The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM, President Sang-jin Park), under the Ministry of Science and ICT, is building an online and offline infrastructure to strengthen the reliability of the domestic materials, parts, and equipment industries and is working to create synergy.

The research team led by Park Jong-won of the Reliability Assessment Laboratory of the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials announced on the 29th that they have established an online and offline infrastructure related to small, medium, and large-scale parts and equipment, including an offline test bed for reliability assessment of strategic items in manufacturing parts and equipment and an online virtual engineering platform for manufacturing future transport aircraft parts.

First, the test bed for reliability assessment of strategic items in manufacturing parts and equipment was established to help our company secure competitiveness based on product reliability and stabilize the supply of key strategic items in the manufacturing parts and equipment industry.

This equipment can be used to evaluate the reliability of strategic items in manufacturing equipment, such as robot reducers, servo motors, CNC (controller, LM guide), high-hardness cutting tools, active magnetic bearings, ball and roller bearings, and turbo pumps.

In the future, domestic companies will utilize the infrastructure built within the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials to achieve their desired goals. Reliability assessments for strategic components are now available. Previously, obtaining a reliability assessment for strategic items required obtaining certification from an overseas company, which was time-consuming and expensive. This approach is expected to contribute to the rapid and stable supply of strategic items.

The virtual engineering platform for future transportation equipment components and manufacturing, built online, is an open-source, free software that helps verify component performance, predict processes and productivity, and optimize systems through the 'KIMM Cyber Lab.'

It is expected that this will not only enable small and medium-sized enterprises to receive technical support remotely, but also contribute to developing their own capabilities to virtually test and manufacture products.

Companies wishing to utilize the strategic item reliability assessment testbed can register as members on the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials' (KIMM) Testing, Inspection, and Research Equipment Sharing System website (http://kimmtest.kimm.re.kr) and apply for testing and inspection support. Companies seeking technical support for the virtual engineering platform can apply at the KIMM Mechanical System Safety Research Center Reliability Assessment Lab website (http://www.kimmcyberlab.com).

Director Park Jong-won said, “In the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, the small, medium, and large machinery technology sector is also being incorporated with the hot topics of the times, such as contactless and digital transformation,” and added, “We will strive to secure quality competitiveness based on reliability of products that urgently need to be domestically produced by utilizing online and offline infrastructure to strengthen reliability in the small, medium, and large industries, and contribute to their becoming global luxury brands.”