Towards “First-Time-Right” Production in Metal Forming Processes

The increasing demand for customized and sustainable products is driving the manufacturing industry toward the adoption of the ‘First-Time-Right’ principle. This approach focuses on maximizing process efficiency, minimizing waste, and reducing operational costs. To achieve these objectives, the implementations of in-line control techniques and real time adaptive processes is crucial. These methods aim to minimize the reliance on trial and error approaches and compensate for dispersion of processes and material parameters. However, the systematic and comprehensive integration of all these systems still encounters resistance in traditional metal forming systems, where machines and equipment have often been designed and optimized over time without full consideration of these aspects. The purpose of this paper is therefore to analyse the advancements in the field, illustrating the main advantages and limitations of integrating control systems into metal forming processes, and to explore how these innovations can drive the industry towards achieving ‘First-Time-Right’ production in metal forming processes.