Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT
Company Introduction
The Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT combines knowledge and experience from all areas of production technology. Located in Aachen, we offer customers and partners applied re-search and development for networked, adaptive production. We do not only understand production in its individual steps, but also consider the entirety of the processes and the interconnections among various elements of the process chain. Our range of services is oriented towards the current challenges of specific industries, technologies and product areas such as tool and mold making, the optical industry, turbomachinery manufacturing, energy storages, life sciences engineering, lightweight production technology.
The Fraunhofer IPT also operates a unique test environment for the future mobile radio standard 5G in cooperation with Ericsson, the Swedish provider of mobile radio and telecommunications technology. In this environment, industrial application scenarios based on the wireless transmission standard can be tested and are further developed.
About Our Additive Manufacturing Business and Products
In addition to conventional manufacturing processes, unconventional technologies are increasingly shaping the manufacturing landscape. Powder bed-based additive manufacturing processes such as Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) and wire-based additive manufacturing processes such as Laser Metal Deposition with wire (LMD-w) offer many advantages for production in almost every industrial sector and are forward-looking process technologies. The Fraunhofer IPT does research and developments in this field of metal AM and integrates additive manufacturing processes into entire process chains.
Future Perspective and Expectation for German-Japanese Market
The LPBF (Laser Powder Bed Fusion) process knows few limits and can be used to produce virtually any desired geometrical shape. Scientists of the Fraunhofer IPT currently focus on developments around LPBF manufacturing of so-called »hybrid parts«. At Fraunhofer IPT, a hybrid part is understood as a part, on which structures are build up additively by applying material onto previously existing semi-finished products. These semi-finished products can be simple plates, forgings, castings, or even components already machined by milling, turning, electrochemical machining (ECM) or similar. Hybrid manufacturing processes can save process time and costs, on the one hand, and are ideally suited for repairing components, on the other. The hybrid manufacturing approach extends the range of applications of LPBF far beyond the production of new parts and is an essential component for using the LPBF process in an industrial context while covering costs. These developments also include new concepts and designs for clamping solutions.
However, the Fraunhofer IPT scientists do not look at the processes in isolation, but within the entire process chain. Since the Fraunhofer IPT cooperates closely with experts in various production technologies, the scientists are able to identify the optimal process chain even before the LPBF process begins. This interdisciplinary cooperation also guarantees that LPBF is seamlessly integrated into existing process chains at the customer's site.
Message for Visitors
The additive production of individualized and complex components no longer only polarizes the industrial market, but also has an impact on consumers and end users. The Fraunhofer IPT scientists are further developing wire-based laser metal deposition (LMD-w) to manufacture metallic components. Originally designed for wear protection, LMD-w uses a laser to melt wire and deposit it in layers on the surface of the component. A wide range of different standardized cored wires, solid wires and special laser wires are available when the wire filler material has to be selected, material that can be processed very cost-effectively and produce high-quality components. LMD-w not only is environmentally friendly, but also uses material efficiently.
