SHARINGYOURCHALLENGES
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Technologies
FAGOR ARRASATE and its R&D unit KONIKER have renewed the technological collaboration agreement they have with the technology center IKERLAN to further deepen the development and application of cutting-edge technologies in the areas of smart factory (digital twins and predictive maintenance), structural reliability and cybersecurity.
Unai López, general manager of FAGOR ARRASATE, Andoitz Aranburu, president of KONIKER and Ion Etxeberria, general manager of IKERLAN, have signed today the collaboration agreement in a meeting held at FAGOR ARRASATE facilities in Arrasate-Mondragón. The agreement consolidates, for the next three years, the close alliance they have maintained for 50 years, as FAGOR ARRASATE is one of the user partner companies of IKERLAN since the foundation of the technology center in 1974.
This technological collaboration is a clear example of the cooperation that FAGOR ARRASATE and KONIKER maintain with technology centers and universities to, on the one hand, develop high-value solutions for the industry of the future and, on the other hand, to strengthen FAGOR ARRASATE’s technological positioning in the field of digitalization and intelligent manufacturing, in which it is one of the benchmark companies.
During these last years the collaboration between FAGOR ARRASATE, KONIKER and IKERLAN has yielded some very important fruits, especially towards the digital transformation of FAGOR ARRASATE’s products and industrial processes. These include the development of digital twins for stamping and bending processes that allow predicting process parameters, and optimizing productivity and flexibility of the facilities, and, on the other hand, the development of predictive maintenance algorithms with the aim of increasing the availability of the facilities, and optimizing machine maintenance and production quality, which are key processes in sectors such as the automotive industry.
Areas of collaboration
FAGOR ARRASATE and KONIKER will rely on IKERLAN’s extensive experience in the development of cutting-edge technologies associated with the areas of work included in the new agreement to advance and deepen the developments made to date: digital twins and predictive maintenance within the smart factory systems, structural reliability and cybersecurity. IKERLAN’s multi-technological capacity and the high degree of specialization of its professionals allows the technology center to solve the challenges of the smart industry. In addition, IKERLAN is recognized for attracting, training and transferring highly qualified personnel to the industry.
Regarding the mechanical reliability line, the three entities will continue working in the field of design and structural reliability of critical components. More specifically, they will continue research on advanced mechanical designs for the reduction of manufacturing and assembly costs. Structural reliability of components will also be analyzed through advanced modeling solutions and repair technologies in order to increase machine availability and service life.
In this field, IKERLAN has the necessary resources to ensure the structural integrity of components and industrial systems throughout their life cycle. It develops probabilistic design methods and structural reliability assessment models that can be used either as virtual prototypes or as time-adaptive digital twins, and has Mech Lab, an advanced laboratory that allows it to carry out tests and analyses that assess the integrity, safety and reliability of physical structures, industrial components and mechanical systems.
Finally, industrial cybersecurity is one of FAGOR ARRASATE’s priority areas of work, due to the ever-increasing degree of connectivity of its machines. FAGOR ARRASATE has been participating for years in several European projects aimed at developing innovative solutions to protect complex ICT infrastructures and make them resistant to cyber-attacks.
In this area, IKERLAN’s TEIC – Electronics, Information and Communication Technologies – specialization line has a team of 50 highly specialized people working in close collaboration with companies to provide their products and services with the required cybersecurity, both at the level of electronic systems and digital platforms. IKERLAN also has state-of-the-art facilities that are part of DIGILAB IKERLAN, the most advanced digital technology laboratory in Spain, inaugurated in October 2022.
Unai López, CEO of FAGOR ARRASATE, has pointed out that “we consolidate this historical relationship with IKERLAN with great satisfaction. FAGOR ARRASATE must have first-class technological partners in order to be present in the most demanding international markets. To project our products and services we rely on talent, knowledge and the state of the art technology developed by centers like IKERLAN, which makes this agreement between both companies strategic”.
From KONIKER, in turn, its president Andoitz Aranburu emphasizes that “this agreement reflects the interest of both companies to continue collaborating in technological developments that allow to generate a technological differential, key to remain competitive in an increasingly global market”.
For his part, Ion Etxeberria, IKERLAN’s general manager, stressed that “we are very proud to strengthen our relationship with FAGOR ARRASATE and KONIKER. We have been trusted traveling companions for many years and we know that the sum of our capabilities will allow us to face the challenges we have in terms of specialization and talent, as well as to generate new technological solutions applied to both production processes and the final product”.
Promotion of the Basque language
The collaboration agreement also includes an explicit commitment to the promotion of the Basque language by the three entities. Thus, FAGOR ARRASATE, KONIKER and IKERLAN will promote the use of Basque as the working language among the three entities.