COMIC Project

MISSIONS | MIG - 20221004

The automotive and aeronautical industries are two of the most relevant within the Spanish manufacturing sector, together contributing 11% of the country's GDP.

The competitiveness of these two sectors and, in general, of the Spanish manufacturing sector, increasingly depends on their ability to produce high-value-added and differentiated products in an efficient and sustainable manner, based on contained production costs, guaranteed quality, and minimized time to market. All this necessitates a change in the manufacturing paradigm through the introduction of new smart manufacturing technologies that ensure both production efficiency (through flexible and reconfigurable production systems) and the quality of the manufactured product, guaranteeing an efficient manufacturing model, especially in the increasingly frequent and necessary production of short batches, derived from the mass customization of products, whose life cycles are becoming shorter.

To this end, COMIC's main objective is the research of new concepts for the integral and efficient manufacturing of multi-material components based on the definition of a digital architecture that enables flexible and intelligent manufacturing (through comprehensive management of the data flow in the design, engineering, and manufacturing phases) combined with the development of advanced manufacturing technologies (surface treatment, preforming, joining, forming, and post-processing), based on the characteristics of the component to be manufactured.

The project is based on 5 pillars (Figure 1):

Pillar 1 - Development of new multi-material component concepts

Pillar 2 - Development of an embryonic data space for the smart manufacturing of multi-material components

Pillar 3 - Development of digital strategies for flexible and zero-defect manufacturing

Pillar 4 - Development of new highly flexible processes for multi-material manufacturing

Pillar 5 - Validation of flexible and reconfigurable manufacturing of multi-material components in 3 use cases (2 from the Automotive sector and 1 from the Aeronautical sector).

The COMIC consortium is formed by the following entities:

• DGH ROBOTICA AUTOMATIZACION Y MANTENIMIENTO INDUSTRIAL, SA – DGH is a reference company in the automotive sector within the area of advanced automation, with its main headquarters in Valladolid and other work centers in Madrid, Vigo, and Barcelona, where it has fully equipped workshops for the development, manufacturing, and testing of prototypes and pilot lines for R&D activities.

• AUTOTECH ENGINEERING, SL – AUTOTECH, headquartered in Amorebieta-Etxano, is the global R&D center for chassis components of the GESTAMP group, and focuses on the design and development of chassis products and assembly and forming technologies. It has forming presses and specific tooling for the manufacturing of metal-composite hybrid components, which it will make available to the project.

• SOFITEC AERO, SL – Headquartered in Seville, SOFITEC develops comprehensive manufacturing solutions for aerostructures, assembly, and repair in composite and metallic materials for the aerospace industry, where it is a recognized and consolidated TIER1. It has facilities for the production and assembly of both metallic and composite components, which it will make available to the project.

• FAGOR ARRASATE SCOOP – Headquartered in Arrasate, FAGOR is an internationally recognized manufacturer of stamping systems and presses, coil cutting machines, and processing lines and machines for metal components. It will make 2 presses for the forming of automotive products available to the project. It has its own R&D&I center (KONIKER).

• INDUSTRIA ESPECIALIZADA EN AERONÁUTICA S.A. – Based in Seville, INESPASA is a company with over 30 years of experience in developing comprehensive solutions for Aerostructure projects: Design and Manufacturing of Tooling, Manufacturing of Machined Elementals, and Assembly of Subassemblies.

• NUNSYS, SA – Headquartered in Paterna, NUNSYS is a company in the ICT sector established as a strategic partner, from the point of view of digital transformation, for the main technology manufacturers in multiple sectors. Its Software department will be highly involved in COMIC, assigning a significant number of analysts and programmers with knowledge of the various technologies necessary for the project's development.

• ENDITY – Headquartered in Elgoibar, ENDITY was born as a spin-off from the CT IDEKO and is a recognized player in the development of autonomous NDT solutions, both integrable and standalone, for applications in different industrial sectors. It has specific test benches, inspection heads, and custom NDT scanners that it will make available for the project's developments.

• MANAGING COMPOSITES, SL – Headquartered in Madrid, MANAGING COMPOSITES is an engineering company focused on the development of designs and all types of simulations necessary to support said design and obtain a final product in accordance with the requirements set forth in different sectors. It has several workstations and general-purpose and specific CAD/CAE licenses for composite press forming processes, as well as access to and use of a small workshop for the assembly, characterization, and validation of prototypes, which it will make available to the project.

Furthermore, several prestigious technology centers also participate as subcontracting entities: IDEKO, ITI, KONIKER, TEKNIKER, and AIMEN.

Project microsite: https://www.proyectocomic.net
 

This project has been granted by CDTI and has been supported by the Ministry of Science and Innovation.