with new materials and innovative manufacturing processes by using ultrasound and artificial vision technologies.