​Introduction by Lars Stenerud, Chair of the Board.

– To say that 2020 has been an odd year for SFI Manufacturing must be the most cliché term used in the Corona-period. However, 2020 has been a challenging and different year for our centre and the partners of the centre.

Knowledge and skills are resources that we rely on when we meet extraordinary situations. All the involved partners in SFI Manufacturing have utilised this during 2020. Some have experienced a total marked collapse for their product, while others have experienced considerable marked increase. In common, all have had to deal with the challenging situation to maintain a safe work environment within changing regulations and advises, and regional differences. All this have required use of cross-disciplinary knowledge and skills. Perhaps the very cross-disciplinary nature of manufacturing has been an extra asset for us during this situation?

The academic partners have also faced a challenging situation with limited access to laboratory facilities, a volatile market and the challenging organisational issues regarding infection control at work facilities. In particular, I will use the opportunity to express my recognition of the work of PhD and post doc candidates that have been able to maintain progress in their work and develop new knowledge within manufacturing.

In these trying times, it is essential to use our resources within R&D to be well prepared for the opportunities that most likely will appear at the other end of this challenging period.

The workshop we had with ISAB in December gave us a perspective on our work from outside of the SFI. As well as receiving good reviews, the recommendations from ISAB emphasize our scope of further research. 
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On April 6, 2021, Amalie Østhassel will start as a new PhD student at SFI Manufacturing. She has recently been working as a trainee in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Her PhD is being undertaken on behalf of NTNU.

​We welcome Amalie and look forward to the collaboration!

The SFI Manufacturing Annual Report 2019 is now available.

During 2019 SFI Manufacturing has passed the midway review with good results. An independent evaluation of the centre's innovation potential has been presented as well. In this annual report both results will be presented, and I would like to focus on the innovation potential during this introduction.

During the development of the centre's concept, the partners agreed upon the importance of an efficient system for the creation of spin-off projects on higher Technology Readiness Levels (TRL). A system that would focus on the innovation activities of the industry partners, rather than the centre's activities itself.

SFI Manufacturing focuses on TRL 1 to 3, but several research results have been developed during, or contributed to, innovation projects on TRL 4 to 7. During the period of 2016 to 2018, 21 innovation projects connected to the centre were started.

Impello Management has conducted an independent evaluation of SFI Manufacturing's innovation potential and its spin-off projects. This evaluation concluded with a potential economic impact of more than 20 billion NOK over a 10-year period.

A contribution to this is the investment in SFI Manufacturing and the associated spin-off projects, where the partners invest approximately 460 million NOK and the Norwegian Research Council 340 million NOK. If the projects succeed, the return on investment is regarded to be very good.  

• Read the Annual Report 2019 here
• Download the report as PDF-file here​

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Mathias Hauan Arbo was one of the first PhD candidates of SFI Manufacturing. In april 2019 he finished his thesis on "Robotic assembly and optimization-based control of industrial manipulators". We asked him to tell us a bit more about his research. 

– My thesis has two main topics: An idealized automatic assembly system, capable of generating and executing robot programs based on CAD models, and closed-loop inverse kinematics systems for on-line control of an industrial manipulator, explains Mathias.

The thesis is a collection of papers related to these topics written during Mathias’ work at SFI Manufacturing. The accompanying text in the thesis gives a brief introduction to the history of robotics, as well as an overview of some of the robotics literature.

Mathias started his SFI Manufacturing Postdoc Spring 2019​. During his Postdoc he will be working on high-level planning and control of articulated robots for assembly, exploiting expert knowledge and CAD information. 
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Read Mathias his thesis here

Find the presentation of the defendence (and video) here

Den 22. og 23. januar arrangeres Industri Futurum på Radisson Blu i Oslo. SFI Manufacturing og SINTEF Manufacturing er godt representert på årets viktigste møteplass for industrien.

Additiv tilvirking
Senterleder Sverre Gulbrandsen-Dahl er ordstyrer og samtaleleder for sesjonen om Additive Manufacturing dag 2. 

En av de som holder innlegg denne sesjonen, er Emma Østerbø, daglig leder i katapultsenter Manufacturing Technology på Raufoss. Hun kommer til å ta deg med på en reise om additiv produksjon i industriell skala.

Robotikk
Industrileder Håkon Raabe er moderator for sesjonen om Robotics dag 2. 

Blant annet Pål Ystgaard og Ådne Solhaug Linnerud i SINTEF holder innlegg denne sesjonen, nemlig om robotiserings- og automatiseringstrender, samt raskere utvikling av nye automatiserte produksjonsprosesser gjennom digital integrasjon og testing.

Den norske modellen
WP leder Gaute Knutstad holder innlegg om arbeidskultur og konkurransekraft dag 1. Han prøver å besvare følgende spørsmål: Kan den norske modellen bli vårt fremste konkurransefortrinn inn i Industri 4.0?

I tillegg holder Gaute innlegg om arbeidsplassen 4.0 - Hvordan kommer den norske modellen til uttrykk på arbeidsplassen? Og hvordan utnyttes involvering, medvirkning og medarbeiderdrevet innovasjon til den industrielle digitale transformasjon? Dette innlegget holdes dag 2.

SFI partnere
Til slutt er flere SFI partnere representert på konferansen, som for eksempel GKN Aerospace ved Ole Hoen, Norsk Hydro ved Hans Erik Vatne, og Ekornes ved Jon Einar Løvoll.

​Vi sees på Industri Futurum!

Les mer om programmet og foredragsholderne her

An independent report shows that SFI Manufacturing potentially can have an economic impact of >3 billion NOK per year in the Norwegian manufacturing industry.

SFI Manufacturing is a cross-disciplinary centre for research-based innovation for competitive high value manufacturing in Norway. The centre is hosted by SINTEF Manufacturing AS, it has 14 industry partners, and SINTEF and NTNU as research partner. An analysis of the independent advisory firm Impello Management AS shows that the centre potentially can have an economic impact of >3 billion NOK per year in the Norwegian manufacturing industry.

SFI Manufacturing has been awarded 30 IPN projects in the period of 2016-2019. The analysis of Impello Management AS is based on 15 of these projects started in 2018, and statements of the industry partners in relation to these projects. To realize the potential economic impact, significant investments from the industry will be required.

More potential impact
The analysis shows more potential economic impacts in addition to the 3 billion NOK as well: Reduced operating costs, increased profits and reduced investments. These impacts are based on 8 use cases linked to the 15 IPN projects. The use cases are subsequently linked to one or more of the centre's research areas: Multi-material products and processes, Flexible and robust automation, and Sustainable and innovative organizations.

Specifically, the 8 use cases are covering the fields of:

• New joining methods for high-performance aluminum-steel products
• Additive manufacturing of elastomer products
• Robust robotic motion planning for manufacturing
• Software architecture and tools for «batch size one» robotic assembly
• 3D vision: Deep learning for robotic grasping
• Benchmarking enterprise development maturity
• Modernization of vocational education and training
• Alignment of management tools

It is in these fields where the potential economic impact of SFI Manufacturing lies.

Key facts about SFI Manufacturing

• Centre for research-based innovation (2015-2022) hosted by SINTEF Manufacturing AS, which has its main basis at Raufoss Industry Park, Oppland.
• Industry partners: Benteler Automotive, Brødrene Aa, Ekornes, GKN Aerospace Norway, Hexagon Raufoss, HyBond, Hydro, Kongsberg Automotive, Mjøs Metallvarefabrikk, Nammo, Neuman Aluminium, Plasto, Rolls-Royce, Sandvik Teeness.
• Research partners: SINTEF, NTNU.
• Research areas: Multi-material products and processes, Flexible and robust automation, Sustainable and innovative organizations.
• Turnover: The budget for 2015-2022 is 202 MNOK. In addition, the centre has been awarded 30 IPN projects in the period of 2016-2019, with a total value of 850 MNOK.
• PhD, Postdoc and Masters (31.10.2019): PhD: 1 finished + 12 ongoing + 3 planned, Postdoc: 2 ongoing + 2 planned, Masters: 25 completed + 75 planned.
• Scientific publications (09.12.2019): >85

Contact person

• Sverre Gulbrandsen-Dahl, Centre Manager of SFI Manufacturing. Email: sverre.gulbrandsen-dahl@sintef.no, phone number: +47 916 01 205.
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Automated production line at Plasto AS, a leading company in the injection molding industry, and one of the industry partners of SFI Manufacturing. Photo: Plasto AS

SFI Manufacturing joined IWAMA 2019, an international conference for academic and industrial experts in the field of advanced manufacturing and automation.

On the 21st and 22nd of November, the 9th edition of IWAMA took place in the United Kingdom, at the Plymouth University. Researchers of SFI Manufacturing travelled to Plymouth to join the conference.

IWAMA – International Workshop of Advanced Manufacturing and Automation – is an important international conference on advanced manufacturing and automation, and takes place in China or the United Kingdom every year.

Manufacturing and automation has assumed paramount importance and are vital factors for the maintenance and improvement of the economy of a nation and the quality of life. The field of manufacturing and automation is advancing at a rapid pace and new technologies are also emerging in the field. The challenges faced by today’s engineers are forcing them to keep on top of the emerging trends through continuous research and development.

​IWAMA aims at providing a common platform for academics, researchers, practicing professionals and experts from industries to interact and discuss trends and advances in some areas of manufacturing and automation, while sharing ideas and perspectives.

Tone Gjerstad and Gabor Sziebig joined as researchers from SFI Manufacturing – Research Area 2. Many other colleagues from SINTEF joined as well, such as Eirin Lodgaard, Ragnhild Eleftheriadis, Davar Hemyari and Even Wilberg Hovig, who contributed with presentations on the latest proceedings in the scientific field of advanced manufacturing and automation.

Researcher Gabor Sziebig about high-payload human-robot collaboration, and communication based on sensor fusion. Photo: SFI Manufacturing

Three new PhD students started at SFI Manufacturing recently! ​We would like to welcome all three students, Chaman, Ingrid and Andreas, and invite you to read a bit more about their studies.

Chaman is linked to research area 1, Multi-Material Products and Processes, and will be looking at the lifetime prediction of composites. Ingrid is linked to research area 2, Robust and Flexible Automation, and will be working on flexible and automated robotized deburring. Andreas is also linked to research area 2 and will be working on robotized additive manufacturing. 

Below, they will tell you a bit more about their studies. Would you like to follow Chaman, Ingrid and Andreas and the results of their studies? Keep an eye on this blog :)
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Mandag og tirsdag denne uken fant høstsamlingen til SFI Manufacturing sted.

Over 50 stk deltok på workshopen i Ålesund og Sykkylven, med Ekornes som vertskap, og hovedfokus på Forskningsområde 3 "Innovative og bærekraftige organisasjoner".

Mandag 28. oktober på kvelden hadde vi en workshop på NMK, Norsk Maritimt Kompetansesenter, og Blue Innovation Area. Hovedfokus var scenario-aktivitet knyttet til "Future manufacturing organization models" og "Sustainable business model development", inklusivt gruppearbeid.

Tirsdag 29. oktober besøkte vi SFI-partner og møbelprodusent Ekornes i Sykkylven. Vi kjørte buss til fergen til Sykkylven, og videre til hovedfabrikken på Ikornnes. Deltakerne fikk en oppdatering innenfor Forskningsområde 3, gjennom faglige presentasjoner med hovedvekt på PhD-prosjekter.

I tillegg fikk vi en bedriftspresentasjon fra Ekornes, inklusiv relevante problemstillinger, etterfulgt av en spennende omvisning i fabrikken. – Veldig imponerende, var kommentaren til flere av deltakerne, da de kom ut av fabrikken igjen.

Workshopen ble avsluttet med gruppearbeid rundt vertsbedriftens utfordringer sett i sammenheng med forskningstematikk, og presentasjoner i plenum. Etter en glad og rungende applaus fra deltakerne, var årets høstworkshop slutt.

Oppsummert var dette en meget vellykket workshop, med trivelig samvær, og mye læring og inntrykk. Vi vil gjerne takke alle som har bidratt til workshopen, og Ekornes for fantastisk innsats som vertskap for workshopen!

Nyhetsbrevet, som ble sendt ut i forkant av workshopen, med forskningsnytt fra Forskningsområde 3, finner du her.

Onsdag 11. september fikk vi besøk av en delegasjon fra India, Japan og Ukraina, i forbindelse med International Partnership-prosjektet INMAN.

SFI Manufacturing er partner i prosjektet INMAN - Intelligent circular economy manufacturing research and educational collaboration with India and Japan, og denne uken besøkte en delagasjon fra universitet i Japan, India og Ukraina, Raufoss. Deltakerne deltok i en sommerskole i Sustainable and Circular Manufacturing på NTNU i løpet av tre dager, med en ettermiddag og kveld på Raufoss.

Samlingen fant sted i katapult-senteret Manufacturing Technology på industriparken, og deltakerne ble ønsket velkomne av Jon Sandvik i SINTEF, som fortalte om industriparken og NCE Raufoss-klyngen, etterfølgt av en omvisning hos Benteler Automotive Raufoss, og et foredrag av blant annet Davar Hemyari i Benteler og Geir Liaklev i Kongsberg Automotive. Dagen ble avsluttet med en festlig middag på messen. 
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