Better, Faster: Production

One of the ways our researchers are getting production ready for the circular economy is by developing process and tool technologies for dry machining. By not requiring liquid dielectrics and coolants or peripheral equipment, they make it possible to avoid environmentally harmful waste, as well as saving resources and energy. Dry and residue-free machining using CO₂ shot peening, for example, is of interest for large and complex lightweight components in the wind energy, aviation and automotive industries. For this purpose, a new system is being developed at Fraunhofer IPK that is designed to increase productivity by up to 25 percent and reduce processing costs by up to 60 percent compared to conventional systems. In terms of cleaning processes, wet-chemical processes have been replaced by CO₂ technologies for some time now. CO₂ snow blasting technology is being developed further for cleaning bipolar plates for fuel cells and electrolyzers. Prof. Julian Polte, head of the Production Systems division at Fraunhofer IPK, is convinced that »if manufacturers succeed in making their production processes more energy- and resource-efficient, they will automatically increase their productivity and reliability as well.«

Focus on machine tools

Machine tools themselves offer many potential starting points for making the machining of complex components economical and reliable. For example, our researchers are investigating how wear during milling can be reduced with the help of clamping device optimization. To simulate natural frequencies in machining, they have developed an alternative workpiece clamping concept with better workpiece accessibility. The new system aims to significantly reduce tool wear while simultaneously allowing for an increased feed rate. Another new feature is an automated external flushing unit for die-sinking EDM machines, which ensures reproducible machining results and up to 30 percent faster machining.

Solutions for tool-free production, which can be used to overcome supply bottlenecks and reduce development times (for example for new electric drives), are also part of current research and development projects, as is the integration of mobile robot platforms and lightweight industrial robots into logistics. In the future this could enable SMEs to connect machine tools and assembly stations to each other quickly and flexibly, thereby reducing set-up times by up to 50 percent. From a technological perspective, additive manufacturing makes possible what can no longer be produced conventionally: complex structures generated with the help of AI for high-performance tools that can deliver a very high cooling capacity close to the contour, or for heat exchangers, which are an important part of the thermal management in electric vehicles.

»If manufacturers succeed
in making their production processes
more energy- and resource-efficient,
they will automatically increase
their productivity and reliability as well.«

Highest precision in the name of health

The medical and life sciences sectors can benefit from new technologies as well, for example in the production of mRNA-based medications. Many production processes in the pharmaceutical industry are based on technical mixing processes. The mixing quality not only determines the quality of products such as active ingredients in medications and nanoparticles, but ultimately also their effectiveness. The FDmix platform, a joint development between Fraunhofer IPK and FDX Fluid Dynamix GmbH, achieves mixtures of unprecedented homogeneity with minimal mixing times and is scalable across a wide volume flow range. The platform enables efficient and robust series production of pharmaceutical and chemical industry products. »FDmix is an outstanding example of how we create technological solutions that ultimately benefit every single patient,« says Dr. Christoph Hein, head of the Ultra- and High-Precision Technology division.

This also includes the latest in-vitro methods, microproduction technologies and imaging processes to improve the surfaces of implants and avoid clinical complications after dental, hip or knee surgeries. Active substances can be tested safely, without the need for animal testing, using organ-on-a-chip technologies that our researchers are working on. And a new inline CT system checks medical polymer parts such as heart valves 50 times faster than conventional measuring methods thanks to AI-supported data evaluation – thus enabling a 100 percent control in the production cycle for the first time.