By Rattapol Pinnaratip on Apr 28th, 2023
The Thai team had attended the first spring seminar of the Industrial Transformation Platform in KTH Stockholm campus at the KTH entre' building. This gathering provided broader insights from multiple scholars and industry experts, contributing to a deeper understanding of the SME 5.0 project's scope and current practice in the industry.
By Salinee Santiteerakul on Apr 25th, 2023
Objective:
The visit aimed to explore the integration of emerging technologies in industrial processes and to understand the collaborative efforts between Scania's Smart Factory Lab and KTH University.
Overview:
Scania's Smart Factory Lab serves as an experimental hub for testing and implementing cutting-edge technologies in production and engineering. The lab focuses on the application of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and other emerging technologies to enhance manufacturing and collaborative processes. The lab is staffed by a multinational team of 15, including engineers, thesis workers, and trainees, dedicated to conducting trials and advancing technological integration in production.
Key Highlights:
Presentation on Collaboration: A detailed presentation was given on the ongoing collaboration between Scania's Smart Factory Lab and KTH University. This collaboration is a cornerstone of the lab's operations, emphasizing the importance of academic-industry partnerships in advancing technological applications in manufacturing.
Role of Scania Staff in Academia: Scania staff members are actively involved in academic processes at KTH University. Their roles include guest lecturing and serving as co-advisors for both graduate and undergraduate student research. This involvement not only enriches the academic curriculum but also provides practical, industry-relevant insights to students.
Interactive Sessions: Attendees had the opportunity to engage in interactive sessions, where they experienced firsthand the applications of digitalization technology in enhancing production processes. These sessions provided valuable insights into the practical aspects of technology integration in industrial settings.
Discussion on Future Trends: The event also included discussions on future trends in smart manufacturing and the potential impact of emerging technologies on the industry. These discussions were instrumental in understanding the direction of technological advancement in manufacturing.
Outcomes:
Enhanced understanding of the practical application of digitalization technology in industrial processes.
Insight into the successful collaboration between academia and industry, exemplified by the partnership between Scania and KTH University.
Recognition of the importance of integrating emerging technologies in manufacturing to stay ahead in the competitive market.
Conclusion:
The visit to Scania's Smart Factory Lab was a fruitful experience, offering valuable insights into integrating emerging technologies in manufacturing and the importance of industry-academia collaboration. The learnings from this visit are expected to significantly contribute to the ongoing efforts and future direction of the SME 5.0 Project.
By Erwin Rauch on Apr 21st, 2023
In the context of the Marie Curie SME 5.0 Project (A Strategic Roadmap Towards the Next Level of Intelligent, Sustainable and Human-Centered SMEs), Dr. Sergio Salimbeni, Director of the Industrial Engineering Career and the Institute of Science and Technology belonging to the School of Engineering, and Jorge Mario Andreau, Director of the Research Institute of the School of Psychology and Psychopedagogy, met at the Neurosciences Laboratory belonging to the latter.
The idea of the meeting was to think about future collaborative research projects with a view to integrating various USAL resources in the context of this global project that brings together several universities from around the world.
Link: https://noticias.usal.edu.ar/es/las-pequenas-empresas-dan-grandes-pasos-hacia-la-industria-50
By Sergio Salimbeni on Apr 20th, 2023
In the context of the Marie Curie SME 5.0 Project (A Strategic Roadmap Towards the Next Level of Intelligent, Sustainable and Human-Centered SMEs), Dr. Sergio Salimbeni, Director of the Industrial Engineering Career and the Institute of Science and Technology belonging to the School of Engineering, and Jorge Mario Andreau, Director of the Research Institute of the School of Psychology and Psychopedagogy, met at the Neurosciences Laboratory belonging to the latter.
The idea of the meeting was to think about future collaborative research projects with a view to integrating various USAL resources in the context of this global project that brings together several universities from around the world.
Link: https://noticias.usal.edu.ar/es/las-pequenas-empresas-dan-grandes-pasos-hacia-la-industria-50
By Rungchat Chompu-inwai on Apr 12th, 2023
During their secondment from 3rd April 2023 –18th May 2023 at the Free University of Bolzano, Rungchat Chompu-inwai and Trasapong Thaiupathump from Chiang Mai University, together with Professor Rauch Erwin and his students from the Free University of Bolzano visited the company “GKN SINTER METALS” on April 12, 2023 from 1-5 pm. GKN SINTER METALS is the world's leading manufacturer of precision powder metal products, sintered structural parts, porous products and filters, sub-assemblies, soft magnetic components, and e-motor solutions. In addition to listening to information about the company from company executives, visitors to the company also got to see the production process in detail. However, visitors are not allowed to take photos inside the company.
By Helmut Zsifkovits on Mar 16th, 2023
On 16th and 17th of March 2023 a remarkable meeting took place in Stellenbosch. Prof. Otto Petrovic visited Prof. Helmut Zsifkovits who was on a secondment at Stellenbosch University at that time. Otto is Professor of Information Systems and Management at the University of Graz, Austria, and also a well-known athlete will more than 50 national championship titles in javelin throw, high jump, shot put, hammer throw and triple jump. He improved the Austrian record in javelin throw six times and won the title of Vice World Champion of Masters.
Otto is still very active as a cyclist. He arrived from Cape Town by bike and continued for another 1000 km from the garden route back to Cape Town within the following week.
His ride is documented in a book published in October 2023.
Previous destinations of Otto’s bike tours include Bolivia, Chile, China, Siberia, Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, and Japan.
Otto and Helmut had fruitful discussions about common projects and also met with the faculty of the Industrial Engineering Department at SU.
By Yotsaphat Kittichotsatsawat on Mar 15th, 2023
• Meet Dr.-Ing. Manuel Woschank in order to consult about the SME 5.0 project.
• Visit the smart manufacturing and chair of industrial logistics laboratory of Montanuniversität
• Work on publications about the SME 5.0 project at the Montanuniversität laboratory based on the topic of “Improvement of coffee production performance via integrated lean and automated mechanization techniques”
• Work on publications about the SME 5.0 project at the Montanuniversität laboratory based on the topic of “Forecasting Arabica Coffee Yields by Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average and Machine Learning Approaches”
• Work on publications about the SME 5.0 project at the Montanuniversität laboratory based on the topic of” Development of product supply chain strategy using BMC and axiomatic design”
• Short video of the Interview MSCA Staff Exchange
By Warisa Nakkiew on Mar 3rd, 2023
The paper titled “Post Weld Heat Treatment Optimization of Dissimilar Friction Stir Welded AA2024-T3 and AA7075-T651 Using Machine Learning and Metaheuristics” was published in the journal Materials, Volume 16, Issue 5, and is indexed in the Scopus database (Quartile 2).
This research focuses on optimizing post weld heat treatment (PWHT), a process used to enhance the mechanical properties of welded materials. While past studies have examined PWHT effects using experimental methods, this work introduces a novel approach by integrating machine learning (ML) and metaheuristics for both modeling and optimization, advancing intelligent manufacturing applications.
The study employs ML techniques—support vector regression (SVR), K-nearest neighbors (KNN), decision tree (DT), and random forest (RF)—to model the relationship between PWHT parameters and key mechanical outcomes: ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elongation percentage (EL). Results show SVR outperforms other methods and, when paired with metaheuristics such as differential evolution (DE), particle swarm optimization (PSO), and genetic algorithms (GA), SVR-PSO achieves the fastest convergence. The research ultimately suggests both single-objective and Pareto-optimal solutions for PWHT parameter settings.
By Helmut Zsifkovits on Feb 23rd, 2023
During his visit at Stellenbosch University in February 2023, Prof. Helmut Zsifkovits gave a lecture to the students in the course of Louis de Leuw. The presentation was titled was “Digital supply chains and Industry 5.0”. The focus of the lecture was on trends and challenges in supply chains, the evolution of industry, technology enablers and the path towards a digital supply chain. After the presentation, there was a lively discussion with the students.