The research consortium is developing a solution where manufacturing modules are put together to create a customized, versatile manufacturing system. Photo credit: Bosch

A research consortium led by Bosch is developing a novel industrial manufacturing concept. The nine partners on the ReCaM project aim to create a highly versatile manufacturing system.

Such systems are needed because production times in modern manufacturing are becoming ever shorter. In addition, demand for customized products is increasing, and the number of variants with it. The project partners have set themselves ambitious goals.

"We want to make manufacturing more efficient and more profitable. The aim is to cut the time it takes to set up a running system by 30 percent," says the project manager Sebastian Schröck, who works in research and advance engineering at Bosch.

Schröck, who has a PhD in mechanical engineering, started working on the project with the various partners in November 2015, and will continue until October 2018. In the future, independent modules are to assume specific tasks within a manufacturing chain - pressing, drilling, or assembly, for example.

Each module contains the tool or tools necessary for its task, plus the ability to configure itself and to coordinate all manufacturing processes with its neighboring modules. These manufacturing modules are put together to create a customized, versatile manufacturing system.

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