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The connected, autonomous and reconfigurable micro-factory currently being developed within the framework of the MicroLean Lab finds its origin in the micro5, a revolutionary 5-axis milling machine designed in 2015 at the HE-Arc Ingénierie. That year, as part of a product design course, three Industrial Design Engineering students had the idea of creating a micro-factory made up of different types of micromachines. One of them, Mathieu Steulet, who then worked as an assistant in the Read more…

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 

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…

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…