Advanced Engineering - Showcases for the industry
Event address
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Free event.
Advanced Engineering
Discover new opportunities for product development at Advanced Engineering on 15 & 16 May 2024 at Antwerp Expo.
Advanced Engineering covers every stage of the product development process and welcomes all sectors of the Benelux manufacturing industry. With over 250 exhibitors, you will find expertise from product design, engineering and prototyping to selecting the right components and electronics.
Flanders Make will also be there. On Thursday 16 May, both our CEO, Grisja Lobbestael, and our COO, Marc Engels, will give a keynote. In addition, we will organise three parallel sessions around our research themes: Production, End2End design operation and Motion Products. Here, we will immerse you in industry cases that came about thanks to collaboration and innovation.
A visit to the trade fair can be perfectly combined with participation in one or more showcases. The doors of the trade fair open at 10am.
Programme
The Flanders Make programme at Advanced Engineering on Thursday, 16 May:
| Time | Topic |
|---|---|
| 12:30 | Revolutionizing manufacturing, Flanders Make paves the way for innovation now and into the future! Grisja Lobbestael, CEO Flanders Make Main Stage |
| 13:00 | How to get more out of your CAD models? Marc Engels, COO Flanders Make Main Stage |
| 14:00 | Showcases for the industry - part 1 (see programme below) |
| 15:00 | Break |
| 15:30 | Showcases for the industry - part 2 (see programme below) |
| 17:00 | Networking drink |
Programme Production
Blue Room
14:00-14:30 - Reuse of bicycle batteries into rechargeable block batteries
Presented by Karel Kellens (FlandersMake@KULeuven), Tom Machiels (FlandersMake@KULeuven) & Jos Symons (REACCT)
Reacct, a startup, repurposes e-mobility batteries for second-life applications, initially focusing on sustainable block batteries for road signalization. We utilize residual power in end-of-life bicycle batteries, with production in a sheltered workshop ensuring clarity, safety, and precision. The complex process is subdivided into subassemblies, supported by custom molds, tools, and automated spot-welding in a collaborative production line. Process flow is simulated and analyzed using FlexSim for optimization. Among others, ongoing research includes the automated disassembly of battery cells from end-of-life e-bikes and e-steps.
14:30-15:00 - Efficient creation of digital work instructions
Presented by: Steven Hoedt (FlandersMake@UGent) & Ben Mahy (SupportSquare)
We streamline digital work instruction (DWI) creation for diverse product variants, integrating PLM and DWI authoring tools through a Knowledge Graph. It automates DWI template generation for new variants, ensuring consistency and reducing creation time. Changes in design or instructions are propagated across all variants. Tested with CAD2DWI, Supportsquare integrated the API, advancing to product family-level instructions. In an industrial case with 54 variants, it saved up to 96% of DWI authoring time, significantly reducing effort in maintaining up-to-date, consistent instruction sets.
15:30-16:00 - Technology for workable work
Presented by Raf Vranken (Flanders Make) & Ezra Dessers (HIVA)
Workable work promotes healthy, enjoyable employment with opportunities for growth and work-life balance, benefiting both employees and companies. It enhances motivation, well-being, and openness to new experiences while reducing illness. Our Living Lab explores how technology can enhance workability. Robots can handle strenuous tasks, smart glasses aid production, yet innovation also reshapes job organization. In Flanders, achieving workable work remains a challenge, leading to sick leave and burnouts. Join us to explore how new technologies and smarter work practices can address these challenges and foster workability.
16:00-16:30 - AugmentX: Advancing ergonomics and augmentation technologies
Presented by Ilias El Makrini (FlandersMake@VUB)
AugmentX leads in ergonomic assessment and technology advancement, offering holistic labor evaluation through fixed labs and mobile units. From equipment rental to detailed reporting, AugmentX equips companies for operational optimization. With over 15 exoskeletons for rent, workshops, and qualitative/quantitative assessments, informed decisions on exoskeleton integration are made easier. AugmentX also facilitates cobot introduction in industries, developing use cases with grippers, sensors, and software.
Programme End 2 End Design Operation
Green Room
14:00-14:30 - Executable digital twins to measure the unmeasurable
Presented by Daniel De Gregoriis (Siemens), Frank Naets (FlandersMake@KULeuven)
Executable digital twins offer adaptable virtual representations synced with real systems, embedding them for seamless integration. They provide extensive insights like stress distributions and operational loads, replacing costly sensor setups with model-based estimation algorithms. While accurate measurements remain vital, digital twins offer substantial value in design validation, troubleshooting, and performance assessment across engineering stages, from development to production and exploitation.
14:30-15:00 - Using machine learning to predict your demand
Presented by WEngage (speaker TBD), Dirk Van den Poel (FlandersMake@UGent)
This case study examines call center call forecasting at WEngage in Belgium, crucial for balancing service quality and cost-effective staffing. Leveraging machine learning, WEngage enhances forecasting, enabling informed decisions and productivity. Applicable beyond call centers, this approach aids demand prediction for various products or services. Due to diverse call patterns, a hybrid approach is vital for adaptability and accuracy. The study introduces two hybrid models, one based on a simple combination rule and the other using an advanced meta-heuristic approach. Both outperform individual models, with the advanced hybrid notably excelling, demonstrating superior consistency and accuracy in multi-step ahead call forecasting.
15:30-16:00 - Enhanced reliability of cyber-physical systems: Precision through mutation testing
Presented by Kevin Vandenbroucke (Duco) Serge Demeyer (FlandersMake@UAntwerpen) & Onur Kilincceker (FlandersMake@UAntwerpen)
Research on mutation testing of Simulink models enhances test quality for safety-critical systems, addressing testing process weaknesses. The tool MUT4SLX, developed with an industrial partner, reliably measures test quality, aiding in system reliability. Partner companies successfully improved test quality, ensuring system safety.
16:00-16:30 - Keeping manufacturability under control for a diverse product range: the powder metallurgy usecase of Tenneco
Presented by Tenneco (speaker TBD), Philip Eyckens (Flanders Make)
Tenneco develops vehicle suspension systems using powder metallurgy for key metal components. CAD designs must meet specific geometric constraints for optimal sintering. With a growing product range, checking and adjusting CAD designs becomes more time-consuming and error-prone. Tenneco presents an intuitive, automated workflow integrating process knowledge formalization (Knowledge Formalization Editor) and CAD design assistance (CAMECAD tool). This solution improves design quality, reduces iterations for experienced engineers, accelerates learning for juniors, and preserves process expertise. Implemented in the sinter department, it enhances production readiness and sustainability by managing and refining process knowledge independently.
Programme Motion Products
Red Room
14:00-14:30 - Novel robust motor e-fluid cooling concepts
Presented by Stephan Schlimpert (Flanders Make),Michael Gahagan (Lubrizol)
The advancement of next-gen electric vehicles demands compact, efficient, and cost-effective drive-trains. These smaller units, operating at equivalent power levels, require enhanced cooling for heat dissipation. Recent studies showed the high potential of oil cooled inverter and direct oil jet cooled motor windings as one of the most promising cooling solution. Challenges include ensuring compatibility between oils and materials to prevent motor failures. Flanders Make and Lubrizol collaborated to develop a systematic methodology, resulting in guidelines and degradation datasets to mitigate early design failures. Lubrizol's e-fluid EVOGEN is identified as compatible with various powertrain components, making it ideal for high-performance single e-fluid powertrains.
14:30-15:00 - Sustainable building control
Presented by Filip Jorissen (Builtwins), Joris Gillis (FlandersMake@KULeuven)
Builtwins, a Flemish start-up, revolutionizes indoor climate control in buildings, prioritizing energy efficiency and occupant comfort. Using physics-based digital twins and Modelica language, it develops precise model predictive controllers. It aids founders by simplifying nonlinear constrained optimization. This tool enables domain experts to focus on value creation, confident in optimizing complex building models efficiently. Builtwins' solutions ensure sustainable, healthy workspaces, transitioning from academic research to practical application with the tool’s support.
15:30-16:00 - Lean implementation of the Machine Engineering Process
Presented by Koen Laurijssen (Flanders Make), Peter Van Puyvelde (Nedschroef)
In the past decade, NedSchroef Machinery (NSM) has integrated numerous new technologies into its cold form machinery, necessitating a multi-disciplinary engineering approach. To capitalize on NSM's knowledge base while managing this complexity, they developed an Engineering Process. Collaborating with FM, they devised a Machine Engineering Process featuring stage gates to monitor project maturity across different aspects. Additionally, they aimed to enhance re-use of technical results, utilize project outcomes for training, ensure quality across projects, and implement a model-based approach for product families. This journey demonstrates NSM's endeavor to balance rigorous methods with agile practices effectively.
16:00-16:30 - Absolute Cycling
Presented by Harm Giesen (Absolute Cycling), Kurt Geebelen (Flanders Make) & Erwin Rademaekers (Flanders Make)
AbsoluteCycling One simplifies cycling experience by eliminating extra sensors, ensuring easy installation and usability. Integrated with GNSS, accelerometers, and other sensors, its sensor fusion algorithm, developed with Flanders Make, provides comprehensive data like speed, position, and slope. This robust system guarantees uninterrupted performance, even in challenging conditions when GNSS signal is lost. Cyclists benefit from a streamlined setup, enabling focused training without distractions, thanks to AbsoluteCycling One's intuitive design and reliable functionality.
Register here
Advanced Engineering and the Flanders Make 'Showcases for the industry' are free of charge. You only need to register.