IK4-IDEKO Annual Report 2014

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02
Department of
technological
research and
development
2014 was marked by the following key areas of action for the department of
Technological Research and Development: the development of the research lines,
relying on our expertise in manufacturing technologies, converting our research
into business value for our customers through numerous transfer projects with
a high technological value and establishing partnerships and networks, both on
an academic level and in technology and business that support the development
of the two previous key areas.
In the area of research I would like to review some of the achievements of our
research teams. In the field of manufacturing processes, significant progress
was made in the experimental use of cryogenic gases as refrigerants in turning
processes on hard metals. The team researching intelligent software focused
much of its efforts on developing a universal platform of mass monitoring on
machine tools, while design and precision engineering researchers developed
low-cost, low-complexity systems for volumetric calibration equipment, based
on algorithmic techniques used in measurement and compensation of coordinate
measuring machines. These are just some examples of our research. You will be
able to read in detail many other results of our research and development in
this report.
As in previous years we participated in relevant forums in the academic field of
manufacturing such as CIRP. Inasfar as scientific dissemination is concerned, we
published 10 articles in indexed reference publications in our field of expertise.
Also, in 2014 a strong impetus was given to the inspection and measurement
area and in addition to the research work much time and thought were spent on
the design and development of demonstrators and prototypes with real industrial
applications that will materialize in a new laboratories that will be opened in
2015.
Internationally, in 2014 we participated in 9 European projects and 3 new
proposals will be launched in 2015. Our presence at forums of interest allowed
us to keep contact and make new contacts with technological scientific leaders
in the advanced manufacturing environment.
From an organisational point of view and with the aim of bringing together the
research competencies in the key areas of our expertise, in 2014 we decided
to integrate the lines of Mechanical Design and Micro and Ultra-Precision in a
single research team called Design and Precision Engineering.
In relation to the second key area stated above, 2014 was a significant milestone
for the department in terms of high-impact transfer projects. Throughout this year
we worked with our clients in technologically advanced projects with developments
from practically all our areas of expertise. Some examples are: measuring of the
profile and wheel diameter of trains on passing with vision systems, the transfer
of the chatter suppression system DAS or integral development of a multilayer
control system adaptable to each installation.