Bosch working on new modular manufacturing system

Bosch is leading a research consortium to develop a new connected industrial manufacturing concept. Christened ReCaM, the consortium has nine partners and aims 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,” said an official statement from Bosch.

The manufacturing concept has set an aim to cut the downtime by 30 percent. Sebastian Schröck, project manager, research and advance engineering at Bosch explains, “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.”

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 customised, versatile manufacturing system.

Plug and produce modules for the smart factory

At present, production lines are usually still designed for just one product and for a particular batch size of that product. However, products are becoming ever more personalised, and batch sizes increasingly variable, right down to batch size one. Consequently, production lines have to be adjusted more and more often, a process that costs time, increases the risk of errors, and results in downtime. The research project envisions using ‘plug and produce’ modules as a solution. The idea behind it is similar to when computers can independently recognise keyboards or printers through plug and play applications. In order to adjust production, workers will simply add existing modules or remove those that aren’t needed.

Putting manufacturing systems to the test

The ReCaM team aims to prove that such connected and adaptable manufacturing systems truly work in practical application. To do so, all nine partners in the research consortium are contributing their various areas of expertise to find a solution together: the university institutes are developing the standards, mechanical engineers are constructing the modules, and the manufacturing companies such as Bosch are testing the concepts in practice.

Also read: SMMT asks UK to grasp £74 billion digital manufacturing opportunity

The ReCaM project is funded by the European Union to the tune of 5.3 million euros as part of its ‘Horizon 2020’ research and innovation program (grant agreement # 680759).

In full, ReCaM stands for “rapid reconfiguration of flexible production systems through capability-based adaptation, auto-configuration, and integrated tools for production planning.”

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