Development Environments

Light-flooded and vast, the PTZ's heart is the circular machine hall in its centre. This is where most of the practical experiments are carried out by our scientists in order to research and answer industrial problems. Under a roof almost 18 metres high, there is space for around 70 machines and test stands on 3200 square meters. The hall combines everything that modern production technology has to offer: Machine tools for classical machining (grinding, milling, turning, drilling); a robotic cell mainly used for research work on life cycle engineering and maintenance; an area dedicated to cleaning with dry ice and sustainable manufacturing; in between there is space for individual machines, such as for rapid prototyping and tooling, forming or coating. In addition, the test field houses a workshop area which is used for preparatory work.

The three AMP laboratories are equipped with state-of-the-art machining and measuring technology for high- and ultra-precision machining and process development. Here, research orders are processed in which the most precise manufacturing processes are applied. We can install flexible temporary experimental set-ups that replicate the on-site situation of our customers. The ambient humidity of the entire building can be regulated to keep it in a band under 55 percent and above 45 percent. In the two labs with high-precision working environments the temperature is maintained at a constant 20 °C ± 1 °C to prevent expansion of the tools while the ambient air in the ultra-high precision lab – the most sensitive part of the AMP – is maintained at an exact temperature of 20 °C ± 0,2 °C. Furthermore, this lab is also built on a special vibration-isolated foundation of exceptionally solid mass whose supporting pillars reach down deep into the earth. All of this serves as passive vibration dampening so that neither vibrations from the road nor from the building itself can be directly transferred to this critical area.