Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology

System solutions for the sustainable, resilient and digitalized production of tomorrow

The Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT develops system solutions for the sustainable, resilient and digitized production of resource-conserving products and the associated services.

We optimize new and existing methods, technologies and processes for efficient, crisis-proof and ecological production of the future, which includes climate protection and environmental compatibility in its calculations. As a partner of the manufacturing industry, we make significant contributions to the establishment of new manufacturing processes, production systems and business models through our research work.

Let us take you along on the path to "Next Generation Production" - a more climate-, environmentally- and resource-friendly production!

Next Generation Production - go with us!

Our vision of "Next Generation Production" is sustainable, resilient and digitized production that secures prosperity in society while protecting valuable resources of our planet.

Our focus: sustainability in production

Production is the enabler for making products sustainable – that's why we keep both in mind: ecological and economic criteria.

Sustainable production

Resilient into the future

Resilience is the ability to weather the storms of the business world as unscathed as possible. We are researching what companies can do to ensure that yours always finds a safe haven in projects with our industry partners.

Resilience

Digitization: enabler of green production

The benefits of digitization run through almost all value-adding processes. We use it as a toolbox for the green production of the future.

Our digitization topics

Success through scientific excellence and technological expertise

Production technology thrives on its diversity: Together with companies from different industries, we research and develop strategic approaches, organizational structures, technological processes and complex products at the limits of what is technically feasible - always with a view to feasibility in industrial implementation. We see our employees as the mainstay of our institute: with a high level of professionalism and commitment, they create the basis for leading your ideas and tasks to success.

Our offer for partners and customers

More than research and development: Find out what services you can expect from the Fraunhofer IPT for the strategic and organizational development of your company. We will be happy to inform you about how we can make your production scientifically sound and sustainably fit for the future!

Discover our service offer

Industries in focus

Knowledge and experience for our partners:

Research and development for industry

Production lives through technology: The Fraunhofer IPT not only conducts research on almost all current production technologies and manufacturing processes, but is also considered a pioneer in the development of completely new production methods and digitized processes. Explore here which topics we are currently working on particularly intensively!

Discover technologies

The recipe for success: Our employees

We regard the promotion and education of young scientists as one of our main tasks.

Jobs and career

5.5.2023

Joint expertise from industry and research: New regulations standardize optical coherence tomography

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a groundbreaking imaging technique that generates high-resolution cross-sectional images of transparent and semitransparent media. It is used both in industrial metrology, for example in quality assurance, and in biomedical diagnostics, such as ophthalmology or tissue diagnostics. Companies and research institutes focusing on industrial metrology and medical technology also expect a wide range of other fields of application. They cooperate in the VDI/VDE - Society for Measurement and Automatic Control (GMA) in an expert committee on OCT. They have recently published the guideline VDI/VDE 5565 part 1 with standardized process descriptions.

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25.4.2023

Go-ahead for 6G in industry: EU funds technology development with more than 13 million euros

While 5G mobile technology is beginning to make its way into the mainstream, research and development for industry continues apace: testing new technologies for 5G and now also for its successor 6G is the goal of the ambitious EU research project "TARGET-X" led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT based in Aachen, Germany. The project is aimed at the automotive, construction, energy and manufacturing sectors. Part of the funding, a total of six million euros, is available to up to 100 other research partners for participation in the project: To this end, sub-projects for specific technology developments and applications will be publicly called for proposals. Applications will be accepted shortly.

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15.3.2023

Fraunhofer IPT manufactures super-lightweight frame for experiments in outer space

The SpaceX Cargo Dragon space shuttle departed from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the International Space Station (ISS) at 2:30 a.m. CET on March 15, 2023. Among others, the shuttle carried an experimental setup that a team of students in the small satellite group KSat e.V. of the University of Stuttgart will use to conduct three experiments. The students were supported by a team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT in Aachen, who designed and manufactured the super-light and extremely stable support structures for the experiments.

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25.1.2023

Call for Papers for the 9th International Conference "Polymer Replication on Nanoscale" in Aachen, Germany

Processes for the cost-effective production of micro- and nanostructured surfaces from polymer material are in great demand for the industrial mass production of functional films and molded components. Existing injection molding and roll-to-roll processes often cannot yet achieve the required throughput and sufficiently high reproducibility for many promising product ideas. The ninth international conference "Polymer Replication on Nanoscale" (PRN), which will take place in Aachen on June 1 and 2, 2023, will therefore focus on processes for more efficient production of functional nanostructured surfaces and present possible solutions.

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Seminar / June 27, 2023

Artificial Intelligence in Production

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Fair / September 13–14, 2023

hy-fcell

Meet us at the hy-fcell
Stuttgart, Germany
Hall 2, Booth 2F17

Online Seminar / July 4, 2023

Introduction to virtualization & containerization for industrial production

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Further events and dates

We offer interested parties from science and industry the opportunity to get to know us and our research work at trade fairs, conferences, seminars and workshops.

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