FRAUNHOFER INSTITUTE FOR LASER TECHNOLOGY ILT
PRESS RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
November 20, 2013 || Page 1 | 3
From prototypes to entering new markets - LASHARE lends a
helping hand to European manufacturing
Small and medium-sized enterprises are often confronted with the challenge of how to
take new manufacturing processes, designed to facilitate efficient production, and
make them accessible to users in industry. This is an area where laser-based
manufacturing processes have long led the way. Yet making these developments
usable in industry, and opening up new markets, calls for a precise definition of the
technical requirements, as well as in-depth knowledge of the market, combined with
networking between users, suppliers and research institutes. Now the LASHARE
project, co-funded by the EU, has been launched to give more than 30 SMEs a helping
hand, bringing together six of the most renowned European research institutes under
the leadership of the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT. The ambitious aim
of the project is to enhance the competitiveness of the European laser industry by
accelerating technology transfer.
Often, new laser-based manufacturing techniques employ specific, standalone solutions
that have previously only been demonstrated in a laboratory setting. In many cases these
innovations are developed by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which possess
the flexibility required to find a speedy solution to the problem at hand. However there are
many possible pitfalls in getting from a lab-demonstrated solution to industrially robust
manufacturing equipment. It may be, for instance, that parts of the solution were
developed at a time when the final specifications were still unknown or that the
components are not sufficiently robust for everyday use. As an SME’s business success
relies heavily on a quick market launch, and securing user acceptance for its new
technologies and products, LASHARE will help minimize the risks involved in this process
and strengthen Europe as a leading manufacturing location, by helping innovative
manufacturing technologies get to market more quickly.
Catalysts for technology transfer
On September 25-27, 2013 Fraunhofer ILT hosted the launch event of the EU co-funded
LASHARE project, which will run for four years with a budget of almost 15 million euros.
Held in Aachen, the event brought together 38 partners from industry and research to
determine relevant targets, metrics and procedures for the “LASHARE Assessment
Framework”. This framework provides the basis to accelerate the development of
demonstrated laser-based equipment and help prepare it for manufacturing. The
technologies under assessment are compared with the levels of maturity seen in other
Editors
Axel Bauer, Dipl.-Phys. | Manager Marketing and Communications | Phone+49 241 8906-194 | axel.bauer@ilt.fraunhofer.de
Petra Nolis, M.A. | PR Consultant | Phone +49 241 8906-662 | petra.nolis@ilt.fraunhofer.de
Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT | Steinbachstraße 15 | 52074 Aachen | www.ilt.fraunhofer.de
FRAUNHOFER INSTITUTE FOR LASER TECHNOLOGY ILT
established technologies in their sector, helping to accelerate the process toward a
demand driven, industrially robust solution.
Rapid market launch for a variety of laser applications
LASHARE helps small and medium-sized partners, in the role of suppliers, to develop the
laser-based equipment with a view to improving new manufacturing processes and making
sure they respond to current user needs regarding technical implementation. To
accomplish this LASHARE has launched fourteen “Laser-based Equipment Assessments”
(LEAs) for a diverse array of laser applications ranging from large-scale technologies such
as the welding of ship components to nanotechnologies such as the structuring of surfaces
using ultrashort pulse lasers.
First, users define the industrial requirements for the laser-based equipment, which they
will later evaluate in an industrial-scale manufacturing setting at the end of the LEA.
Research partners, working with the users and suppliers, will establish the “LASHARE
Assessment Framework” which will define the best technical solution for the requirements
provided. Finally, suppliers will use the results from the “LASHARE Assessment
Framework”, and implement robust laser-based solutions that meet end-user
requirements. In this way, LEAs speed up the t transfer of laboratory solutions to real
manufacturing applications that can establish themselves on the market quickly and
reliably – the key to market success.
Fourteen LEAs are running from the beginning of the project and will be joined by eight to
twelve others during the project through a competitive call. LASHARE focuses on SMEs
and enables them to bring new products to market to the benefit of European industry. All
in all, more than 30 SME partners will benefit from the support of the FP7-FoF (Factories of
the Future) program.
For further information please visit www.lashare.eu
PRESS RELEASE
November 20, 2013 || Page 2 | 3
FRAUNHOFER INSTITUTE FOR LASER TECHNOLOGY ILT
Picture 1:
The LASHARE consortium at
the launch event in Aachen on
September 26.
Source: Fraunhofer ILT,
Aachen.
PRESS RELEASE
November 20, 2013 || Page 3 | 3
Picture 2:
The LASHARE logo.
The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is the leading organization for applied research in Europe. Its research activities are conducted by 66 Fraunhofer Institutes
at over 40 different locations throughout Germany. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft employs a staff of around 22,000, who work with an annual research
budget totaling 1,9 billion euros. Over 70 percent of this sum is generated through contract research on behalf of industry and from publicly funded
research projects. Its international branches promote cooperation with the most important present and future scientific and economic sectors.
Contacts
M.Sc. Dipl.-Ing. (FH) B.Eng. (hon) Ulrich Thombansen | Process Control and System Technology Group | Phone +49 241 8906-320
ulrich.thombansen@ilt.fraunhofer.de | Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, Aachen; Germany | www.ilt.fraunhofer.de
Dr. Arnold Gillner | Head of the competence area Laser Material Processing | Phone +49 241 8906-148 | arnold.gillner@ilt.fraunhofer.de Fraunhofer
Institute for Laser Technology ILT, Aachen; Germany | www.ilt.fraunhofer.de
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