Press Releases 2018

Adhesive bonding has enormous technological benefits when bonding processes are performed effectively. The key to the latter is quality workforce training – something the Training Center for Adhesive Bonding Technology at Fraunhofer IFAM has provided for more than two decades. The Workforce Training and Technology Transfer department at Fraunhofer IFAM has been led by Prof. Dr. Andreas Groß since 1994 and incorporates the Training Center for Adhesive Bonding Technology as an accredited training organization. Worldwide more than a thousand people are now being trained every year. During the recent 17th Bremen Bonding Days the ten thousandth course participant was honored by Andreas Groß and Dr. Erik Meiß, Head of the Training Center for Adhesive Bonding Technology.

Automation is a key strategy for combating production bottlenecks in the aircraft manufacturing industry. The newly developed end effectors are designed for standard industrial robots for automated adhesive film placement and stringer integration in the manufacture of aircraft fuselages. These end effectors not only increase the production rate with no loss of quality but also lower the production costs. The current manual procedure also requires more process steps to achieve the same result. The automation solutions developed in the „NFM-Glare” sub-project by the experts for Automation and Production Technology at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM in Stade exceed Technology Readiness Level 5 (TRL 5). This means that the technologies have already been validated in a manufacturing environment at near-production speeds on approximately 2 x 6 meter prototypes.

Hip and dental implant operations are routine. But not entirely risk-free. They may result in infection that is difficult to control with oral or intravenous antibiotics. In such cases, the implant will probably need to be replaced. Fraunhofer researchers can now apply a precisely matched drug directly to the replacement implant while significantly increasing the effectiveness of the antibiotic via a synergism with silver ions. Their research will be on display at the MEDICA and COMPAMED trade fairs in Düsseldorf from November 12 to 15, 2018 (Hall 8a, Booth P13).

For trendsetting lightweight construction concepts, connections consisting of lightweight metals and fibre composites represent ideal material combinations. However, as both materials show different electrochemical potentials, there is the danger of contact corrosion occurring in a hybrid composite. Within the framework of a DFG research project, Fraunhofer IFAM, in cooperation with the Faserinstitut Bremen e.V., has developed a new series-capable joining technology for the combination of cast aluminum and CFRP.

Biomimetic hull coatings, radar detection of shipwreck victims, innovative robots with intelligent sensor guidance for shipbuilding – just a few of the many developments that Fraunhofer scientists will be presenting at the Fraunhofer joint booth in Hall B6, Booth 319.

Manufacturers generally must offer high-quality products at low prices in order to remain competitive. Three Fraunhofer Institutes are therefore working on the next generation of ndustrial robots which will facilitate cost-effective production rocesses. The researchers are focusing on developing a new kinematics for milling lightweight materials, metals, and steels. he aim: achieving a production tolerance of just 0.1 millimeters all over the robot workspace starting with the very first component.

Complicated can also be made easy. Lost Foam is the innovative way to produce the most complex components more easily, cost-effectively and efficiently. The versatile process is booming, not only in Asia. From November 7 to 8, a top-class symposium on lost foam casting will take place at the Atlantic Hotel Universum in Bremen, with speakers from all over the world, a specific exchange of knowledge and the presentation of the Lost Foam Council Award 2018.

In aircraft manufacturing, much of the milling, drilling and assembly is still done by hand. This is because the raw components vary not only in size and design, but also in shape accuracy. Small differences are unavoidable in extremely lightweight and elastic materials, which poses a challenge for automated processing. Working with an industrial consortium, Fraunhofer researchers have now developed a mobile robot that is able to handle these high requirements – the only robot in the world with this capability.

At the 14th IDTechEx Printed Electronics Europe conference and exhibition, three companies were honored for their great achievements in developing and commercializing printed electronics technologies. The judges of the awards were Dr Natasha Conway, Manager - Technology Networking and R&D at Beko and Dr Alexander Mityashin, Program Manager Thin Film Electronics, IMEC.

At the JEC 2018 fair in Paris (6-8 March) the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM will present for the first time the use of flexible FlexPLAS® release film in complex hot press molds. You are invited to visit us on the communal stand of CFK Valley in Hall 5 A, Stand E 58.