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Fostering the PAN-European infrastructure for empowering SMEs digital competences in laser-based advance and additive manufacturing.

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PULSATE (Fostering the PAN-European infrastructure for empowering SMEs digital competences in laser-based advance and additive manufacturing.)

Período documentado: 2022-03-01 hasta 2023-08-31

DDigitization will radically change and challenge many industries, particularly the EU-based manufacturing industries, where Laser-Based Advanced and Additive Manufacturing (LBAAM) can play a key role, providing maximal benefits for flexible manufacturing or highly digitalized environments.
PULSATE addresses this opportunity, promoting a Pan-European Network designed to boost the adoption of LBAAM manufacturing technologies through the uptake of advanced digital tools, reaching the European SMEs and slightly bigger companies by means of a Digital, proving fully digitised services and thus, enabling new business models based on LBAAM technologies (manufacturing capacity renting, machine as a service, etc.).
PULSATE will connect Digital Innovation Hubs, top class Competence Centres, Public Institutions, Standardization Organizations, Financing and Business Development entities through a Single-Entry Point and is built on a solid methodology for operational and financial support to European SMEs, and a vision and mechanism for long term sustainability. This will connect all resources required and provide long-lasting access to LBAAM technologies for SMEs across Europe to assimilate these technologies.
To enable this, PULSATE project brings together a strong consortium comprising six reputable competency centres (AIMEN, FTMC, MTC, SINTEF, Fraunhofer and CEA) with high level expertise in LBAAM and digitization, the European Photonics Industry Consortium (EPIC) to support the promotion/acceleration of EU innovative scale-up initiatives, and two highly innovative SMEs (clesgo & FUNDINGBOX) to establish and support the Digital Agora platform, maintain a Marketplace of digital services and to manage the mechanisms of financial support to SMEs & slightly bigger companies and the interfaces with DIHs across all Europe.
A summary of the work performed from the beginning of the project and the main results achieved are presented:
- The cloud infrastructure to serve the combined project website (www.pulsate.eu) and Digital Agora through a Single Entry Point (SEP) has been set up.
- A full list of the services offered by PULSATE partners to European SMEs and slightly bigger companies has been consolidated.
- PULSATE’s first Technology Transfer Experiments (TTE) Open Call has successfully finished: 35 proposals submitted from 16 different European countries have been applied and 10 experiments were funded.
- A specific Support Programme and an Individual Mentoring Plan ensure the correct Milestones review of the TTEs.
- PULSATE’s 1st Adopters Use Cases (AUC) Open Call, focused on technical and economic feasibility assessment for the implementation of LBAAM technologies has been successfully closed: 18 projects funded
- PULSATE’s second Technology Transfer Experiments (TTE) Open Call has successfully launched: 12 experiments are running.
- PULSATE’s 2nd Adopters Use Cases (AUC) Open Call, focused on technical and economic feasibility assessment for the implementation of LBAAM technologies has been successfully closed: 34 submitted proposals from 17 different countries.
- PULSATE also is directly involved in the I4MS Community actions and collaborate together with other H2020 initiatives, such as PhotonHub, LAMpAS, MULTIPLE, Fabulous, Jeppix, Mirphab, Medphab or Change2TWIN
- Successful dissemination actions have leveraged the awareness about the project and LBAAM. An intensive Awareness Raising Campaign has been developed through different social media channels and through the Project website, also initiating a dedicated public engagement campaign. Main achievements:
- 181 followers, 193 posts and 52,163 impressions on X
- 568 followers, 269 posts and 149,712 impressions on LinkedIn
- 6,728 video impressions, 12,222 video views with a total watch time of 1,889 hours on YouTube
- 17,921 website visits till 30/09/23
- 13 events: technology meetings, exhibitions, conferences and brokerage events
- As a result, more than 770 companies have been directly reached through dissemination events during the first 36 months.
PULSATE will boost the innovation potential of EU manufacturing SMEs and mid-caps through integrating new laser-based solutions through a technology-adoption supported-process. PULSATE initiative aims to become the EU manufacturing industry Single Entry Point (SEP) for the adoption of LBAAM techniques, focused on SMEs and mid-caps and, at least initially, on the most promising manufacturing sectors: aerospace, automotive, medical devices, industrial machinery, custom electronics and textile & clothing.
This huge market opportunity is easily accessible through a single channel (SEP) and will leverage a pull effect to technology suppliers (mainly SMEs). These solutions will provide innovations at end-user level (user/application driven) and in the involved supply chains (technology driven), including software and hardware developments.
PULSATE will bridge current gaps in the adoption of LBAAM through enhancing digital supply chains and enabling the paradigm shift from physical to digital manufacturing. The innovation actions planned are oriented towards the overcoming of the detected market uptake barriers through thematic focused Open Calls and services to be provided by the PULSATE network to SMEs.
The PULSATE project is expecting to organize, guide and promote the advanced EU market of LBAAM providers, both on the advanced ICT and manufacturing equipment, thus supporting the broad uptake of LBAAM processes on manufacturing SMEs/mid-caps.
PULSATE will deploy an ambitious strategy to raise targeted markets awareness with several concrete KPIs to be reached:
- 83,000 SMEs reached through PULSATE channels;
- 200 applications submitted to the Technology Transfer Experiment (80) and Adopter Use Cases – AUCs - (120) involving 280 SMEs or slightly bigger companies (advanced ICT user and innovative technology providers);
- More than 30 training actions aimed to reach more than 1,000 trainees (advanced ICT users and/or technology providers);
- More than 500 PULSATE digital community/users members;
- 20 TTEs leading to 40 beneficiaries (€3M) and 42 AUCs additional beneficiaries (€1M), that is €4M of direct support for 80 SMEs or slightly bigger companies in the development and adoption of LBAAM technologies or solutions (at technology and/or business levels);
- Consolidate technological and business offering by providing at least 5 LBAAM access to infrastructure, 4 software services and 8 business support services;
- Consolidate digital competency by offering a minimum of 6 digital maturity assessment and 6 LBAAM technology knowledge development services;
- Deliver at least 6 specific technical webinars, 2 info-days, 4 general webinars and 11 specific brokerage and matchmaking events.

PULSATE will enhance the life quality of European citizens. 21st century societies demand sustainable production of goods, quality jobs and stable regional economies. PULSATES targets the laser-based and digital technologies which enable cost-effective mass-customized manufacturing, with reduced resource consumption. Regions and countries involved with the PULSATE network benefit from skilled jobs, contributing to European social cohesion.
L-PBF parts after cutting from the base plate (left). Sandblasted the L-PBF part (right)
High power Laser Metal Deposition application
PBF fabricated parts for PULSATE Best Practice Experiments
Laser peening
Highly integrated Interference Patterning setup operating with a High Power Ultrafast laser
Robotic Laser Hardening of 3D shaped part (helical blade) using advanced closed loop process control
Technology and Knowledge transfer activity to demonstrate the use of laser equipment
Setup for laser texturing with galvoscanner on the 3D surface of an outboard 4 blade propeller
Photograph of the super-hydrophobic blade surface textured by DLIP in contact with water droplets
Stainless Steel propeller blade, laser textured for drag and cavitation reduction
AM spreader after L-DED manufacturing (left) and after final machining (right)