ALUPLA and PRE3DD Project grant

ALUPLA Project:

"MAFLOW SPAIN AUTOMOTIVE S.L., has obtained a non-refundable grant in the amount of 42.135,43€ related to the execution of the ALUPLA Project, with an approved budget of 308.267,14€. The ALUPLA project was presented to the 2021 call of the INNOVA Subsidy Line approved by the INDUSTRY, TOURISM, INNOVATION, TRANSPORT AND COMMERCE DEPARTMENT of CANTABRIA according to the guidelines of Order INN/3/2019, of February 14 and Order INN/60/2020 of December 10.

The main objective of the Project has been the experimental development of a new lightweight and anti-corrosive tubular system for vehicle air conditioning by means of the use of new materials both of low permeability rubber type for the development of the flexible tubular segments that integrate it, and of new aluminum alloys of low density and high resistance to corrosion, alternatives to the conventional HA9048, for the development of the corresponding rigid tubular segments of the system, for which a previous feasibility study will be carried out to determine the potential, together with new structural and additional connection designs, to achieve a lighter, more corrosion resistant tubular system with a substantial improvement in the corrosion resistance and with a substantial improvement in the structural and connection potential, A preliminary feasibility study will be carried out to determine the potential, together with new structural and additional connection designs, to achieve a lighter tubular system, more resistant to corrosion and with a substantial improvement in watertightness in relation to those already existing in the market, without compromising the fluid dynamic and vibro-acoustic behavior of the system, and overcoming the current technical limitations in this type of cooling systems and expanding the offer of new high added value products of MAFLOW.

The development of new products means for MAFLOW a potential of technological development by the incorporation of new technologies of high added value, with which, in short, an increase of the market share is sought. In this sense, and in order to understand the great impact that obtaining a new tubular cooling system, lighter and more anti-corrosive than those already existing in the market and in the Company itself, will mean for the Company, mainly through the use of new materials in the pipes that form it, it should be mentioned that the main technological innovations achieved have been:

Unprecedented reduction in system weight without compromising fluid dynamic and vibro-acoustic behavior thanks to the use of new lighter materials such as aluminum alloys with low densities (~2.70 ^g/cm3), and to the reduction of material by means of a new design of flexible tubular segments with a smaller cross-section that does not penalize the fluid dynamic behavior.

Substantial increase in the corrosion resistance of air-conditioning pipesThanks to the use of new aluminum alloys which, thanks to the presence of a higher proportion of Mg in their composition (~0.45-2.5), compared to those conventionally used in tubular refrigeration systems, show a lower deterioration of the material as a result of electrochemical attack by its environment, especially in particularly cold climatic environments where corrosive salts used to melt ice on roads are used.

Substantial improvement of system tightness thanks to the prevention of leaks, on the one hand through the use of new low permeability rubber-type materials for the development of the flexible tubular segments, and on the other hand, through new connection solutions between the various tubular segments, such as the presence of a nipple with a new endforming design and new ferrules with a new associated crimping process.

These novelties mean for MAFLOW, the creation of a new product with substantial improvements compared to the current state-of-the-art developments, in terms of performance such as lightening or corrosion resistance. Likewise, all the knowledge acquired during the realization of the Project, will allow to reach higher levels of Know-How and competitiveness, since this knowledge acquired from the feasibility study of materials, will impact in the medium term in the whole of its product portfolio, making its offer more attractive compared to other direct competitors.

Thus, thanks to the aid received, the investment has resulted both in the consolidation and in the increase of the Company's competitiveness in the global market, guaranteeing its sustainability and a strategic positioning within the Automotive Sector, thus continuing with its growth strategy that allows it to consolidate itself as one of the main companies in the Sector in Cantabria, whose activities to date have contributed to the growth of the industrial fabric of the Region through a consolidated network of collaborators, and which have allowed it to position itself as a company with a high technological and human level.

 

PRE3DD:

"MAFLOW SPAIN AUTOMOTIVE S.L., has obtained a non-refundable grant in the amount of 13.905,11€ related to the execution of the PRE3DD Project, with an approved budget of 120.352,80€. The PRE3DD project was submitted to the 2021 call of the INNOVA Subsidy Line approved by the INDUSTRY, TOURISM, INNOVATION, TRANSPORT AND COMMERCE COUNCIL of CANTABRIA according to the guidelines of the Order INN/3/2019 of February 14 and the Order INN/60/2020 of December 10.

The main objective of the Project has been the experimental development of a computer system that allows the digitalization of the orders placed by the different customers in which the Company's means are involved, allowing the materialization of products through 3D printing techniques as well as the management of these orders in each of the tasks associated with the production process of the product, both in its commercial and industrial phase, also allowing the optimization of the solutions and the simulation for the validation of the designs, which in turn allows an unprecedented improvement of the management process and will allow this to be done remotely.

Achieving the proposed objective implies an important novelty related to the development of a 3D printing order digitalization system, which brings with it some operational improvements in which this novelty can be structured and which represent the innovative character of the Project, being these improvements the following ones:

Improvement of the organization's information management, by moving from a system focused on managing each order individually to a computerized information management system that allows for a standard and automatic way of dealing with the different customer orders, which significantly reduces errors in information management.

Increased agility in accessing data, allowing access to it from any Company device enabled for this purpose in the case of information concerning the internal management of the different orders, as well as for order applicants, who will be able to access at any time to the specific information of their order, being able to edit certain fields.

Unprecedented improvement in data traceability, allowing the use of data to be traced at any time, since the computerization of the system will make it possible to store the information in databases and later use it through Big Data techniques to further streamline the process.

Increased accuracy in the visualization of the order, thanks to the tools that will allow to show how the final product would look like, as well as the process under the circumstances that are selected, meaning this is an advantage that is provided to the customer in a way that makes the 3D additive manufacturing service more attractive, drastically reducing the uncertainty that could exist among customers regarding the final result of the product.

The need for the customer to be physically present on site to request an order, to supervise it or to make changes is eliminated. The need for the customer to be physically present on the premises to request an order, to supervise the order or to make changes is eliminated, since all these steps can be carried out using the new computer system, which speeds up the entire management process and, more importantly given the current health situation, reduces physical contact to a minimum or even eliminates it altogether in most cases.