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At present armatures and cores in electromagnetic contactor systems consist of soft-iron, soft-magnetic castings or stampings fixed with rivet joints. To guarantee the reliability of the product, it is necessary to integrate a remanence air gap into the magnet system. Today’s state-of-the-art technologies for integrating the remanence air gap lead to high production costs and tolerance problems. To avoid these problems, an innovative high-performance process was developed using a nonmagnetic foil for realizing the remanence air gap. Because of the high demands on the lifespan of the contactors and the critical function of the foil, special attention has to be paid to bonding. Prior to bonding, surface cleanliness has to be guaranteed. To accomplish this task, a cleanliness examination system is being developed consisting of an image processing system and an analytical measurement method. The image processor detects whether or not residues are present and provides the subsequent modified spectroscopy method with a priori information concerning the character of the residue and its location. Out of the analysis of the identified region an objective index is generated describing the extent of contamination. The analysis results support the decision whether or not the foil may be bonded to the armature’s surface.

Several concepts to increase the efficiency of modelling processes for simulation such as the use of specialised simulation tools, model integration, implementation of reference models and model reuse are discussed. Systems similar to existing model management systems (MMS) are postulated for simulation of production systems. A prototype MMS for material flow simulation is presented by describing its distributed architecture, its application during the modelling process and as an optimisation tool. Substantial advantages of this new MMS are the support of distributed planning teams and a higher efficiency of the modelling process by multiple use of simulation models. Finally, experience from an industrial test phase is discussed and requirements for the industrial operation of the system are derived.