AUTOKINITISTIKI is a company in constant search of optimization not only of quality, but of all its operations and processes through scientific programs and data.

In 2012, it began the cooperation with the professors of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Mssr. Georgios Savvaidis and Nikolaos Michailidis, to study the mechanical behavior and strength of the leaf spring assemblies we manufacture. Our team was led by Dr. Roselita Fragkoudaki-Vadoka, Mechanical Engineer (BSME, ME & PhD Tufts University), Mechanical Engineer professor at Merrimack College, Boston, USA.

The study entitled “Optimizing the development and production of high-performance bending springs” was completed in 2015. Based on that a proposal was submitted to the General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT) on “SUPPORTING NEW AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES”, Operation “Supporting New Enterprises for Research and Technological Development Activities”.

Our proposal took the first place in 174 research proposals. The purpose of the project is to create technological structures to improve and develop the production of new high-quality and high-standard products in line with the contemporary requirements of the European industry.

The findings of the study have been published in scientific journals and presented at international conferences and are as follows:

• “Microstructural, Surface and Fatigue Analysis of Stress Peened Leaf Springs," G. Savaidis, S. Karditsas, A. Savaidis and R. Fragoudakis, International Journal of Structural Integrity, to be published in 2015.
• “The Effect of Heat and Surface Treatment on the Fatigue Behavior of 56SiCr7 Spring Steel," R. Fragoudakis, S. Karditsas, G. Savaidis and N. Michailidis, Procedia Engineering, 2014, pp. 309-312 & presented at the XV11 International Colloquium on Mechanical Fatigue of Metals (ICMFM17), Milan, Italy, June 25-27, 2014.
• “Microstructure, Surface Characterization and Fatigue Assessment of 56SiCr7 Spring Steel," R. Fragoudakis, F. Stergioudi, N. Michailidis and G. Savaidis, Periodical of Key Engineering Materials, vol. 605, Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Materials and Applications for Sensors and Transducers (IC-MAST 2013), Prague, Czech Republic, September 13-17, 2013.
• “Leaf Springs – Design, Calculation and Testing Requirements," S. Karditsas, G. Savaidis, A. Michailidis, A. Savaidis and R. Fragoudakis, 35th Workshop on Mechanics of Materials, Rhodes, Greece, June 3-7, 2014.

Following this success, we continued our cooperation with Professor Savvaidis’ laboratory and participated in additional programs, such as: