Delcam to participate in €5.2 million “factories of the future” project

The project is developing techniques to help businesses maximise the efficiency of their factories, and to integrate rapidly new products and processes. Delcam is leading a work package in the COPERNICO project that will help to ensure integration and interoperability between CAD, CAM and inspection software, and PLM systems. With the partners involved, Delcam will identify modelling tools for representing the physical system, tools for management decision making and tools for information systems (PLM). From this analysis, any functionality gaps, that need to be filled, will be indentified so the overall time and cost objectives of the project participants can be met. The research will be driven by real-life case studies provided by the industrial partners. For example, Rolls-Royce has identified three case studies, including the design and layout of its new civil nuclear manufacturing facility (which will be built close to the AMRC in South Yorkshire). Helping smaller businesses to become more competitive is an important part of COPERNICO. Case studies are also being provided by Sheffield-based Footprint Tools and Italian automotive supplier Temco, which both want to grow by developing new high-value manufacturing services within Europe. Other partners are University of Nottingham, UK; University of Brescia, Italy; Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary; Fraunhofer IPA, Germany; Rolls-Royce, UK; Electrolux, Italy; Footprint Tools, UK; Virtalis, UK; Temco, Italy; Teks, France; Cesi, Italy; Prorec, Germany; and Gamax, Hungary. It is part-funded by the European Commission through the Seventh Framework Programme.