High-Productivity Manufacturing

Europe’s average growth rate is lower than that of its main competitors, largely owing to a productivity gap which has been widening over the past decade. Much of this is because business structures across Europe vary widely and certain barriers to markets persist, but a key reason is structurally lower investment in research and innovation.

While Europe is still the world leader in terms of manufacturing, its export share is falling at a discernible rate and data from the EU show that countries such as China and India are rapidly catching up.

Adaptive production equipment

Adaptive production addresses the need to create manufacturing systems which are flexible while at the same time robust, reliable and cost-effective. The current market is characterised by demands for increasingly complex products, higher quality, faster delivery and shorter lag times between successive product generations. Innovations to address this include new high-performance manufacturing technologies which produce greater outputs at higher speeds with greater process capability, using self-adapting equipment that requires less shop-floor space. Furthermore, production cycles will be streamlined and process planning made more efficient.

High-precision manufacturing

Miniaturisation of products and production equipment will be key issues for manufacturing in the future. Innovative manufacturing technologies such as rapid micro-manufacturing will move to 3D optimised micro parts which have complex internal structures, e.g. advanced cooling channels and material gradient structures. As such, integrated compact systems design will also play a key role.

These micro-manufacturing systems will consist of easily configurable assembly lines which use less space for the testing and assembly of small parts. These include micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) which incorporate sensors and actuators, among other key enabling components.

Zero defect manufacturing

Customisation dramatically drives up production costs, owing to higher setup costs and the need to adapt processes and production equipment. Innovative solutions are needed to support these ‘made to order’ strategies by improving quality control and boosting efficiency. New monitoring methods are needed, based on supervision and the control of process parameters and proactive controls.

Innovations in this area include advanced decision-making tools to help create cost-effective process chains by applying ‘quality by design’ processes and implementing defect-tolerant configurations.