This proposal is in response to the call for International Cooperation in Aeronautics with China, MG-1.10-2015 under Horizon 2020 “Enhanced Additive Manufacturing of Metal Components and Resource Efficient Manufacturing Processes for Aerospace Applications”. The objectives are to develop the manufacturing processes identified in the call: (i) Additive manufacturing (AM); (ii) Near Net Shape Hot Isostatic Pressing (NNSHIPping) and (iii) Investment Casting of Ti alloys. The end-users specify the properties and provide computer-aided design, (CAD) files of components and these components will be manufactured using one or more of the three technologies. During the research programme, experiments will be carried out aimed at optimising the process routes and these technologies will be optimised using process modelling. Components manufactured during process development will be assessed and their dimensional accuracies and properties compared with specifications and any need for further process development identified. The specific areas that will be focussed on include: (a) the slow build rate and the build up of stresses during AM; (b) the reproducibility of products, the characteristics of the powder and the development of reusable and/or low cost tooling for NNSHIP; (c) the scatter in properties caused by inconsistent microstructures; (d) improving the strength of wax patterns and optimising welding of investment cast products. The process development will be finalised in month 30 so that state-of-the-art demonstrators can be manufactured and assessed by partners and end-users, during the final 6 months. The cost of the process route for components will be provided to the end-users and this, together with their assessment of the quality of these products, will allow the end-users to decide whether to transfer the technologies to their supply chain. The innovation will come through application of improved processes to manufacture the demonstrator components.

Adjoint-based methods have become the most interesting approach in numerical optimisation using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) due to their low computational cost compared to other approaches. The development of adjoint solvers has seen significant research interest, and a number of EC projects have been funded on adjoint-based optimisation. In particular, partners of this proposal are members of the EC FP7 projects FlowHead and AboutFlow which develops complete adjoint-based design methods for steady-state and unsteady flows in industrial design. Two related bottlenecks of applying goal-based optimisation in CFD are addressed here a) the efficient but flexible and automatic parametrisation of arbitrary shapes, and b) the imposition of design constraints. Parametrisation is at the core of optimisation, it defines the design space that the optimising algorithm is exploring. A range of parametrisations will be developed in the project, ranging from simple CAD-free methods with rich design spaces to CAD-based methods that return the optimised shape in CAD form. Integration of the currently available shape and topology modification approaches with the gradient-based optimisation approach will be addressed, in particular development of interfaces to return optimised CAD-free shapes into CAD for further design and analysis, an aspect that currently requires manual interpretation by an expert user. Constraints are at the core of industrial design, e.g. an optimised climate ducts for a vehicle needs to fit into the available build space. The project will develop efficient ways to extract constraints specified in the CAD model and apply them to CAD-free parametrisations. Methods will be developed to quantify how much the limited design space impairs the optimum and then to adaptively refine it. The results of the project will be applied to realistic mid-size and large-scale industrial optimisation problems supplied by the industrial project partners ranging from

Optimised energy management and use (OPTEMUS) represents an opportunity for overcoming one of the biggest barriers towards large scale adoption of electric and plug-in hybrid cars: range limitation due to limited storage capacity of electric batteries. The OPTEMUS project proposes to tackle this bottleneck by leveraging low energy consumption and energy harvesting through a holistic vehicle-occupant-centred approach, considering space, cost and complexity requirements. Specifically, OPTEMUS intends to develop a number of innovative core technologies (Integrated thermal management system comprising the compact refrigeration unit and the compact HVAC unit, battery housing and insulation as thermal and electric energy storage, thermal energy management control unit, regenerative shock absorbers) and complementary technologies (localised conditioning, comprising the smart seat with implemented TED and the smart cover panels, PV panels) combined with intelligent controls (eco-driving and eco-routing strategies, predictive cabin preconditioning strategy with min. energy consumption, electric management strategy). The combined virtual and real-life prototyping and performance assessment in a state of the art, on-the-market A-segment electric vehicle (Fiat 500e) of this package of technologies will allow demonstrating a minimum of 32% of energy consumption reduction for component cooling and 60% for passenger comfort, as well as an additional 15% being available for traction, leading to an increase of the driving range in extreme weather conditions of at least 44 km (38%) in a hot ambient (+35ºC and 40% rH) and 63 km (70%) in a cold ambient (-10ºC and 90% rH).

Europe is still lacking an efficient systemic multi-level approach that enables a recursive, cost-effective, holistic and integrated application of circular principles to the digital uplifting of factory 4.0 capital investments; addressing issues at product, process, system as well as the entire value-chain levels, integrating best practices from emerging enabling digital technologies and avoid a two speed digital transformation across industries in different sectors. LEVEL-UP will offer a scalable platform covering the overall lifecycle, ranging from the digital twins setup, modernisation actions to diagnose and predict the operation of physical assets, to the refurbishment and remanufacturing activities towards end of life. In-situ repair technologies and the redesign for new upgraded components will be facilitated through virtual simulations for increased performance and lifetime. LEVEL-UP will therefore comprise new hardware and software components interfaced with the current facilities through IoT and data-management platforms, while being orchestrated through eight (8) scalable strategies at component, work-station and shopfloor level. The actions for modernising, upgrading, refurbishing, remanufacturing, and recycling will be structured and formalised into ten (10) special Protocols, linked with an Industrial Digital Thread weaving a seamless digital integration with all actors in the value chain for improved future iterations. LEVEL-UP will be demonstrated in 7 demo sites from different sectors. The impact of LEVEL-UP to the European manufacturing industry, but also the society itself, can be sum-marised in the following (with a horizon of 4 years after project ends): (i) increase of the material and re-source efficiency by 11.5%, (ii) increased reliability by 16% of the equipment in an extended lifetime by 20%, (iii) over 50% increase of the Return on Investment (ROI), (iv) about 810 new jobs created and (v) over 80M EUR ROI for the consortium.

The digitalization of industry opens the path for mass customization but requires leveraging the existing manufacturing ecosystems and establishing a collaborative manufacturing environment. DIMOFAC project will enable the modularity, adaptability and responsiveness of a production line by the integration of Plug-and-Produce modules in a Closed-Loop Lifecycle Management System, for continuous production adaptation, optimization and improvement, in a fast and flexible manner. Reconfigurability is achieved by implementing a Digital Twin of each module and by deploying Digital Thread linking product and process dataflow, enabling seamless secure communication throughout the product lifecycle in factory and connecting it to the management systems in conformance to RAMI4.0. The DIMOFAC consortium is issued from the leading European open initiatives on smart manufacturing, leveraging know-how from past and running EU projects such as INTEGRADDE, COMMUNION, HIMALAIA, BRAINPORT, iM²AM, MIDIH, MARKET 4.0 and building upon a pre-existing network of open DIHs and competence centers such as SMART FACTORY KL, PICTIC, FFLOR, AFH, MANUHUB@WG. Partners will further extend their services and networks to leverage on the increased flexibility brought by modular production systems. Six industrial pilot lines, with multi-material manufacturing, additive manufacturing and assembly capabilities, will enable to demonstrate DIMOFAC Modular Factory Solution, with reconfiguration time reduction of production lines, up to 75% expected for interactive displays (SCHALTAG), 50% for cosmetic, aeronautic and additive manufacturing (ALBEA, EIRE COMPOSITES and SCULPTEO); 30% for shavers (PHILIPS) and industrial modules (VDL). A key result will be the network of open pilot lines, offering R&T and services supporting process validation and implementation in EU SMEs, Midcaps and large organisations in different sectors, spreading knowledge, awareness and adoption of DIMOFAC Modular Factory Solution.