MicroLean Lab is one of the six winners of the i4Challenge 2020, in the “New Ideas” category. Organized by Basel Area Business & Innovation, this challenge rewards the most promising Industry 4.0 solutions. It is open to companies and research centers from Switzerland, Alsace and the southwest of Germany. Discover all the winners
From the 3rd to the 19th of November, 150 people working mainly in Swiss companies came to discover the first proof of concept of the autonomous, connected and reconfigurable micro-factory developed by the MicroLean Lab at the Saint-Imier Technology Park. In groups of no more than five people, they had the opportunity to learn more about the MicroLean Lab, a community of interest bringing together watchmaking groups, Swiss SMEs and the Haute Ecole Arc Ingénierie Read more…
We were planning to present the first prototype of our micro-factory this fall at the SIAMS fair in Moutier. After its cancellation, we invite you to discover it in our renovated premises at the Saint-Imier Technology Park. Several micro-visits will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons of the first three weeks of November, in accordance with the sanitary measures in force. They will be limited to ten people per hour. To see the Read more…
Ordering your new car from your computer by completely personalizing it, changing your mind when it has already been ordered, monitoring its production and finally picking it up in a chosen place, this is what the 4th industrial revolution, Industry 4.0, allows. During the Swiss Digital Days (November 1-3. 2020), Philippe Grize, director of the Haute Ecole Arc Ingénierie, speaks about the evolution of industry from the 19th century and presents the MicroLean Lab, an Read more…
The Lab Network Industrie 4.0 (LNI4.0) is a German association founded by companies linked to Plattform Industrie 4.0 in cooperation with the Bitkom, VDMA and ZVEI federations. It aims at helping the German medium-sized sector play a leading role in global digitization. This experimental network makes it possible to test new technologies, innovations and business models in the environment of Industry 4.0 and to examine their economic feasibility before their launch on the market. In addition, Read more…
During the virtual SIAMS fair, the Haute Ecole Arc Ingénierie professors Claude Jeannerat and Nabil Ouerhani present the MicroLean Lab in a short video then Max Monti, the Haute Ecole Arc Ingénierie Partnerships and Valorisation Manager, answers the questions of the virtual visitors. Discover more on this experimentation center aiming at developing an autonomous, connected micro-factory that can be reconfigured at will called to revolutionize the means of microtechnology production. See the MicroLean Lab presentation Read more…
An agile, iterative approach has been chosen in order to minimise risks and to quickly demonstrate the potential of the concepts that are conceived, studied and developed in the Lab. The project is broken down into three 5-step iterations: Analysis and Specification Dsign Implementation Testing and Approval User Feedback and Improvement The deliverables of the three iterations take the form of open-ended, upgradable prototypes: Iteration 1: validation prototype: micro-factory concept comprising functional blocks that are Read more…
As alarm bells are rung about climate change, more and more people are waking up to the environmental challenges we face. The current generation were born with smartphones in their hands and are no strangers to “Fab Labs” – open places where they can fabricate their own products on demand and thwart planned obsolescence. The MicroLean Lab must take into account the trends embodied by this generation and view these challenges and generational changes as Read more…
Naturally, for businesses who produce physical objects, Industry 4.0 requires them to get to grips with a whole new culture, the digital one. The digital culture can be harnessed to: interconnect stakeholders within value chains, distribute relevant information through these chains, significantly improve the availability of manufacturing resources through the Internet of Things and augmented intelligence, optimise resources and supply chains intelligently , develop new sources of income in the form of associated services, while Read more…
Throughout two centuries of industrialisation, the prevailing strategy has been to imagine what the end user might consume, to overproduce stock at all stages of manufacturing and distribution, and to push the products towards potential customers with copious advertising and promotion. The concepts of digitalisation that have swept through businesses in recent years under what is called “Industry 4.0” have certainly led to a rethink of manufacturing processes. This is particularly true for products with Read more…