Although they operate in a variety of markets, many manufacturing companies face the same problems. Jeroen Broekhuijsen of TNO heard one of these remarkably often and from different quarters: the question of how to extract data from machines, sensors, devices and other hardware and then store, interpret and apply it. There is not yet a flexible, user-friendly and affordable tool on the market for SMEs. With support from the SMITZH innovation program, TNO and fieldlab DFC set to work together to find a solution.
Three manufacturing companies looking for a data platform for SMEs
When Jeroen was making the first plans for an investigation into a data platform, three South Holland manufacturing companies came to SMITZH with exactly the same question. “That could not be a coincidence,” says Jeroen, who is affiliated with SMITZH as an expertise partner from TNO. So the innovation program brought him and the companies into contact with each other and they formed a consortium together with field lab DFC.
SMITZH and fieldlab DFC
SMITZH stands for Smart Manufacturing Industrial Applications in South Holland. The innovation program brings together supply and demand in smart technologies to stimulate their application and help companies in the region innovate.
Why Airborne participates
At least one manufacturing company and a field lab participate in every SMITZH project. The Digital Factory for Composites (DFC) is a driver of partnerships in the field of digital production and fulfilled the role of field lab in this project. One of the main partners of DFC is Airborne. Sarah De Smet of DFC and Airborne explains why this a logical next step: “At Airborne we believe that innovation in manufacturing through automation, digitalisation and advanced analytics is the catalyst for the significant increase in productivity that companies need to stay competitive. That’s why we have invested in the DFC field lab for some years now. In this field lab you get a good picture of the technology: with the specialist machines and computers that are here and our explanation, you watch live for yourselves how data is collected and appears in the dashboard.”