Paper sessions & workshop B

Companies must enhance total maintenance effectiveness to stay competitive, focusing on both digitalization and basic maintenance procedures. Digitalization offers technologies for data-driven decision-making, but many maintenance decisions still lack a factual basis. Prioritizing efficiency and effectiveness require analyzing equipment history, facilitated by using Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS). However, CMMS data often contains unstructured free-text, leading to manual analysis, which is resource-intensive and reactive, focusing on short time periods and specific equipment. Two approaches are available to solve the issue: minimizing free-text entries or using advanced methods for processing them. Free-text allows detailed descriptions but may lack completeness, while structured reporting aids automated analysis but may limit fault description richness. As knowledge and experience are vital assets for companies this research uses a hybrid approach by combining Natural Language Processing with domain specific ontology and Large Language Models to extract information from free-text entries, enabling the possibility of real-time analysis e.g., identifying recurring failure and knowledge sharing across global sites. 

During laser processing, complex effects can occur regarding the laser-material interactions. A high laser energy input leads to surface melting and even boiling. The resulting recoil pressure can create the so-called keyhole, a vapor channel existing during welding and called cut front during laser cutting. On the keyhole front wall, the induced recoil pressure pushes the melt downwards and can ejects melt drops. Usually, those melt ejections are seen as undesired spattering or necessary waste to enable the cutting. However, outflow characteristics can tell more about the complex process behavior. Therefore, this work aimed to relate melt ejection formation effects to keyhole behavior in order to get a better understanding of the complex laser-matter-interactions and fluid flows. Axial beam shaping was used to create different energy inputs into the keyhole front walls. Beam shaping was done with an optic that can superposition up to four laser beams in axial direction, leading to varying intensity distributions on the inclined keyhole front walls. Based on high-speed image analysis, it was seen that different outflow characteristics occur depending on the beam shapes. A high intensity on the front keyhole wall could be related to high temperatures on the keyhole wall. The outflow mechanism was shown to be able to move from corrugating to atomizing drop generation at increasing temperature due to temperature-dependent material properties. The main influencing factors are assumed to be the vapor speed and the keyhole/drop diameters that define the outflow mechanism. 

In future generation aviation, light weight, and thermally stable SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are considered the most promising structural materials to replace traditionally used Ni-based superalloys. However, in the presence of steam (a common combustion reaction product) and corrosive species (from ingestion of debris along with the intake air during take-off and landing), accelerated degradation of CMCs compromising its structural integrity is inevitable. Environmental Barrier Coatings (EBCs) are protective ceramic coatings consisting of rare earth (RE) silicates as a topcoat with silicon as a bond coat, and are widely used on CMCs, to impede their surface recession. Thermal spray techniques are commonly employed to deposit EBCs, with highly crystalline, dense, and crack free coatings being desired for robust performance. In general, the high particle velocity and efficient energy transfer in axial feeding systems can result in coatings with higher density, reduced oxide content, and improved mechanical properties. In the present study, axial plasma sprayed ytterbium disilicate (YbDS) coatings deposited on silicon carbide (SiC) substrates using varying plasma spray parameters have been comprehensively characterized. Microstructure, porosity, and hardness have been studied for YbDS coatings deposited by varying nozzle diameter, carrier gas flow rate and stand of distance (SOD) during plasma spraying. Erosion and thermal cyclic fatigue performance of these coatings has also been investigated. 

Many industries are today heavily exposed to competition which increases the demand for continuous innovations, faster product changes and continued improvements, this is especially true for the automotive industry. Such demands raise the complexity and set a need for continuous training and development of our operators and assembly personnel to keep up with new designs and product changes. This, in combination with an aging population and a growing shortage of experienced assembly workers, increases the need for efficient training capabilities.Today most of the operator training is supervisor driven and takes place in the live production environment working with real products. This approach might introduce uncertainties and a risk to the production system as less experienced workers, still in training, might jeopardize quality, ramp ups and takt time. With the rise of virtual reality there are growing possibilities to carry out these training sessions in a more secure, non-disruptive, virtual environment without jeopardizing ramp ups, takt time or quality. This paper evaluates the possibility to introduce virtual multi-user operator training as an alternative to traditional supervised “on-site” training for assembly workers. Recreation of different assembly task from an automotive case company was created in virtual reality while introducing multi-user functionality to allow multiple operators and supervisors to observe, instruct and evaluate the performance of the operator in training. The developed demonstrator is used as the discussion basis throughout a focus group interview study with selected participants from an OEM case company and the potential of a multi-user virtual reality application as a complement for traditional operator training in operator training is discussed and future research directions for multi-user virtual reality trainings at OEMs is presented. 

Augmented reality smart glasses (ARSG) have been available as a commercial product since 2015. Many potential usage areas have been identified, including industrial use. The needs from industry have evolved, with more emphasis being put on sustainability. While ARSG can help improve efficiency and sustainability, there are also similarly associated costs to their implementation and use. This paper aims to present a process for how to choose ARSG for specific use cases as assembly operator support while considering the sustainability of their implementation. A narrative review of the literature was made to identify the current understanding of the environmental impact of ARSG, as well as what has been considered in regards to ARSG being integrated into a manufacturing environment. The analysis of the literature resulted in a proposed decision process. The decision process serves as a baseline for how to guide the decision of whether ARSG could be a suitable solution and, if so, what aspects to consider in the choosing of the ARSG model. Future work includes collaboration with industry to further improve the decision process based on empirical input. 

Digital transformation of production systems is a challenging task that demands radical responses from existing organizations. During the digital transformation of productions systems tensions occur that need to be managed and the purpose of this paper is to identify paradoxes in the digital transformation of production systems. Paradox theory has been applied as an analytical framework when identifying digital transformation paradoxes and tensions. A case study has been conducted and two manufacturing companies’ digitalization projects have been studied and analyzed in combination with data from workshops around digital transformation. The results were mapped into four types of paradoxes: organizing, performing, belonging, and learning. We conclude that the identified tensions are intertwined, and a major tension is the degree of standardization of technologies (standardization vs customization) and a more agile way of working (learning by doing vs learning before) doing is a trend within the digital transformation of production system. Our findings are relevant to operations managers and others interested in tensions during the digital transformation of production systems. 

Digitization of the manufacturing and assembly sector is important to set up Industry 4.0. In this process, one of the key factors is the channel of sharing and distributing information on the shop floor. This study highlights the implementation of digital work instructions in the manufacturing and assembly sectors and finds the benefits that it could bring to the industry. The study was conducted in a large production plant with over five hundred workers in Malaysia and was carried out for almost a year. Whereas, most of the existing studies have been conducted in a controlled environment with a group of inexperienced workers in manufacturing and assembly tasks. In this article, the benefits and challenges of digital work instructions are studied over paper-based textual representation of assembly instructions. The study was conducted among groups of people with different roles, such as electrical assembly, mechanical assembly, and final quality check. The qualitative analysis is carried out based on the survey conducted among operators with different roles. Results show that digitalization eases the work for the quality inspection group. In contrast, people with other tasks are either neutral or find it more difficult to work with digitalized versions over paper-based instructions. In addition to this, some data-driven facts are presented, which help in improving the plant operations. This includes recording material shortages, optimizing working hours, and having real-time updates on production status which leads to effective production planning. At last, with the collected information, manufacturing plants can also optimize power utilization that impacts the environment in a positive direction. 

To estimate a time for future production activities is complex and requires specialist knowledge if the result needs to be accurate. The Parametric Time Block (PTB) concept is proposed as a solution to efficiently and accurately determine time for assembly activities in early development phases. As a part of a design science approach is the concept tested at two case companies. The result of the application is very promising with a dramatic efficiency increase for determining time of a forthcoming product. Several insights regarding both the structuring of PTBs and the design process have been drawn from the cases. 

Additive manufacturing, a technology that has evolved significantly over the last few decades, has shifted from prototyping to final product manufacturing. Despite its potential in design flexibility and customisation, its implementation in industrial ecosystems often faces challenges, especially in companies with established traditional manufacturing methods. This paper explores additive manufacturing beyond the printing process, drawing insights from the DIDAM project in Swedish manufacturing companies. It maps the advantages of additive manufacturing to external factors influencing its success such as digital infrastructure. This mapping yields “risk factors” for its implementation. These factors are based on empirical observations from the DIDAM project to identify potential failure modes, assess risks, and provide a snapshot view of critical issues. This objective evaluation aims to support managers in evaluating the risks associated with additive manufacturing’s integration into a company’s manufacturing ecosystem, based on empirical findings in industrial cases as reported in the DIDAM Digital Model Guide 

Manufacturing companies today are facing a grand challenge to become more sustainable. One way this can be achieved is through circularity, which can support companies in creating a regenerative system by closing and narrowing loops of material and energy. To strive towards becoming more circular, companies can deploy key performance indicators (KPI:s) that are able to communicate the strategic direction of the company. Although KPI:s have received significant attention related to sustainability, it still remains to be seen how they can be used to support circularity. By analysing the sustainability reports of 20 of the most sustainable companies in Sweden, this paper presents a current state if manufacturing companies’ KPI:s support circularity. In total, 469 KPI:s were extracted from the reports, which were then grouped into themes and connected to if they help companies to Reduce, Reuse, or Recycle resources. The analysis showed that a majority of the KPI:s used support Reduce, whereas significantly fewer support Reuse and Recycle. It is further seen that a disconnect between the strategic intent and the KPI:s used within the companies exist, where all companies highlight to different extent that circularity is of importance and something they work with, but the KPI:s presented are not connected to this. The paper further presents some ways forward to help manufacturing companies in their endeavour to become more circular, as well as discusses avenues for future research. 

In this paper, the 206 papers published at the Swedish Production Symposium (SPS) conferences in 2018, 2020, and 2022 have been analyzed, primarily focusing their relationship to the six industrial challenges identified by Produktion2030. Based on the analysis, ten in-depth interviews with representatives from the Swedish Production Academy (SPA) and industry have been done. These interviews have reflected on the analysis of the papers from the SPS conferences as well as progress during the years of the SPS conferences.  

The emergence and implementation of the SPS conferences have a similar time span as the Vinnova program Produktion2030. The analysed papers indicate that the focus and development directions of the two have been similar, but not completely overlapping. The close collaboration between academia and industry in Swedish production research is clearly shown by the papers and indicated through an alignment with the industrial challenges indicated by Produktion2030. Of all the papers, 2/3 clearly state such collaboration, and the interviews indicate that the extent of the collaboration is even more extensive than that. The findings from the analysis also include the distribution of research funders involved, gender distribution among authors, and where they are from.  

Two findings that stand out are the need to more clearly state funding bodies for the published research and to also state more clearly in the papers how, in what way, and with whom the researchers collaborated. 

Remanufacturing is a life cycle renewal process by which previously used products such as vehicle components can be maintained and rebuilt. Although knowledge in remanufacturing processes is advanced from a scientific perspective, many traditional technology-driven manufacturing companies are facing challenges related to remanufacturing of various components in their specific industry. An underlying reason is that existing components have been sold for many years, and it is unclear what modifications should be made to the manufacturing process to accommodate both new and remanufactured products. Furthermore, it is unclear what organizational changes such as culture and training of operators are required. At the same time, the manufacturing industry is undergoing a digital transformation. It is therefore relevant to investigate how digitalization and sustainability practices can be combined, commonly referred to as Twin Transition. The purpose of this paper is to explore how a manufacturing company can approach a change towards remanufacturing of components using Twin Transition. This is accomplished by using a qualitative-based case study method at a large manufacturing company in the heavy-duty vehicle industry. The data collection method involved workshops following a SWOT analysis and rich picturing approach. The results from the rich picturing workshop identified four main themes to facilitate remanufacturing. The SWOT analysis identified 20 key aspects related to facilitate remanufacturing. Finally, the paper concludes by proposing five key enablers for achieving remanufacturing using Twin Transition. 

The integration of virtual reality (VR) laboratories into welding education presents an array of potential advantages. It can be used at campus or in distance, and it offers an alternative when access to traditional laboratories is challenging. The economic benefits, including savings on material preparation and energy costs, along with the environmental, health and safety advantages of mitigating exposure to welding fumes, arc radiation, and electrical hazards, add further value and contribute to sustainability in welding education. The work presented here is an example of the integration of education in the areas of welding and informatics and research on immersive learning. A multidisciplinary team worked on the development of an immersive learning environment, including virtual laboratory areas for welding processes as well as for microstructural inspection of welds. During the project, this learning environment, and the contained virtual laboratories, have been implemented by the researchers with the support from IT students, and tested, and improved with the feedback provided by students in welding technology, materials science, and manufacturing courses. Overall, more than twenty students from Informatics have been involved throughout the project, resulting in five bachelor theses, three master theses, three course projects in Immersive computing, and two course projects focusing on web development. The involvement of IT students has not only supported the development of the virtual learning environment, but it has also created new avenues for future research and developments in immersive computing. 

Industries are facing extensive needs for both digital and green transitions. Adding to the challenges, environmental crises, a recent pandemic, and military conflicts are forming a “perfect storm”. Consequently, companies need to rapidly adapt to new requirements and create resilient, sustainable, and human-centric solutions, a combination often called industry 5.0. A highly skilled workforce is required, where “right-skilled” employees will drive successful technology adoption and business transformation. Unfortunately, many companies face skill gaps, causing a slowdown in productivity and sustainable development. Fully bridging the skills gaps is not achievable only through recruiting of young talent. Ongoing demographic changes are causing a decrease in the working population, making hiring harder and increasing industry competition for existing talent. Upskilling existing workforces is a natural solution to bridge the skill gaps. This paper presents the results from a systematic literature review conducted in January 2023 using the PRISMA method. The study included 40 articles and thematically analyzed solutions for bridging skill gaps. Identified solutions address employers, employees, education providers, students, job seekers, researchers, and policymakers. Results highlighted that collaboration between stakeholders potentially helps bridge skill gaps in industry. Employees requiring upskilling need to understand what skills are relevant, and how they can absorb state-of-the-art knowledge and learn new skills. Employers should support their employees, supply relevant resources, and define clear skill requirements. Education providers on the other hand, must adapt to changing industrial business needs and gradually adapt traditional curricula, in parallel with regular education. Academia and industry collaboration is vital. Thus, flexible and rapid training and re-training solutions and approaches are needed, not just on-off activities. The main contribution of this paper is to review actions that employers, employees, education providers, researchers, students, job seekers, and policymakers need to take to bridge skill gaps. This analysis can be used by industrial practitioners, policymakers, and education providers to work with strategies to bridge skill gaps in their business and in their work. The theoretical implication of this work is the acknowledgement of the existing skill gap and the synthesis of actions for stakeholders. The article can be used to set future research directions to get closer insights into the derived challenges and success factors when bridging skill gaps. 

Modern 3D metal printing technologies have already proven the possibility of manufacturing high-quality parts that meet the requirements of various industries. However, the high end-to-end cost of manufacturing, which consists of the cost of materials, 3D printing and post-processing, remains a major obstacle to truly widespread use of additive manufacturing in industry. Optimizing each stage of production remains an urgent task that requires deep understanding from the first steps of training future specialists in additive manufacturing. The possibility of obtaining a complete picture of the entire production process directly during education is a decisive factor in the training of effective engineers and creative researchers.

xBeam 3D Metal Printing technology, which is known for its configuration with coaxial wire feeding, possible thanks to using of a low-voltage profiled electron beam, is a good candidate for integration into the educational process due to the well visibility of the process, the easy controlling the parameters directly during the 3D printing process, and the safe operating the equipment. xBeam 3D printing systems can be installed in a regular university laboratory, providing efficient laboratory practices for students and allowing experiments for graduate students and researchers with rapid feedback. Importantly, this technology has already demonstrated the ability to provide an optimal combination of good accuracy with high productivity and product quality, which makes it promising for industrial use and, therefore, an interesting object for studying and conducting a wide range of research - from material properties to optimization of post-processing.