AL L
News and Updates from SWARCO Advanced Industry Systems Issue 3 | 2021
ROUNDER UNIVERSAL EFFICIENCY Upcycling and Circular Economy Can Save Costs and Reduce the Impact on the Environment. .
PRODUCTS SWARCOBLAST Corundum Blasting Media Are Used in a Broad Range of Applications.
TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION Progress on the Construction of the SWARCO Global Glass Beads Technology Center in Amstetten Is Becoming More and More Visible.
TREND Corporate Digital Responsibility Is Essential for the Future!
UNIVERSAL EFFICIENCY
NEW LIFE FOR OLD MATERIALS SWARCO Advanced Industry Systems Saves Energy and Helps Protect the Environment through Upcycling. EDITORIAL Dear readers, The responsibility to keep up with fastpaced technological developments, to be mindful of the environment and societies, and to seize new opportunities in an ethical manner are challenges every company in the high-tech industry is facing. Corporate Digital and Corporate Social Responsibility – that is, the responsibility to uphold moral standards related to digitalization and society – are going to become an integral part of every company’s policies. SWARCO Advanced Industry Systems takes all these responsibilities seriously and has been working on fulfilling them. In addition, optimization and further development towards decentralized, additive production are defining elements of our long-term production strategy. 3D printing has long exited the realm of science fiction, including for large companies. Thanks to this technology, so far, we have reached a level of flexibility and production certainty which would have appeared visionary just a few years ago. The increasing interconnectivity between manufacturers and service providers both within and outside the industry plays a key role in this development. More than ever, companies must weave cooperation, outsourcing, and integration on all levels into the structures of their business. This dynamic process involves all employees and colleagues and requires active participation. SWARCO Advanced Industry Systems is extremely attentive to this development. Kind regards,
Robert Buchinger Business Development SWARCO Advanced Industry Systems
The recycled material used by SWARCO Advanced Industry Systems for the production of micro glass beads consists solely of cuttings and scraps from high-quality industrial glass. SWARCO has the necessary know-how to produce high-grade glass beads from these recycled products. For SWARCO, flat glass cullet is the product from which micro glass beads are upcycled in sizes ranging from 0.001 to 1.4 millimetres in diameter. Glass filler beads, filter glass beads and glass blasting beads are used to modify materials or treat surfaces in many industrial areas. This is how SWARCO Advanced Industry Systems leverages the universal benefits of glass beads for special industry applications in energyefficient ways.
SWARCOCLEAR filter glass beads are used all over the world. Be it as mineral fine blasting media made of lead-free hardened soda-lime glass that are used in surface finishing for the treatment of workpieces, such as of metal, cast, wooden or 3D printed parts, or as high-grade filling agents that contribute to improving the physical properties of plastics, resins, paints, varnishes, surface coatings and building materials, SWARCO Advanced Industry Systems’ products meet the highest standards in each of their applications. They stand out thanks to their high-grade quality, are reliable, and energy efficient!
How It’s Done Glass cullet is crushed in jaw crushers and hammer mills to obtain glass granulate. Subsequently, this fine material is pre-sieved in order to decide on the later grain sizes. Then, this material is melted in a shaft furnace. Thanks to the surface tension of the melted glass, it takes the ideal desired shape – a sphere – automatically during this process. At SWARCO, about five million round micro glass beads are produced from glass fragments per second using this method. Harvesting Ideas SWARCOBLAST glass blasting beads, SWARCOFORCE glass filler beads and
SWARCO Advanced Industry Systems relies on upcycling as part of the circular economy.
A NETWORK OF INNOVATIONS On 23 and 24 November, the JEC Forum DACH is taking place in Frankfurt, Germany. The JEC Forum DACH is a platform for networking and information exchange in the composites industry. This event, which was launched by the JEC Group in close cooperation with AVK, the Federation of Reinforced Plastics e.V. in Germany, will take place at a different location within the German-speaking economic area each year.
FOR QUESTIONS
.com ais@swarco
At the core of the 2021 Forum is a series of keynotes dedicated to process technologies for hybrid structures and integrated manufacturing systems relating to modern mobility as well as new materials for the construction sector. The event will also focus on market development, environmental protection, and sustainability. As another highlight of this year’s Forum, for the first time, the Innovation Awards will be conferred jointly by JEC and AVK. The Awards are intended to honour innovations in the field of fibrereinforced plastics and advance the development of new production methods. The Innovation Awards are conferred to tertiary institutions as well as institutes. Having Our Say and Co-Shaping the Industry SWARCO is not only a renowned member of the industry – it is also actively engaged in the information exchange with its partners. SWARCO is therefore both a sponsor of and, of course, an exhibitor at the JEC Forum DACH. At booth E5, the company will present innovations and achievements relating to SWARCOFORCE glass filler beads.
In 2021, Frankfurt is hosting the JEC Forum DACH.
TREND
PRODUCTS
CORUNDUM: EDGED AND VERSATILE The product catalogue of SWARCOBLAST blasting media includes a whole range of high-grade corundum. Corundum is a mineral and part of the oxide and hydroxide mineral class. Chemically speaking, it belongs to the family of aluminium oxides. Given their hardness, different varieties of corundum are used as abrasives and blasting media in industrial applications. The different types of SWARCOBLAST corundum are available as “Normal Corundum”, “High-Grade Corundum, white”, “High-Grade Corundum, pink” and “Blasting Corundum”. While the first two are non-metallic, synthetic fine blasting media made of aluminium oxide, High-Grade Corundum, pink is made of crystalline aluminium oxide, which is molten out of clay with an electrical arc. The simple Blasting Corundum is a by-product of the production of Normal Corundum and partly mineral, partly metallic. While the other types of corundum are used in highly specialized processes, the simple Blasting Corundum is an alternative for situations that do not have higher requirements. A Wide Field of Applications SWARCOBLAST corundum blasting media make a compelling case, first and foremost, thanks to their hardness and sharp edges. They are suitable for pressure and injector blasting processes and are used in a range of industrial and specialized applications, depending on their respective detail properties. From the cleaning, deburring and roughening of high-grade metallic materials to
the treatment of sensitive components used in the aerospace industry all the way to dental and lab technology applications. For detailed descriptions of the properties of all types of SWARCOBLAST corundum blasting media, please visit www.swarco.com/ais.
SWARCOBLAST corundum blasting media make a compelling case particularly thanks to their hardness and sharp edges.
THE NEW LOCATION IS TAKING SHAPE The world’s most modern glass-bead research and production facility is coming along.
All of the buildings’ shells were completed as early as the end of August, and the last floors in the office building were installed, allowing the interior construction to begin. The electrical infrastructure and IT network landscape have been operational since late June. And the building is hooked up to the local water supply lines, too!
be placed on minimizing the ecological footprint of all SWARCO products. Efficient and Regional To set up the plant equipment, over 1,200 tonnes of steel were used to build the bead-mixing facilities, glass melters allowing for batch preparation, shaft furnaces, and the granulate treatment stations. All participating craftspeople and specialists have been working together very smoothly. And thanks to the cooperation with local and regional suppliers, progress on the construction site has been optimized even further.
By late November, the team hopes to have completed the outside installations with kerbs, paved the paths and roads, landscaped the site, and equipped it with fences. A Place to Set Standards In addition to using state-of-the-art manufacturing processes, the new SWARCO Global Glass Beads Technology Center will be home to the Center of Competence, with modern labs as well as pilot and testing facilities. With new technology and enhanced automation, SWARCO is setting a milestone with a view to increasing customer satisfaction and improving its services. Energy efficiency and pollutant reduction will be central to our future production and development work. In research and development, great emphasis will
The Economy 4.0 increasingly involves our very personal day-to-day life. Smart home, automated driving, big data, and AI are just a few items on a list of concepts defining the far-reaching interconnectivity between humans and machines, and thus, often with companies as well. The constantly expanding possibilities offered by digitalization come along with both responsibility and opportunities for companies. The moral self-commitment to dealing with new digital resources sustainably – also known as Corporate Digital Responsibility or CDR – is one of them. It involves handling customer data or intellectual property adequately, and is also, obviously, underpinned by legal requirements. CDR is increasingly becoming a precondition for companies to be able to operate successfully in the digital environment in the long term. A conscious CDR policy is THE tool to explore potentially conflicting ethical considerations, and possible risks to a company’s business model. It helps anticipate future regulations and legislation, which is advantageous for the company’s business. CDR minimizes risks and reduces costs. In the coming years, in addition to serving as a tool to enhance brand image, CDR will become an institution which everyone will have to address both in-depth and regularly.
TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION
The works on the SWARCO Global Glass Beads Technology Center in the Amstetten District are moving along swiftly. At this point, the progress on this extensive project speaks for itself.
What Is Corporate Digital Responsibility?
The construction work on the SWARCO Global Glass Beads Technology Center in Amstetten is making visible progress.
For companies, this means that they will have to rethink the concept of corporate responsibility. Corporate Digital Responsibility is both an addition to and, partly, a redefinition of corporate responsibility. Companies have to take on board the societal impact of digital products and services as early as the development phase and ensure they are compatible with applicable value standards. Source (in German): https://www2.deloitte.com/de/de/pages/ innovation/contents/corporate-digital-responsibility.html
OUR PHILOSOPHY
OUR MISSION
We leverage the universal benefits of glass beads for your special industry applications, in energy-efficient ways. OUR VISION
Industrial glass beads by SWARCO Advanced Industry Systems – the world’s preferred choice in all niches OUR VALUES
Efficiency, Diversity, Intelligence OUR MOTTO
Universal Efficiency
IMPRINT: Responsible for content: SWARCO Advanced Industry Systems, Industriestraße 10, 3300 Amstetten, Austria, www.swarco.com/ais Idea, design and artwork: Kommhaus, www.kommhaus.com Photos: SWARCO Advanced Industry Systems, www.shutterstock. com/ NOBUHIRO ASADA/engel.ac/Billion Photos/M.Style | English translation: Irina Pálffy-Daun-Seiler | Printed by Druckwerkstatt Handels GmbH | Subject to change without notice. No liability for errors or misprints. We are deeply committed to gender equality. For the sake of brevity, only one gender may be used on occasion. However, this does not imply any discrimination against the other gender. If you no longer wish to receive our newsletter, please send an e-mail to ais@swarco.com.
NETWORK
PRODUCTION OF THE FUTURE Companies are becoming increasingly flexible. With this comes a growing emphasis on being able to switch to decentralized production opportunities in time of need. With Industry 4.0 – the growing interconnectivity of digital manufacturing processes – producing anywhere is becoming easier. Many areas of industry have switched to decentralized production and to a wide-ranging use of 3D printers. SWARCO is no exception. Free and Flexible Additive manufacturing, i.e. the use of 3D printers, has already been evolved and mature for a while. At this point, this method is competitive for the production of both small and large series. In both cases, this type of manufacturing is optimal: shapes are free, not preconceived, and build volume is the only limiting factor. In combination with a potential reduction in transport costs, additive manufacturing is the way into the future. This is true for individual productions with low counts, but also for uniformed large-series production. Interconnected Service Providers, a New Business Model Additive manufacturing technology also helps create new business models, for instance, service providers specializing in manufacturing prefabricated parts. For companies, the easiest way of handling decentralized production is to resort to specialized manufacturing suppliers. Using online platforms, they upload production data and receive offers. The project is then allocated based on criteria such as “available capacity” or “capabilities”. This method, which is
SWARCO Advanced Industry Systems ais@swarco.com www.swarco.com/ais Follow. Like. Share.
an alternative to companies building their own decentralized manufacturing structures, is already being used frequently today. Perfect for Large- and Small-Scale Production The advantages of decentralized manufacturing are not just for companies with smaller structures. The responsibility for production, and, if needed, even sales, is often handed over to external service providers, which helps companies dedicate all their capabilities to product design. In the production of highly individualized items, this is a strong trend. An Open and Exciting Future Nowadays, decentralized production – regardless of the strategy that underpins it – is a common method. And yet, the way it works is still in flux, evolving constantly, which requires significant attention. The parameters relating to environmental protection and resource efficiency are particularly complex and fluctuating. Decentralized production and additive manufacturing undoubtedly have significant potential. These methods have set mass production on a journey, which is far from over. Nowadays, it is more important than ever to monitor how they develop, and continuously adapt to them!