There was a sound of champagne bottle opening in our office last September. Our project proposal for testing a new approach to the simultaneous design of product and process, has been positively evaluated by the Polish research agency, and we have been awarded a research grant.
But, what really is the target of the RapidSteel project? The focus is on a totally new digital toolchain starting from the fleet data collection and analytics, rethinking of product architecture and manufacturing process, and the target is to reduce weight, lower costs, shorten product development and introduction of lead time to market. Also, the target is to robotize and automatize production process, while making it even more flexible, and to increase the usage of data on decision making. Less tangible, but equally important is to gain new competencies.
Fortaco will execute this project together with Wroclaw University of Technology, which is helping us with all structural analytics, and with West Pomerania University, where Professor Pietrusewicz is supporting us with the introduction of a model-based design into the development process of steel components. We are extremely excited in Fortaco about this project to further shape our industry.
