PRODUCTION ENGINEERS GATHER AT WORLD SUMMIT IN LEUVEN

RESEARCH IN FOCUS

From 4 to 8 April, two international conferences took place in Leuven: the 29th Conference on Life Cycle Engineering (LCE) and the 9th Conference on Assembling Technology and Systems (CATS). What made both events special is that they shared part of their programme and thus created a unique cross-fertilization between both domains. A look back on an inspiring week.

Both conferences were under the auspices of the International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP), a leading organization in production engineering research that unites more than 600 eminent academics and industrialists worldwide. The conferences are always highlights for exchanging the latest knowledge and expertise. For most participants, it was also a happy reunion after two years of physical isolation due to the pandemic. Those who preferred not to travel to Leuven could follow both conferences fully online and interact with the conference participants.

Prof. Wim Dewulf

© Kobe Michiels

Circular engineering

Environmentally sustainable development occupies a central place in the vision and mission of the international academy. In his opening speech, Prof. Wim Dewulf, Chair of the LCE Conference, referred to the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN. “Production engineering is a large contributor to energy and resource consumption. Therefore, the challenge of designing and manufacturing must reflect the core concern of achieving a better and more sustainable future for all”, said Prof. Dewulf. “More specifically, it is our task as researchers, designers and builders to assess the environmental sustainability impacts of manufacturing activities in a life cycle perspective”.

In his welcome address, Prof. Gerard Govers, Vice-rector for Sustainability Policy of KU Leuven, made the following comparison: “The industrial society has existed for about 200 years. In that period, we have managed to create a lot of prosperity, but at the cost of nature, air, water, and biodiversity. Life on earth, on the other hand, has existed for four billion years and has also undergone an enormous evolution. However, this growth and diversity is based on circularity. Nothing goes to waste; all materials and substances have been reused countless times. We should take this as an example. That is why I say with all my heart: circular engineering is the future!

Studies and practices

The LCE 2022 Conference was a success across the board. The offer consisted of no less than 149 technical presentations, 6 keynotes, 3 workshops, a panel discussion, and a multitude of networking opportunities. More than 250 experts from academia and industry were present or followed online. Targeted application areas included manufacturing, electronics, energy systems, transport and mobility and health care systems. The audience enjoyed innovative case studies and practices, visionary papers on paradigm change as well as contributions covering theoretical and experimental research.

During the workshops, the introduction of a digital product passport and industrial symbiosis to promote the (re)use of material resources between different industrial players were discussed. A third workshop dealt with sustainable engineering education. The student teams CORE, Formula Electric Belgium and the Solar Team were invited to explain how their sustainable projects are integrated into engineering education.

Assembly and disassembly

The central theme of the 9th Conference on Assembling Technologies & Systems was ‘Flexible Assembly and Disassembly Systems’. More than 100 participants followed or presented the latest developments and trends in the wide field from manual towards fully automated (dis) assembly technologies. In 7 keynotes and 73 technical sessions, topics such as flexible and reconfigurable (dis)assembly concepts and systems, human-robot interaction and collaboration, handling technologies, mobile and multi-robot systems, operator support and ergonomics were discussed.

Prof. Karel Kellens

© Kobe Michiels

The joint sessions with LCE2022 covered topics such as design for assembling and disassembling, disassembling technologies, re- and de-manufacturing, and automation solutions for lightweight structure manufacturing.

Industrial Forum

On Wednesday 6 April, an animated panel discussion on the sustainable factory of the future took place with Martin Röhrig (Airbus), Prof. Jef Peeters (KU Leuven), Prof. Christoph Herrmann (TU Braunschweig) and Dirk Torfs (Flanders Make).

As mentioned earlier, the participants in both conferences included many engineers and specialists from the manufacturing industry. The close relationship between academia and industry was also made visible during an industrial forum on 7 April. About ten companies showed off their innovative assembly and disassembly technologies.

Prof. Karel Kellens, Chair of the CATS Conference, looks back with satisfaction. “Both in format and in content the conference was a success. Thanks to the hybrid format, many researchers were able to participate and even give presentations. In terms of content, the joint day with the LCE Conference provided significant added value. It was a first but one that is worth repeating. Perhaps CATS and LCE will meet again in Karlsruhe (Germany) in 2024”.

Yves Persoons

www.cats2022.eu

www.ice2022.eu