Press Releases 2020

Automation is one of the most important strategies for increasing efficiency in production. The positioning and drilling end effector newly developed for a portal system to automate the pre-assembly of stiffening elements (cleats) on CFRP integral frames for the manufacture of aircraft fuselages – made available by project partner Airbus Hamburg – enables production rate increases both with constant quality and at lower costs.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM in Dresden has expanded its simulation facilities at the site in order to be able to inves-tigate flow and energy processes in materials even better.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM in Dresden is part of the initiative “HySpeedInnovation”, which brings together a number of leading organisations in research and technology (RTOs) that offer pro-posals to speed up the development of water electrolysis as a green energy technology.

A hybrid implant coating made from antibacterial silver and an antibiotic will protect patients from infection in the future. The antibiotic is tailored to the pa-tient’s unique requirements for even better protection. The AntiSelectInfekt project came about in collaboration with a research team from Charité-Universtitätsmedizin Berlin.

A major challenge for the design and reliability of cast components is the scattering of mechanical characteristics. Microdefects, which occur during the casting process, determine the quality of the casting. Development of these defects is a random process. Within the framework of an AiF project, the Fraunhofer Institutes IFAM and IWM have developed a methodology to model these stochastic influences on the failure behavior of castings. The simulation can be used to calculate local material properties, identify weaknesses in a design and thus optimize the production process in a systematic way. For foundries, this means significant savings in costs.

The need for everyday objects with antiviral surfaces is high due to the COVID 19 pandemic. It is known that the material composition of an object has an influence on the viability of viruses on surfaces. This is where the work of the Fraunhofer IFAM comes in: In cross-disciplinary research projects between material science and biology, the effect of functionalized surfaces and treatment processes on the survival time of viruses is evaluated for various materials using real-time PCR tests. The detection system is also of interest to material developers from industry who want to optimize their products with regard to antiviral effectiveness.

The sustainable use of resources in the production, utilization and disposal of a product is not only determined by legislation, but is also demanded within society. In industry, therefore, material developments and joining technologies are in demand to conserve resources and avoid a linear economy. To achieve this goal, experts from the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Applied Materials IFAM have bundled their expertise and published the study "Circular economy and adhesive bonding technology". It describes the role of adhesive bonding technology in the context of circular economy and life cycle assessments in a comprehensive and cross-sectoral manner and classifies it in the political framework conditions from a global and European perspective.

The energy carrier hydrogen can be produced very efficiently from renewable energies by electrolysis of water. In industrial electrolysis plants, electrodes with a total area of several hundred square meters are installed. Find out how Fraunhofer IFAM develops and qualifies electrodes suitable for mass production for industry.

As the newest facility of its Innovation Center Additive Manufacturing (ICAM), Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden has put into operation the so-called "Fusion Factory" of XERION BERLIN LABORATORIES. This is a compact production line for the additive manufacture of metallic and ceramic components using fused filament fabrication.

Since July 1, 2020, the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM in Dresden has been concentrating on a future-oriented field of research with its new working group on "Soft Magnetic Materials", which is particularly important for the highly topical areas of renewable energies and electromobility.