West Berlin, 1976. You might think of bell-bottoms, color TV, and neon lights. But there's more going on in the walled city: On Kurfürstendamm, in inconspicuous rooms, the course is being set for the future of production science in Berlin.
On September 1, 1976, the institute, known as »IPA-Berlin« in its early years, began its work. Starting with only three employees, the institute developed into a scientific institution of international renown within a few years. Growth in the early years was so rapid that the institute had to move and rent additional space several times before it could move to its current location in the Production Technology Center (PTZ) Berlin on Charlottenburg's Spreebogen in 1986, together with the Institute for Machine Tools and Factory Management (IWF) of the Technische Universität Berlin.
Since then, the institute has seen and experienced a lot. From the fall of the Berlin Wall and the resulting upheavals to the current environmental and social challenges that industry must adapt to. The institute's research work has evolved from an initial focus on automated manufacturing solutions to supporting the entire process chain of industrial companies. Technological trends from the early days of »automated drawing production« to advances in manufacturing automation, to Industry 4.0 and artificial intelligence have played an important role in this development. What we now refer to as »digitally integrated production« is a guiding principle that has driven the institute from the very beginning: How can industrial production be made more efficient and powerful with digital and, later, networked solutions, while at the same time focusing on the people working in manufacturing?
Today, Fraunhofer IPK employs around 400 scientists, students, technical staff, and administrative personnel from 31 countries. Small and medium-sized enterprises benefit from our research work just as much as large companies. Yesterday as today, we are making their production fit for the future: inventive, human-centered, and resource-efficient.
Images on the right:
Flexible packaging system for chocolates, ca. 1983
Mobile assistance system for maintenance and repair of machines, current research
Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology
