FlexForge is a groundbreaking project aimed at transforming the production of aluminum components in the automotive industry. Current manufacturing methods often rely on primary aluminum and are characterized by narrow process windows, making them vulnerable to material variations and less sustainable.
FlexForge addresses these challenges by integrating advanced predictive models for material properties, optimizing thermomechanical processes, and implementing intelligent sensors with real-time algorithms for monitoring and process control. The result is a more robust, flexible, and sustainable manufacturing process, better equipped to meet future demands.
Project goals:
- Enable increased use of recycled aluminum, reduced energy consumption, and precise tracking of environmental impact per component—without compromising performance or quality.
- Develop a system that automatically adapts to variations in materials and process conditions, eliminates defects, and allows seamless transitions between different product variants.
FlexForge is an Industrial Innovation Project (IPN) with a total budget of NOK 32 million. The project is supported by the Research Council of Norway (NFR) and is being carried out in close collaboration with industrial partners Raufoss Technology, Hydro Aluminium, and CH Evensen Industriovner.
The research partners in the project are SINTEF Industry and the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE). SINTEF contributes with expertise in microstructure modelling, process simulation, thermomechanical testing (Gleeble), microstructure analysis, and the development of a research pilot for heat transfer dynamics in controlled environments.