SKZ and IANUS win Gold Award at the Inovyn Awards 2025
The SKZ Plastics Center celebrates another success with its long-standing partner, IANUS Simulation GmbH. The “KIcKER” cooperation project wins the Gold Award at the Inovyn Awards 2025 in the Performance & Design category. The Inovyn Awards ceremony took place at the K trade fair in Düsseldorf.
The SKZ “KIcKER” team with extruded square profile (from left): Mingo Kübert, Johannes Rudloff, Hatice Malatyali, and Theresa Forster. (Photo: Luca Hoffmannbeck, SKZ)
AI-based optimization module for profile extrusion tools is changing the PVC industry
In collaboration with its long-standing partner, IANUS Simulation GmbH, SKZ carried out a research project called “KIcKER – Artificial Intelligence for Cloud-Based Optimization of Plastic Extrusion Tools Using Numerical Calculations.” The aim of the research project was to develop a simulation-based AI assistance system for the automated optimization of profile extrusion tools. For this, SKZ and IANUS were awarded gold in the Performance & Design category at the Inovyn Awards 2025 in October 2025. A total of 113 projects from Europe, America, Africa, and Asia participated in this year's competition. The competition was organized by the company INOES Inovyn.
Reduce material costs by up to 75%
This was achieved with the help of machine learning (ML) using neural networks that learn from numerical simulations and experimental data and thereby derive optimization suggestions for new tool geometries. Within the research project, IANUS developed an AI-based optimization module and integrated it into the cloud-based simulation platform StrömungsRaum®. The work of SKZ included the development of the experimental test setup, including optical measurement methods for recording real-world data for AI development. The AI system has also already been experimentally validated in PVC extrusion. This development should make it possible to reduce development times and material costs by up to 75%.
Recording center-resolved flow velocities at the tool outlet
Both the Compounding and Extrusion Group (Dr. Johannes Rudloff, Dr. Hatice Malatyali, M. Eng. Theresa Forster) and the Digitalization Group (Dipl.-Ing. Christoph Kugler, M. Sc. Mingo Kübert) at SKZ were involved in the “KIcKER” research project. Working closely together within the research project, they were able to develop a measuring system that contributed to the great success of the project. The measuring system uses high-resolution cameras and customized signal processing to measure spatially resolved flow velocities at the die exit. The flow velocities recorded from the experimental tests enabled even more detailed training of the AI.
The processing of the real-world data obtained and the development of the AI-based optimization module were carried out by IANUS (Dr. rer. nat. Kai Wenz, Dr.-Ing. Marius Dörner, Oleg Grauberger, Ali Chalgham, Markus Geveler, Robert Jendrny).
This project, with funding number 01IS22057A/B, was funded from October 1, 2022, to September 30, 2024, by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through the project management agency Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR) as part of the KI4KMU program. The SKZ Plastics Center and IANUS Simulation GmbH would like to thank the BMBF and the DLR for funding the research project.
