Siemens awards plus10 for AI solution for live learning and situational action to reduce scrap and cycle time

Siemens honors Fraunhofer spin-off plus10 with the Industrial AI Award

Munich - The Fraunhofer IPA technology spin-off plus10 has been awarded second place in the prestigious Industrial AI Award at Siemens' international "AI with Purpose Summit". The award recognizes pioneering solutions that unlock the potential of artificial intelligence (AI), especially in industrial applications, and demonstrably create real added value in production, energy and infrastructure.

Ten start-ups were selected as finalists from over 60 evaluated applications. plus10 GmbH, with offices in Augsburg and Stuttgart, impressed the jury with its innovative AI solution HOPPER - the Quality Optimizer. This learns live on high-frequency machine control data of complex processes as well as associated context data sources such as injection molding of small medical devices and associated temperature control units and raw material databases.

As Boris Scharinger, SIEMENS Digital Industries - Innovation Management, pointed out, it is very impressive how plus10, as a young Fraunhofer spin-off, successfully operates in the very demanding and highly regulated pharmaceutical and medical technology industry and at the same time generates significant real benefits of +10% on average through its optimization tools.

 HOPPER live in action: Increasing efficiency in MedTech production

As part of the summit, Felix Georg Müller (CEO and co-founder of plus10) and Simon Hug (Head of Global Account Development at special machine manufacturer ZAHORANSKY from Freiburg) jointly presented a real use case in the field of medical syringe production with injected needles, so-called staked needle syringes: The plus10KI tool HOPPER is used here to make the demanding material COC "glass-like plastics" processable with maximum efficiency in 24/7 operation and to enable 6-18% more efficiency in continuous operation. This was underpinned with videos from real production and user feedback and presented as tangible AI added value and discussed with the audience.

The use case: The focus was on the use of the plus10 tool name HOPPER on the "PRIMA Z Syringe" system type, a fully automated production line from ZAHORANSKY for the manufacture of so-called "Staked Needle Syringes" using high-cavity molds and the associated fully automated system technology. It was shown how HOPPER helps to increase efficiency and product quality around the clock in GMP-regulated medical and pharmaceutical production - an area in which the highest quality requirements must be combined with maximum process stability. At the same time, the regulations relating to good manufacturing practices (GMP) must be complied with at all times. ‍

Intelligent production with HOPPER: fewer rejects, shorter cycle times

With HOPPER, the Quality Optimizer from plus10, the startup plus10 is bringing an AI solution to industrial production that takes data-based process optimization to a new level. The tool continuously analyses high-frequency machine data in real time as well as relevant context data sources such as raw material data, environmental characterization, etc. and automatically counteracts detected fluctuations. This automatically generates situational recommendations for optimizing process parameters - for example when injection moulding elastomers, challenging technical thermoplastics or particularly high recycled content in PCR processing.

The aim is to simultaneously minimize waste and shorten cycle times in order to maximize the good parts rate per hour. The success is measurable: HOPPER increases this good parts rate by 8-18%, which is directly reflected in a more stable and higher output and thus also makes the subsequent processes and the supply chain more robust.

In addition, the solution supports multi-machine operation by recommending specific actions for all connected systems during tool change and set-up or when setting up for the "first shot", which can shorten this phase by up to 20%, for example.

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AI with Purpose Summit - Siemen drives industrial AI innovation forward

The AI with Purpose Summit (May 20-21, 2025, Munich) brought together leading representatives from science, industry, media and start-ups. The aim of the event is to make practical AI solutions for industrial applications visible, network them and accelerate their scaling.
For details see here.

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