Addressing the challenges of Industry 4.0 is a major focus area for the department, and our efforts cover many different research fields.
A very important emphasis is on the digital technologies applied to the manufacturing industry inspired by the digital twin concept. This entails addressing the different processing steps in the production chain, as well as the in-service behavior of the component by coupled multiphysics models in combination with output from embedded sensors in the production, in order to make way for fast decision making. The aim is modelling at all scales of materials and in this way the research activity will include several sections at the department.
3D print, or additive manufacturing, is digital by nature and it will be an inherent part of the development towards digitization in the manufacturing industry. A cross-departmental initiative has been taken to strengthen the multidisciplinary efforts in this field. This activity will be broadened to other DTU departments.
The department will focus on digitalization in education both as a topic and as a means of delivering education. The department will contribute to the initiatives related to Mechatronics 4.0, also known as cyber – physical systems, and its implementation into relevant DTU educations. Industry 4.0 and its implications will be a driver for developing the course portfolio in manufacturing engineering including basic production technology courses.