Dr. Marius Orfgen worked for many years at DFKI as a research assistant. Today, he is the managing director of MiniTec Smart Solutions. The company has been actively involved for some time in the construction of our demonstrators. In this interview, he talks about the cooperation with SmartFactoryKL and the value-added benefits for his company.

Why did MiniTec become a Silver Partner in the development of the new demonstrator for HM 2020?

As a long standing member of SmartFactoryKL, we are naturally interested in the latest developments there. We gain important impulses from the demonstrators for our own development programs. We can jointly test with other members what will be demanded by our customers in the future, especially, when new protocols or devices are under discussion. The demonstrator for the HM 2020 includes many improvements: based on experience gained from the existing system, we have simplified the processes and interactions of components in the new system.

Why is the SmartFactory Technology Initiative important to MiniTec as a (strategic) partner?

SmartFactoryKL is, to us, both a trend scout relative to new technologies and a contact to numerous SMEs and larger companies and that facilitates exchanges that we would otherwise not have in our routine workday.

What is the technical involvement of MiniTec in the new demonstrator?

We are implementing a user interface based on our technology stack in the new demonstrator that provides greater usability that, in turn, helps avoid production errors and improves process quality.
We cooperate with the other partners of the SmartFactoryKL in heterogeneous teams of automation engineers, computer scientists, and usability experts, which has the side benefit of contributing to the improvement of our own products.

How does MiniTec view its future cooperation with SmartFactoryKL?

As in the past, we hope to gain important impulses for our own development programs from the demonstrators. Especially, when new protocols or devices are under discussion, we can test in joint efforts with other members what will be demanded by our customers in the future.

About MiniTec

MiniTec – for products from components to customized, fully automated, integrated solutions. The MiniTec system is a modular design – consisting of profile as well as linear systems. Our designers and engineers passionately follow the principles that characterize all MiniTec products: maximum simplicity, no machining, unlimited range of applications with few components and universal compatibility. We always aim to avoid senseless product diversity. Our top priorities are the shortest possible assembly times and the avoidance of machining – true to our motto “The Art of Simplicity.” www.minitec.de

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