Digital, simulation-based material selection can reduce CO₂ emissions in the production of industrial components by up to 40%. Schunk and simulation specialist CADFEM have reached this conclusion based on a joint project to develop an industrial gripper.

Focus on Secondary Materials and 3D Printing

According to the companies, the project began by identifying the components with the highest emissions. The project partners then investigated alternative materials and manufacturing processes.

“We therefore removed the components with the highest emissions from the gripper and considered how we could reduce_CO2 emissions by using alternative materials and manufacturing processes,” explains Daniel Barta, a development engineer at Schunk.

The use of secondary materials with a high recycled content, as well as additive manufacturing processes (3D printing) powered by renewable energy, proved to be particularly effective. Together, these two approaches could reduce the gripper’s CO₂ emissions by up to 40%.

In addition to this simulation software, the project partners also used the “EcoAudit” calculation module to analyze the environmental footprint and evaluate the various material and manufacturing options. This allowed them to assess different aluminum and steel alloys in terms of processability, load-bearing capacity, and sustainability even before practical implementation.

According to Schunk, the digital materials database is increasingly replacing manual selection processes that were previously often based on experience. At the same time, sustainability metrics can be objectively recorded and documented.

Plans to Expand Materials Data Management

Schunk plans to expand the use of digital material data to other areas of the company in the future. To this end, a centralized material data management system will be established to analyze costs, process efficiency, and sustainability throughout the entire product development process.

The Ansys Granta MI software, distributed by CADFEM, is designed to support not only material selection but also data exchange between development, procurement, quality assurance, and compliance.