FRAISA Annual Report 21/22

ANNUAL REPORT 2021 / 2022 I PROJECTS FRAISA is part of a close-knit network. Renowned research institutions also belong to this strong and innovative group, in which we consistently concentrate on our own strengths in product development. In the meantime, our research partners also cover the peripheries and foundations of the relevant sub- ject areas. Basic investigations into tool substrates and coatings are reg- ularly conducted in RWTH Aachen’s machine-tool laboratory in Germany. The use of tools under extreme loads is also ex- amined there. Research projects cover fundamental questions about tool manufacturing — the TAK (Technology Workgroup) and the AWKT (Tool Technology Workgroup) workgroups are especially qualified for this. Innovative projects to reduce our ecological footprint The Swiss Innovation Agency (Innosuisse) has programs that offer excellent platforms for highly innovative projects. The medium- to long-term reduction in FRAISA’s CO 2 footprint is being worked on here too. One part of the research activi- ty is a comprehensive upgrading of tools already in use with FRAISA ReTool ® , enabling them to regain the original perfor- mance of new tools and to be put to use again in new con- dition with FRAISA ReToolGreen. In addition, automatic mea- surement of used tools is also researched, wear is evaluated, and the grinding programs are adapted with the help of ar- tificial intelligence. Communication technologies such as RFID enable the integration of process- and tool-specific data in the life-cycle management of a tool, so FRAISA has placed proj- ects like these on the research roadmap with partners such as Innosuisse. Numerous research projects with Swiss institutes at the Uni- versity of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) address targeted questions. CO 2 loads on carbide rods are determined as precisely as possible and alternative produc- tion methods are analyzed in order to significantly reduce CO 2 emissions in the future. Tool packaging is still single-use today, so they’re also addressing smarter ways of packaging for the fu- ture. Moreover, they’re connecting FRAISA ToolExpert ® to the CAM systems most in use around the world and promoting these integrations. Working with industry partners It’s very complicated to mechanically process adaptively built turbine components. Together with well-known partners such as ABB and inspire, we’re investigating such topics in the Turbo DMD project. FRAISA is also working actively with GF Machin- ing Solutions, Blaser Swisslube, and REGO-FIX to use systemat- ic thinking to open totally new performance horizons. Working closely with manufacturers of carbide and coatings is another important part of FRAISA’s work. Research and development at FRAISA Working together with capable partners [ 15 ]