EFB Congress

The EFB (European Research Association for Sheet Metal Working) congress on sheet metal working was held in Bad Boll, Germany on April 17 and 18, 2018 under the title "Weiterführende Funktionsintegration in der Prozesskette“ or “Further functional integration in the process chain”. Focusing on this topic, some 120 participants from the sheet metal producing and processing industries discussed the current challenges in the sheet metal production process chain.

The congress started with visions of a fully digitalized process chain demonstrated from the point of view of the sheet metal processors and system manufacturers. This vision includes fully networked production in which the characteristics of each process step are stored in cloud-based systems that suppliers can also access. The characteristics are then available for process control, quality improvement, increased system output, and optimization of the maintenance intervals. This look into the future was followed by a presentation of the system manufacturers’ approaches and current new developments that will play a role in implementing the demonstrated visions. These production plants feature previously unheard of flexibility and they produce components that meet quality requirements right from the first press stroke in order to allow the economical manufacture of even the smallest series. All the parties involved in the process chain will supply the data that the systems require for this performance.

One question that arises in fully digitalized production involves the scale of the changes that are possible in the material's characteristics and whether these changes have to be taken into consideration in further process steps, such as during joining steps. Another question asks whether these changes have to be metrologically recorded, processed and passed on to subsequent process steps. The Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung GmbH presentation answered a portion of these questions, because the researchers from Salzgitter formed a model process chain, covering the forming, joining and paint baking process, for the further processing. After each process step, the material's microstructure and mechanical characteristics were determined and compared to the initial state. The base material characterization followed the evaluation of the joining with the resistance welding and semi-hollow rivet joining methods.  The process parameters determined at the material's initial state were then transferred to the additionally considered material states. By analyzing the effects that arose, it was possible to determine which of the named process stages should be seen as relevant for the joining quality and whether or not this is decisive for the further process steps and component properties. The SZMF report consequently seamlessly fit into the event and shows that as a technology group, Salzgitter has not only mastered manufacturing innovative steels, it will also continue to work actively to support the customers with its know-how in the future.