ProtoKonf Launched: Increasing the Efficiency of Prototyping for Value Creation in the Mobility and Transportation Sector of SMEs and the Skilled Trades
Digital platform aims to optimize costs, delivery times, and the carbon footprint in prototyping for companies in Baden-Württemberg
The FZI and its project partner, Girrbach CUBES GmbH, are launching the ProtoKonf project to develop an intelligent, data-driven platform for prototype construction in Baden-Württemberg. The platform will use Artificial Intelligence to analyze CAD geometries and recommend suitable manufacturing processes based on cost, lead time, and carbon footprint. The goal is to accelerate development processes within companies.
Currently, prototypes of complex components are a bottleneck in the development of mobility solutions because competition is fierce and significant time pressure exists when preparing quotes. One factor that delays proposal preparation is that development departments often decide which manufacturing processes to use based on experience alone. However, only a few experts have the necessary knowledge of prototype construction. To keep pace with global competition, the prototyping of components with complex geometries is essential.
The benefits for businesses
This is where the ProtoKonf research project comes in, helping to strengthen and create a resilient, regional, and digitalized prototyping infrastructure in Baden-Württemberg. To this end, a digital production platform is being developed. It systematically evaluates CAD geometries, material requirements, and target criteria such as cost, lead time, and sustainability. It then uses AI-powered decision-support modules to provide users with recommendations on manufacturing options tailored to each order.
The concept can also be applied to craft businesses and bakeries. An AI-based order forecasting system can be adapted to these industries by incorporating contextual data such as delivery times, weather, holiday periods, and traffic conditions.
Explored methods of prototype construction
The project examines various prototyping methods developed by partner Girrbach: the Blockup process, Styrofoam casting, and the patented CUBES technology. CUBES technology is a material-efficient casting process that produces cast models with contours close to the final design within an automated, reconfigurable molding space. It thus replaces fixed molds with reusable molding elements. Specifically, this means that the sometimes considerable amounts of waste generated, for example, by the Styrofoam casting process, are avoided. The molds into which the various prototypes are cast can be rebuilt repeatedly using the same resources. In the project, this process is being further developed and experimentally validated to integrate it into the platform as a reproducible option.
The project will run through July 2028 and is funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Skilled Crafts and Tourism.
About the FZI
The FZI Research Center for Information Technology, with headquarters in Karlsruhe and a branch office in Berlin, is a non-profit institution for information technology application research and technology transfer. It delivers the latest scientific findings in information technology to companies and public institutions and qualifies individuals for academic and business careers or the leap into self-employment. Supervised by professors from various faculties, the research groups at the FZI develop interdisciplinary concepts, software, hardware and system solutions for their clients and implement the solutions found as prototypes. The FZI House of Living Labs provides a unique research environment for application research. The FZI is an innovation partner of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and strategic partner of the German Informatics Society (GI).
