Extrusion International 3-2025

18 Extrusion International 3/2025 INDUSTRY NEWS With Industry 4.0 to Setup Process 2.0 In the XRAP research project, Sim - plifier AG and XRify GmbH are de - veloping a digital assistant for set- up processes together with the SKZ Plastics Center. With the combina - tion of artificial intelligence (AI) and extended reality (XR), employees are supported in real time during set-up processes. In view of the con - siderable amount of time required for set-up processes and the many sources of error, XR-supported op- timization can result in considerable economic benefits. Innovation occurs when theo- retical knowledge is translated into practical applications. The XRAP research project is developing a digital assistant that will revolu- tionize industrial setup processes by combining XR and AI. The fol - lowing functionality is planned: An employee holds a tablet in their hand. The tablet highlights in color which components are required for the next step in the setup process. The XR glasses are then put on and a detailed virtual display appears directly in the employee's field of vision, showing where a part needs to be fitted. In addition, further in - formation on the current work step and component can be added, e.g. from an operating instruction. At the end, employees receive feed- back on whether the parts have been installed correctly or whether any reworking is required. The dig - ital assistant guides them step by step through the entire set-up pro- cess and enables errors to be identi- fied and rectified at an early stage. The XRAP project aims to bring this future scenario one step closer and thus revolutionize the current sta - tus quo in set-up processes. In January 2025, the joint project “XR Assistant for Setup Processes in Production” (XRAP) was launched as part of the “Future of Value Creation – Research on Produc- tion, Services and Work” funding measure of the “Future of Value Creation” program of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The project is scheduled to run for two and a half years and aims to develop a digital, XR-based assistant to support the setup of machines. One of the use cases for this project is set-up processes in the compounding or extrusion of plastics. The low-code platform from Simplifier AG serves as the technological basis for the devel- opment of the application. XRify GmbH is contributing its expertise in XR - particularly with regard to interaction with the user. The SKZ is responsible for the process analy- sis, requirements definition and development of the AI. By combin - ing XR technology and AI, the digi- tal assistant developed as part of the research project will be able to monitor the setup process and pro- vide support in real time. This will prevent errors and save time. Understanding setup processes is crucial to the success of a project. The digitalization of these process - es requires an in-depth technical understanding of the processes as well as precisely defined require - ments for the development of the digital assistant. With its close ties to the plastics industry, SKZ has ex - tensive knowledge of set-up pro- cesses and understands the spe- cific challenges that employees are confronted with here. On the one hand, this process knowledge en- ables the targeted development of the assistant's AI-supported object recognition. On the other hand, it is crucial for tailoring the XR system to the needs of the employees. To this end, XRify contributes its expe- rience from the application of XR- supported processes in industry. Only when relevant information is available at the right time and in the right place can real added value be created for companies and their employees. The results of the research project are not limited to the plastics industry, but can be transferred to all other industries thanks to the flexible structure of the software designed by Simpli - fier. The AI-based setup assistant supports skilled workers directly on site, reduces errors and speeds up processes – a decisive step towards intelligent and digitally networked production in Industry 4.0. The SKZ Plastics Center Mingo Kübert, m.kuebert@skz.de Rethinking set-up processes with AI and XR (Source XRify GmbH/Philipp Hummel)