The production systems of tomorrow are in development at SmartFactoryKL. For this reason, we are often called “factory innovators.” Specialists from the Department of Machine Tools and Controls (WSKL) at RPTU Kaiserslautern, the Innovative Factory Systems research unit at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, and the SmartFactoryKL work side by side with industry experts from our member companies.
The aim is ensure that the Production Level 4 vision becomes a reality.
SmartFactoryKL is a non-profit organization. The official name, Technologie-Initiative SmartFactory KL, is often abbreviated as SmartFactory-KL or SF-KL. The organization was established in 2005 and currently (as of September 2023) has around 40 members. The association celebrated its 15-year anniversary in 2020. This Industrie 4.0 association is a unique network of member companies and research institutes that form joint working groups to discover, discuss, and resolve cross-company practical issues in manufacturing.
Our partners implement practical applications of scientific findings within our (Shared Production) demonstrator ecosystem.
Our manufacturer-independent demonstration and research platform is unique in the world and enables the development and testing of innovative production technologies in a realistic industrial production environment. Our demonstrator-ecosystem plays a major role as a testbed in the European Gaia-X sub-project smartMA-X. The same applies to the TWIN4TRUCKS development project where our testbed is being used to develop a Digital Foundation Layer.
The Production Level 4 (PL4) concept serves as the guideline for our Shared Production setup. PL4 is the result of our 2019 analysis and update of the Industrie 4.0 concept and takes into account the latest technological developments as well as the lessons learned in previous years.
Launch of the Transfer4Production project, in which scientists working at SmartFactoryKL (SF-KL) assist small and medium sized companies to implement Industrie 4.0 systems.
SF-KL reached an exceptionally large audience at the Hannover Messe. Guided tours were organized for the first time, to include some by the research staff of SF-KL. The SF-KL research tour was the most popular. These themed tours highlighted various hot topics in the production of tomorrow. In addition, 5 lectures were presented on the Industrie 4.0 Conference Stage with several more being presented at our exhibit stand. Among the other highlights were the panel discussion with Professors Wahlster, Kagermann, and Ruskowski centered on the history of Industrie 4.0, and another talk about Manufacturing-X.
The Shared Production setup in Kaiserslautern is implemented with four production stations: _KUBA, _JAVA, _MILOS & _CAPRI. The_JAVA & _CAPRI stations exist in the SF Lab, _KUBA is located in the DFKI Lab, and _MILOS can be found in the WSKL Lab on the RPTU Kaiserslautern campus. Together, they perform distributed roles in the production of a model-truck.
Our hybrid exhibit at Hannover Messe was a complete success in demonstrating a Shared Production system. We set up the production station _KUBA on site with a live link to the production station _MILOS in Kaiserslautern.
The TWIN4TRUCKS project kicked-off with SmartFactoryKL and DFKI as the technology managers on 9/1/2022. The consortium's lead manager is Daimler Truck, where the goal is to optimize commercial vehicle production using a Digital Foundation Layer at the plant in Wörth, Germany.
Our internal SF-KL Innovation Day was very well received by the public in October.
We presented the world's first Production Level 4 – Demonstrator. It introduced certified interchangeable modules (Plug & Produce) and a Gaia-X connection.
Thanks to the initiative of Prof. Dr. Detlef Zühlke, the Technologie-Initiative SmartFactory KL e. V. is founded by 7 partners from research and industry on June 10, 2005. The partners elect Prof. Zühlke Chairman of the Board.
Founding partners: DFKI, BASF, KSB, Pepperl+Fuchs, ProMinent, Siemens, TU Kaiserslautern
Member of the Executive Board of Technologie-Initiative SmartFactory KL e.V. . (since 2022)
Chief Product Officer & Member of the Management at Empolis Information GmbH
Member of the Executive Board of Technologie-Initiative SmartFactory KL e.V. (since 2023)
Vice President
Global Head of Industrial and Energy Products bei TÜV SÜD
