Both OptiMold and OptiFlow can be used for process automation either alone or in combination with additional software. Both OptiMold and OptiFlow can provide direct feedback to control actuators through their built-in relay outputs. For example both of them can be used to provide an output signal when resin has arrived at the connected sensor to open or close automatically inlet or outlet gates.

In more complicated control cases, OptiMold and OptiFlow can be used in combination with additional software adapted to the specific Materials & Processes e.g. based on the real-time degree of cure prediction to open a press in a RTM or SMC production or to start cooling the oven in a vacuum infusion application.

Other process control actions such as the immediate stop of the production can be decided based on the measured resin aging or the mixing ratio deviations.

Relevant Publications

AUTOMATING RESIN TRANSFER MOULDING, Cristian Lira, Miles Holt, David Fishpool, Ioannis Papasideris and Nikos Pantelelis, SAMPE Europe Conference 2017, Stuttgart, Germany.

Nikos Pantelelis and Efthymios Bistekos, Intelligent process monitoring and control to take composites processing to the Industry 4.0 era, 7th International Symposium on Composites Manufacturing for High Performance Applications (ISCM), Braunschweig, 24th-25th August 2016.

A.Tontisakis, N.Pantelelis and E.Bistekos, R.Hein, T.Wille, K.Gabtni, J-P.Dias, Towards the intelligent RTM system, CAMX Conference, Anaheim, 2016