Press Releases

For several years now, 5G has promised to improve production by enabling the monitoring of process flows or, for example, the control of mobile robots in real time. There are numerous companies with an interest in 5G, but many lack the know-how and resources to take the first steps. The Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT in Aachen has therefore designed a "5G Portfolio", an offering that supports companies on their journey to 5G production, created with Ericsson’s Private 5G network solution. The 5G portfolio ranges from evaluation and testing of various use cases, to in-house network planning and installation. Companies also can test a mobile 5G test system on their own shop floors. The system is provided to the Fraunhofer IPT by Ericsson. This is particularly attractive for small and medium-sized companies, where the initial costs represent a hurdle and the added values of 5G must first be proven.

Today, public cloud systems can be used for outsourcing computationally intensive applications and storing large amounts of data. However, these systems are not designed for millisecond-accurate control of machines in production environments. They are not freely configurable and are difficult to connect to real-time-capable networks. The Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT has developed the Fraunhofer Edge Cloud in collaboration with other institutes and its partner German Edge Cloud to show companies how they can use local cloud systems to monitor their machines and plants and exchange sensor information. The hardware and software architecture of the Fraunhofer Edge Cloud will be showcased using various example applications from May 30 to June 2 at the Hannover Messe 2022 at the joint Fraunhofer booth in Hall 5, Booth A06.

Since the end of 2019, the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT in Aachen has been making research in industrial applications of 5G mobile communication technology – and now the findings from previous research projects are to be transferred to the construction and mining sectors. The aim of a consortium of research institutions and industrial companies in the "5G.NAMICO - Networked, Adaptive Mining and Construction" project is to drive digitization in construction and mining, as well as to increase the efficiency of work processes and relieve personnel of monotonous and dangerous work. To test the possibilities of the technology, our partners are using two newly established 5G networks: one at a reference construction site in Aachen and one in an underground mine in Sondershausen, Thuringia.

From high-gloss brochures to new cars: paint layers that are also supposed to shine in front of customers must be smooth and even to reflect perfect quality. The Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT in Aachen, Germany, has developed an interferometric measurement method that can be used to reliably measure whether thin transparent layers of paint have been applied evenly: the possibilities offered by optical coherence tomography (OCT) for measuring such paint layers will be presented to the trade fair by the Fraunhofer IPT using a prototype at Control, the leading international trade fair for quality assurance from May 3 to 6, 2022 in Stuttgart.

Today, the Fraunhofer Project Center at the University of Twente is excited to announce a new identity. To better reflect its commitment to empowering innovation in the manufacturing sector, it is changing name to the Fraunhofer Innovation Platform for Advanced Manufacturing at the University of Twente (FIP-AM@UT). This new identity more closely represents what it does every day and continues the strong cooperation between the University of Twente and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in Germany – Europe’s largest application-orientated research organization.

In laser processes, deviations in the laser's parameters quickly lead to serious defects in the component, which is why it is ideally necessary to react immediately. The Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT in Aachen has developed a modular system based on optical coherence tomography (OCT) that can detect deviations during laser processing. The Fraunhofer IPT will be presenting the new possibilities for measurement and data acquisition in the ongoing process at the trade fair using a prototype at the "Laser - World of Photonics" trade fair in Munich from April 26 to 29, 2022.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a new imaging technique that generates high-resolution cross-sectional images of transparent and semitransparent media. It is used both in industrial metrology, for example in component monitoring, 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-Gesellschaft Mess- und Automatisierungstechnik (GMA) in an expert committee on OCT and have now published a first draft guideline with standardized process descriptions.

Process stability and control are of great importance in laser metal deposition: Ideally, abnormalities and deviations in the process must be immediately addressed without delay to prevent interrupting the process. This is where systems for machine-integrated monitoring are needed - they can check such processes directly on the spot and initiate corrections. Together with its industrial and research partners, the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT has, therefore, integrated the imaging inspection method optical coherence tomography (OCT) into a coaxial process for wire-based laser metal deposition, or LMD-w. The new OCT measurement methodology can not only record the welding process in progress, but also control the quality and process during use, reducing scrap. LMD-w can, thus, be used as a fully-fledged 3D printing process in the future.

Keeping the balance between quality, production efficiency and costs has always been difficult in the manufacturing of precision optics. To make manufacturing data usable for these purposes by creating a digital twin along the production chain for quick optimization is therefore the goal of the "EverPro" research project at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT in Aachen. The Aachen researchers have now published their findings on the development and implementation of a data structure that can fully describe digital twins of spherical and aspherical lenses in a new white paper, which is ready for free download.

The effects of climate change are leading to a change of perspective not only in industry and society: Manufacturers and suppliers of engines and stationary turbomachinery have long recognized that the overriding goals of conserving resources and reducing emissions can now only be achieved if they are able to implement both evolutionary and revolutionary concepts along the entire product life cycle. How to succeed in meeting the associated challenges in the manufacture and repair of turbomachinery is the central question of the sixth ICTM Conference, which will be held on February 16 and 17, 2022, which will be held completely digitally for the first time. Discounted early bird tickets are available until January 23 and online registration is open until February 11, 2022.