PLOT Showcase 2023: sharing knowledge, networking and gaining new experiences

Sharing knowledge, networking and gaining new experiences: that was what the PLOT Showcase 2023 was all about. Despite the harsh weather conditions, more than fifty visitors found their way to FHI in Leusden on Thursday, October 12. Watch the short video about the event below. 

Associate Lecturer Albert ten Busschen from Windesheim University of Applied Sciences opened the day with a stimulating lecture on the end-of-life of products, a much-discussed topic within the industry. In front of a packed room, Ten Busschen talked about the research program 'Reuse EoL Composite', a unique and award-winning method for the reuse of fibre-reinforced plastic.  

Extreme conditions
But how do you predict how long a product will last and when the end-of-life has been reached? According to Wouter ter Laak from Eurofins|MASER can do this in three ways: by carrying out reliability tests, early involvement in the design phase and the use of qualified components. By making the EoL transparent, you prevent customer dissatisfaction and increase the reputation of your product or system, said Ter Laak during his lecture.

After the break Maarten Vogelaar from Weiss Technik talks about the IEC 60068, a well-known standard for environmental testing that assesses the performance of a product under extreme (weather) conditions, including intense cold, dryness and heat. During the event, Vogelaar discussed the content and usefulness of IEC 60068 for the electronics industry.    

Interesting angle
In fact, designing reliable and predictable products is about knowing, understanding and controlling failure behavior, he says Erik Veninga from V2i. Veninga is a member of the working group 'Reliability' from PLOT. During his lecture, he discussed the PoF approach, which he believes offers great benefits for companies, even if they do not have or use modeling techniques. Veninga chose an interesting approach: how can you think and act from failure mechanisms during the design and testing phase of a product.  

Unique: live demonstrations
This year was the first time live demonstrations on the exhibition floor where visitors could carry out tests themselves. There was also a nice variation between theory and practice in the lecture program. Eric Sülter from Enduteq, for example, talked about customized solutions to carry out accelerated lifespan tests, for materials, semi-finished products and (end) products. Sülter illustrated his story with appealing practical examples of standardized (R&D) tests.

Go into nature together
The day ended by Baldwin Jacobs from Signify. Jacobs is a member of the PLOT working group 'Climate' and participated in the joint research of the working group members into corrosion. He shared the findings of the two-year study conducted on Texel. His conclusion: laboratory tests show only one shared truth. For a really good idea of performance under extreme weather conditions, you have to go outside!

It was an interesting substantive day that visitors and exhibitors look back on with a good feeling. You can view the presentations of the lectures download and read on the PLOT Showcase website. Have you become curious about PLOT's activities? Click here for more information about the platform or contact project manager Melvin Brink for more information.