Fraunhofer Commitment

The Fraunhofer Project Group “Mechatronic Systems Design” in Paderborn demonstrates outstanding competencies in the field of “Intelligent Technical Systems”. The three departments Product Development, Control Technology and Software Technology concentrate on the development of mechatronic systems and the conception of the necessary production systems. Thus, the research-based organisation helps not only to complete the transition to mechatronics-based systems, but also to realise innovative products.

The products of mechanical engineering and related industries such as the automotive industry, the electrical industry and medical engineering, are increasingly based on the symbiotic interaction of mechanics, electronics and software expressed by the term mechatronics.

Mechatronics in this case is not a specific technology, but rather a paradigm that combines the advantages of different disciplines with each other, providing entirely new product features and enhanced customer value as a benefit of this connection. The successful realisation of the paradigm of mechatronics is a key element in obtaining competitive advantages.

In addition to research and development, the service of the project group includes offering a cooperative transfer of knowledge, further training and symposiums, consulting services and support with the development of cutting-edge technologies. As a result, the research and development carried out by the project group in the field of mechatronics contribute to clients’ competitiveness by increasing their innovation strength and technological capability.

The Fraunhofer Project Group is an essential part of the innovation cluster along the “Zukunftsmeile Fürstenallee” (“Future Mile“) in Paderborn, which is also closely linked to the Heinz Nixdorf Institute of the University of Paderborn.

Besides the departments of the project group, the professors Gausemeier, Schäfer and Trächtler guide in one person powerful workgroups at Heinz Nixdorf Institute. They work in close cooperation with Professor Brecher from the IPT in Aachen, who is responsible for the Mechatronics Production Technology field.

In 2012, a number of research projects in cooperation with industry were the foundation of the Fraunhofer Project Group’s solid growth. The ambitious goals were entirely fulfilled at the end of the business year with the help of around 30 permanent scientists and a budget of approximately €3 million. A large portion of the project volume was in the name of the German Ministry of Education and Research’s leading-edge cluster “it`s OWL” , that will continue to grow in the next few years.

The first building in the Zukunftsmeile with the house number 1 (© Phomax, Dietmar Flach)

During the software development for automotive systems, a lot of design artifacts ranging from customer requirements and AUTOSAR models to executable code are created. To ensure a seamless development process and especially requirements traceability, we designed a model-based, Automotive SPICE- compliant development process for the software of electronic control units (ECUs). This was done in cooperation with the automotive supplier Hella KGaA Hueck & Co. and in the context of the innovation alliance “Software Platform Embedded Systems 2020”. In the process designed, so-called requirement patterns that constitute a controlled natural language are used for creating precise, high-quality requirement specifications, which can be processed automatically. In addition, the transitions between design artifacts of different development phases are done in a more systematic way and have been partially automated.

The concept for application of requirement patterns and the prototypical tool support was integrated into the commercial tool chain used at Hella. The tool integration supports the developer by providing text suggestions and directly marking possible errors while he is typing. In addition, the tool provides automatic checks to help in creating consistent requirement specifications. The tool integration is currently being tested in a pilot project.

Model-based test bench setup by rapid control prototyping.

The Fraunhofer Project Group “Mechatronic Systems Design”, in collaboration with the Weidmüller GmbH & Co KG from Detmold and Otto Bihler Maschinenfabrik from Halblech”, has developed a self-correcting punch and bending tool for the production of bent parts made of high-strength materials. This has not only shortened the machine’s long set-up time, but also significantly reduced the scrap rate in production, which is often due to shape deviations of components. The clever part is that the punch and bending tool corrects itself by means of sophisticated measurement technology and a specially developed software program.

Deviations occur repeatedly during punching and bending of serial-produced components. Indeed, deviations always occur during punching and bending of serial-produced components. They can be traced back to wear and tear in the machine or variations in the quality of the raw material. Using measurement technology such as a high-speed camera, product deviations can already be detected during the production process. Without stopping the process, the software ensures that the tool is adjusted before the tolerance value is exceeded, thus preventing the production of scrap and of the costly downtime that normally occurs when the machine stopped and readjusted. Not only can the production process run unsupervised, but downstream quality control can be dispensed with as it is now integrated in the production process. In future, the knowledge gained here will be transferred to other production processes.