Flexible working to cut special vehicle costs

An EU-funded project, focusing on European special vehicles manufacturing, aims to develop technologies to cut product development times by 60%.

A new EU-funded project, won by GTMA, is focusing on European Special Vehicles manufacturing.

This significant industry produces 120,000 vehicles a year, employs 75,000 people and has an annual turnover of EUR 4000 million, however, it is at present an almost entirely craft-based production industry.

The Flexform project, which had its kick-off meeting in Barcelona, in September aims to develop technologies to cut product development times by 60% and manufacturing times by 50% while increasing capacity by 50%.

UK SMEs interested in participating in the project should contact the GTMA.

The project aims to change the sector from its current rigid manual manufacturing processes towards innovative, flexible, automated and high added value production.

This will achieve a major shift from resource-dependent to knowledge-based manufacturing and will involve the development and introduction of an automated and computer aided design process as well as advanced process tools.

The main technological area to be developed is the manufacturing methodology related to the sheet metal components of the vehicle.

For this, it is planned to use as a starting point an emerging technology for sheet metal components, Dieless Forming, which is based on incremental deformation and rapid manufacturing technologies.

The project defines Special Vehicles as those built in small series, typically less than 2000 a year.

This includes coaches, buses, specially transformed vehicles (ambulances, stretch limousines, funeral cars, etc), sport and luxury cars, military vehicles, and mass production prototypes.

Recently, the sector has been under great pressure due to increasing demand and the need for better services.

It is anticipated that innovation and research will increase the value of the products, production and services.

The project has two objectives: * The development and implementation of the emerging Dieless Forming technology in an industrial environment (requirements, definition of design rules, forming strategies, tools, procedures).

* The development of CAEM, a software based on a new concept combining CAE and CAM functionalities, allowing easy decision-making and definition of forming strategies, process parameters, optimal part and tool designs for dieless forming.

Dieless Forming is based on the incremental forming concept.

Some well known processes are already based on incremental forming, for example sheet and tube deformation by rotation (spinning), but these processes are limited as only axisymetric geometries can be produced.

The Dieless forming technique enables the fabrication of sheet metal parts by small successive deformations without restriction to axisymetric parts.

Compared to traditional forming technologies it allows for great reductions in specific tool costs (dies in the case of stamping) as well as great reductions in processing costs.

The process is derived from Rapid Manufacturing technologies that can produce complex shapes in steel, stainless steel and aluminium, directly from 3D CAD models.

One of the advantages of the process is it can be carried out on any slightly modified milling machine, thus adding to its flexibility and ease of access.

While Flexform is aimed at the European Special Vehicles Sector the project papers stress that the technology will also be of major importance to other sectors, including: aerospace, naval, medical (prostheses etc), furniture, railway and construction.

As well as GTMA, which will be disseminating information on the project results, the following trade associations are involved: ASERM, AIMME and SERNAUTO, based in Spain; FOSTA in Germany; TECOS, Slovenia, and CETIM in France.

SMEs from Spain, Germany, France and Portugal are involved; and there are Research, Technology and Development partners including ASCAMM from Spain, RWTH-IBF in Germany; CIMNE, Spain; and GiPInSic of France.

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