The 2019 edition of Industry of the Future Challenge is organized by ArianeGroup, one of the global leaders in space access, Atos, the international leader in digital transformation, and SKF, the global leader in bearings, in partnership with Techniques de l’Ingénieur magazine. The challenge was set up to promote industry 4.0 solutions that make tomorrow’s industrial production smarter, the materials used more sustainable, and thus increase the potential of tomorrow’s industrial facilities.

For the grand finale on June 6, 2019 at the Space Campus in Vernon, France, 20 finalists were selected from about 200 contestants coming from 47 nations. Cevotec presented its Fiber Patch Placement solution for the "Processes of the Future" award, endowed by SKF. The additive fiber layup technology enables the automated production of complex fiber composites, and therefore extends the industrial application of composite lightweight technology to more and more components. Cevotec worked closely with SKF and ArianeGroup to apply the Patch Placement technology to identified production challenges of the partners.

 “Fiber composites offer great lightweight & functional potential but are increasingly difficult to process when part design or fiber architecture are complex. Today’s often manual processes limit industrial-scale composites application”, explains Thorsten Groene, Managing Director of Cevotec, who represented the company at Vernon. “Manufacturers urgently need smart automation solutions to improve cost efficiency, quality and yield of their composites production. We see that clearly also in the applications we’ve analyzed with SKF and Ariane. Our production systems enable composite manufacturers to do exactly that: produce more with less, that is: save time & money.”

Key application areas for Fiber Patch Placement are multi-material (sandwich) components, complex-geometry parts and tailored reinforcement patches. Time and cost savings for manufacturers, compared to as-is processes, typically range from 20-60%. Cevotec is currently involved in several development programs with aerospace composites manufacturers.