Press & Media

“Instead of growth, we must focus on values!” – this statement by BASF executive Saori Dubourg is what participants of the 30th Aachen Machine Tool Colloquium (AWK) took home on September 23, 2021. More than 1,400 specialists and executives from the management levels of the manufacturing industry had followed the call of the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) of RWTH Aachen University and the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT to the traditional network meeting: After a postponement due to the coronavirus, the AWK took place with the motto “Internet of Production – Turning Data into Sustainability” as one of the first large face-to-face events on-site in Aachen and simultaneously as an online conference.

A team of researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT in Aachen has developed a hybrid additive manufacturing process that combines wire-based and powder-based laser cladding (LMD). The new process can be used to apply protective coatings of high-strength tool steel to workpieces and repair surface defects at low cost. The tool coatings produced in this way are more wear-resistant, resource-efficient and cost-efficient than those produced by other methods. Following successful test series with tool components, there are plans to use the process to machine hydraulic components.

Manufacturing companies that network their machines and systems are particularly at risk from security vulnerabilities and attacks on their IT infrastructure. This was determined by the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT in the course of scientific investigations for the white paper "Cybersecurity in Networked Production", which has now also been published in English. The Aachen scientists now want to further develop the cross-industry "Production Security Readiness Check" in an AiF-funded research project together with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Interested companies that would like to thoroughly check their production IT with regard to protection and security can still participate in the project.

To create a sustainable road traffic system, hundreds of thousands of fuel cells will be needed for hydrogen-powered cars in the future. Until now, though, fuel cell production has been complex and too slow. The Fraunhofer team is therefore developing a continuous production line that will be able to process fuel cell components in cycles lasting just seconds. The pilot line is set to be presented at the Hannover Messe Digital Edition from April 12 to April 16, 2021.