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The flow of materials along regional and global value chains has far-reaching environmental, economic and social effects. The sustainability profile of materials should therefore play a central role in management. Adapting material flows to adhere to sustainable principles requires an integrated approach that includes all areas of the company. The decisive factor is that sustainable materials management ultimately requires the entire life cycle of a product to be taken into account – from design and produc- tion through to sales and aftercare measures.

In additive manufacturing – which is also known as 3D printing – plastic waste is produced, for example in the form of required support structures or faulty prints. One option for resource recirculation in additive manufacturing is direct use in a pellet 3D printer that incorporates fused granulate fabrication (FGF). The elimination of the filament production process step reduces the manufacturing time and the energy required for recirculation.

Small batch sizes are a necessity in the textile industry due to the increasing diversification of products and end applications as well as short-term orders in networked value chains. At the same time, this involves a high level of configuration, planning, preparation and im-plementation. The costs increase disproportionately and are usually not directly quantifia-ble. In addition, sustainability considerations are now increasingly required. This article de-scribes an SME-suitable, simulation-based methodology for analyzing and configuring tex-tile manufacturing systems with regard to ecological and economic sustainability for small batch sizes in textile manufacturing and illustrates this using textile manufacturing in the weaving industry as an example.

Finger fractures are usually still casted with plaster bandages. However, to avoid acampsia of the finger joints, flexibility exercises are necessary. Further disadvantages of the rigid plaster bandages are insufficient breathability and water resistance, weightiness and the necessity to apply wet and pliable plaster bandages to the injured patient. This article describes how individually designed hand orthoses without these disadvantages are attainable. With scans, modern software like STL editors (STL: Standard Tessellation Language) or CAD systems (CAD: Computer Aided Design) and additive manufacturing, complex, light weight and breathable structures are possible. Contrary to the solely mechanical art of casting with plaster, the new approach requires expertise in data processing and additive manufacturing seldom found in medical facilities. But this opens opportunities for service providers.

The importance of procurement in industrial management has largely grown over the last decades. Yet, the increasing strategic relevance also calls for more future orientation. This Delphi study develops a profound overview of topics that comprise an innovative“Procurement 2030”.

Despite the fact that SME innovation is critical to a country’s economic success, SMEs spend less than 50 % of their budget on R&D when compared to large companies. “Open innovation”is seen as helping SMEs to improve their competitive position. For regions dominated by SMEs it is important to develop an ecosystem that supports open innovation processes. Universities can be key enablers within these ecosystems. They support SMEs with their expertise in science and engineering as well as in innovation and project management. In this article we present a case study to demonstrate the role of a university of applied sciences in an open innovation ecosystem.

Implicit experiential knowledge will be lost through the retirement of the babyboomer generation. This know-how is difficult to capture and transfer. The KI_eeper project aims to develop an efficient AI-based system that automatically identifies and stores knowledge in the work process. The resulting knowledge base will provide assistance to all employees. The system will be designed in cooperation with employees according to their needs to gain high user acceptance.