The Key Role of Laser Ultrasonics in the Context of Sustainable Production in an I 4.0 Value Chain

The advancement of laser ultrasonics has increased rapidly in recent years, providing applications for materials characterization as well as for industrial utilization, as a quality control device. The wide-ranging capabilities for high-temperature in-situ analysis of a variety of microstructural characteristics offers a multitude of possibilities for usage in R&D. To date, this is the only known method that has been successfully deployed for in-situ materials characterization, as well as in the harsh environment of the metalworking industry. Combined with the enablers, introduced by the fourth industrial revolution, and the conjunction of a laser ultrasonic system with a Smart Production Lab, it has great potential to contribute to lower rejection rates, better recyclability, and consequently to a more sustainable production. In this review, the potential for systemic sustainability is explained throughout a part of the value chain, in the context of Industry 4.0. In addition, the integration of the methodology into a miniaturized Smart Production Lab is demonstrated, with the intention of incorporating it as a substantial part of the creation of a digital twin. Such a lab is designed to serve as an interface between laboratory and industry, in order to reveal the possibilities of digital transformation, Industry 4.0, and the application of highly flexible systems such as the laser-ultrasonic system for companies.