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WeldGalaxy: Advancing Industry 4.0 in Welding

WeldGalaxy is a knowledge based online B2B platform designed to bring together EU sellers of welding equipment, accessories, consumables and services with the global market. The digital platform aims to enhance the visibility of the EU’s welding products, prototypes and services, while providing innovative web-based solutions.

To achieve this, WeldGalaxy incorporates a knowledge based engineering (KBE) tool to help streamline the process of selecting the relevant technologies by the end-users. This will create a ‘plug and produce’ digital manufacturing service to meet the specified requirements of customers, while maintaining regulatory compliance.

The WeldGalaxy Vision

WeldGalaxy leverages advances in digital manufacturing and the application of Industry 4.0 to increase the visibility of EU manufacturers and increase the support digitisation of manufacturing.

The aim is to enhance experimentation and market uptake of off-the-shelf prototypes delivered by EU SMEs and boost the competitiveness and market share of European welding equipment, consumables and services.

Connecting manufacturers with end-users is just one facet of WeldGalaxy as the platform will also allow for rapid digital design and testing support for new innovative equipment in collaboration with other manufacturers and end-users.

WeldGalaxy Benefits

Aside from the evident benefits of joining manufacturers with end-users, WeldGalaxy will also help to limit failures and downtime, enhance energy efficiency and increase productivity while reducing operating costs.

This will all be achieved through a transparency of product features, capabilities, resource use, add-on services and cost.

With real-time user feedback, the platform will allow manufacturers to address any issues and meet the needs of customers.

In addition, technological development and manufacturing application domains will be fully scalable and information about standards, security and regulatory compliance will be provided.

 

WeldGalaxy Systems and Services

WeldGalaxy’s digital B2B platform will be based on a Dynamic Knowledge Management structure with an evolving database with relevant data from equipment and consumables manufacturers that will dynamically evolve as the use of the database increases.

By capturing product and process knowledge, businesses will be able to rapidly develop products. This knowledge based engineering system will allow both designers / manufacturers and customers to visualise and analyse the design process with the help of simulation tools and life-cycle cost analysis.

WeldGalaxy will allow welding processes to be simulated using a set of templates and heat source models. 

The platform will connect the European welding industry to a digital single market using distributed ledger technology, to allow updates to be implemented from across the array of users. This is the first time that advanced digital inclusion technology has been used in welding.

The access to information will be eased through the development of a chatbot to aid functionality.

Finally, the project will involve financial support to third parties, selecting 25 experiments through two open innovation calls.

Find Out More

You can find out more about WeldGalaxy on the dedicated website.

 

The WeldGalaxy project has been partially funded by the EC, under Grant agreement 822106.

Avatar Geoff Melton Technology Manager - Arc Processes and Welding Engineering

Geoff Melton is a Technology Manager at  TWI in the UK  and is the Chairman of IIW commission VIII, 'Health, Safety and the Environment.' Since graduating from the University of St Andrews in Scotland with a degree in Physics and Electronics, he has worked in welding research and development for nearly 40 years. As well as chairing IIW commission VIII he is also the chair of CENELEC TC26 on electric welding equipment. Geoff was the first convenor of a working group set up between IEC and ISO to write a new series of international standards for arc welding equipment ( IEC 60974). This lead to developing standards for electromagnetic compatibility ( EMC) and the health effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) in welding.  At TWI, he leads a wide portfolio of research projects from welding fume to  automated welding process developments  for low/zero  emissions automotive applications. Geoff also has a MBA from Loughborough University and is a Chartered Engineer  and Chartered Physicist.

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