The DLR initiative is pursuing a comprehensive strategy with the project by investigating future technologies and approaches from research into artificial intelligence and cooperative robots - from novel ideas to mature concepts. Individualised mass production, the production of small batch sizes, short planning and training times, intuitive programming and safe human-robot collaboration are just some of the areas we are working on across nine DLR institutes.
The production of individualised products on demand and the economic realisation of a large number of variants in small to medium quantities, right down to batch size 1, is a requirement for industrial production that is becoming increasingly important.
This poses major challenges, especially for conventional, often relatively inflexible manufacturing solutions. When used correctly, additive manufacturing (AM) processes make it possible to close this gap. The inherent great design freedom of the processes allows functional and component integration, flexibilisation and the production of material-efficient lightweight structures without the need for product-specific tools. The Screw Extrusion Additive Manufacturing (SEAM) process, which is used and researched at the Institute of Vehicle Concepts in the Space A hybrid production facility, offers particular freedom in terms of the materials that can be processed, the component size and the automated combination of AM with other manufacturing processes.
More information about the Factory of the Future.