VMAP SC Newsletter

We bring you the latest information on the workings of the VMAP SC.

Pioneer Project Review

Introduction to Project

The Pioneer project aims to build an open innovation platform for optimising the production systems by combining product development, virtual engineering workflows and production data. The project intends to enable multidirectional dataflow throughout the material value chain by connecting the various stages of production. To be able to achieve such advanced functioning for the entire product development lifecycle the process requires identification of all the data silos, standardization of different types of data types, handling and organization of data files and connecting all the information in the data silos.

The use cases

The second project review took place on the 4 Sept. 2024 in a hybrid format with all project partners and reviewers from Athena Research Centre and EU Commission. The motive of this half time project review was to showcase the basic prototypes developed in the project and provide an overview on the initial framework of open Innovation platform.

The two use cases from the project focus on two very different types of manufacturing technologies. One with the sole aim to consolidate Wire-Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) technology as a mature production method for highly optimised structural component and the other one coming from the automotive domain to reduce the mass by using composite materials along with SMC techniques.

Details on ongoing work

The use cases are clearly defined in the trail handbook, and they are regularly updated. This handbook serves as a single point of information and maintains clear visibility of the work being carried out in the project. This has also been a great method to maintain traceability of the work being done within the use cases. Based on the requirements from industry the first iteration of the open innovation platform architecture has been prepared. Alongside, the domain ontologies focusing on manufacturing techniques and material types is being refined based on the use cases. A semantic search using the ontologies is already possible.

The simulation and manufacturing of components is being carried out in parallel. The generated data will be stored in VMAP standard format (HDF5), so that it can be easily accessed in the future by any of the partners. The relevant metadata is picked from the HDF5 file and stored in a Json file called the VMAP tracker file. This allows the end user to look at the relevant information about the simulation or measurement run before opening a large data file. This metadata is also reflected in the ontologies, such that the semantic search of information can also provide results from simulation and measurement, if necessary. This will bring a lot of value to the system, because some of the key points for a product or a machine can be quickly displayed via the semantic search.

Reviewer remarks & comments

The reviewers found the project to be promising and saw great potential for further contributions to the industry. They suggested to focus on more publications to demonstrate the goals and the intermediary results to the scientific community at large. Additionally, there is already some synergy with other projects like DiMAT & metaFacturing and the reviewers recommended continuing such efforts with other similar projects.

ALABAMA Project GA Meeting

The ALABAMA Project hosted its first general assembly meeting in the picturesque city of Dresden. Many of the participants travelled a day before and enjoyed the scenic beauty of Dresden along the river Elbe. The meeting was hosted at the Fraunhofer IWS facilities on the 24 September 2024. The project coordinator started the meeting and provided details about the status of the project. Further presentations showed the usability and importance of workflow charts for the use cases. The workflows will be used to identify dataflow and keep track of the various data formats which will be used within the project. The demand for a standard stem from the fact that the use of multiple data formats will become cumbersome at some point. VMAP Standard will be employed as part of the project goal.

Other partners also presented the concept of digital passport system along with the various details which can already be stored in the system. This was followed by use case test set-ups which are being prepared for the propeller, compressor, and automotive use case respectively.

As part of the visit, IWS was kind enough to show us the laboratories and the various machines being deployed for the purpose of welding and additive manufacturing.

The meeting was wrapped up with a wonderful dinner in the heart of the city with further discussions about the project and new ideas for future collaborations.

VMAP SC Technical Meeting for VMAP Wrappers

VMAP SC will host the very first technical meeting to talk about the demands and requirements for VMAP Wrappers on the 12 November at 11:00. The meeting will be attended by many of the software vendors and industry experts who are part of the VMAP SC and/or project partners. The aim is to discuss the status of current VMAP Wrappers and how these can be further developed based on the demands from industry. We will also investigate solvers which are largely being used in the projects and require data exchange with VMAP Standard.
VMAP Wrapper development for various solvers would require participation from software vendors and use case providers. With this meeting, we aim to motivate the partners and identify smaller groups who can work towards a common goal. More about the further advancements in this regard and establishment of a working group for wrapper development will be reported in the next cycle.
Please send an email to info@vmap-standard.org, if you would like to attend this meeting or to know more about VMAP Wrappers.

Here is the Agenda for this Meeting:

11:00	Brief Introduction to the Meeting
11:10	VMAP Wrappers
	SCAI MpCCI Mapper         KIT OpenFoam Wrapper         Inutech Ansys Customization Toolkit         Transvalor Forge®-Transweld® / LS-Dyna® interoperability         HSBRS Abaqus Wrapper         Simcon CADMOULD Converter-Wrapper Perspective         DLR-BT PERMAS Wrapper         HTW Berlin SMILE-Wrapper Strategy         DLR-SY Input/Output Conversion Plugin
12:00	Further Strategy for Development and Distribution of VMAP Wrappers
12:10	Open Discussion

VMAP SC Webinar – 17 December 2024

VMAP SC Webinar “VMAP – A vendor-neutral standard for CAx data storage” will be hosted via NAFEMS on the 17 December 2024. The VMAP Standard provides a structured approach for managing simulation and measurement data, including detailed specifications on elements, integration types, and system information. The structure organizes geometrical data into grouped elements and points, while variable data covers input and output variables. Additionally, a system group includes unit systems, units, and metadata. VMAP also enables basic storage for material data. For measurement data, the structure mirrors that of simulation data but replaces material data with a “device group” that details the measured objects and setup. This standard enables comprehensive storage of necessary information for both simulation and measurement data, offering an advanced data framework. The webinar will focus on the implementation of VMAP IO Lib v1.2.0 and the talk will be given by our colleagues from Fraunhofer SCAI, Klaus Wolf & Andre Oeckerath. To register for the webinar visit NAFEMS.

VMAP User Forum – February 2025

After a successful VMAP User Meeting in February 2024, with more than 30 participants and 20 presentations, VMAP SC will host VMAP User Forum from 18-20 February 2025. This event aims to advance the standardization and semantic structuring necessary for successful digital integration in manufacturing. For more details visit our website.

Upcoming Working Group Meetings

Events

VMAP SC Technical Meeting for VMAP Wrappers	12.11.2024 at 11:00
VMAP SC Webinar	17.12.2024 at 16:00
VMAP User Forum	18.02.2025 – 20.02.2025