In order to increase the innovation and competitiveness of SMEs, concerted efforts are needed to digitize value chains. From ... a systemic perspective, individual initiatives by SMEs are usually not effective and are hardly feasible from a technological and financial point of view. For the domain of Additive Manufacturing, a cluster is founded, which collects the needs of SMEs from AM value chains and systematically covers them with Fraunhofer technologies suitable for industry. The consortium of Fraunhofer institutes will provide the necessary range of technologies to integrate tailored, SME-specific solutions into an overall digitalization concept. Dynamic alignment of the institutes' research activities in line with the SME needs identified is also intended to strengthen direct technology transfer. The cluster forms the nucleus for a "Data Ecosystem AM", which enables significant efficiency increases as well as new types of digital products, services and business models. Technically based on the International Data Spaces (IDS), the digital infrastructure ensures data sovereignty and the knowledge advantage of the participating companies. Contact: Michael Dlugosch +49 761 2714-324 michael.dlugosch@emi.fraunhofer.de https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-dlugosch-b29189161/ Fraunhofer-Institut für Kurzzeitdynamik, Ernst-Mach-Institut, EMI Ernst-Zermelo-Straße 4 79104 Freiburg https://www.emi.fraunhofer.de/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/fraunhofer-institute-for-high-speed-dynamics-ernst-mach-institut-emi/ Talu Ünal-Saewe +49 241 8906-335 talu.uenal-saewe@ilt.fraunhofer.de https://www.linkedin.com/in/talu-%C3%BCnal-6545a697/ Fraunhofer-Institut für Lasertechnik ILT Steinbachstr. 15 52074 Aachen https://www.ilt.fraunhofer.de/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/fraunhofer-ilt/mycompany/?viewAsMember=true read more