Newsletter of the Fraunhofer IST

Information for visitors, customers and partners of the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST: The street Bienroder Weg has been renamed Riedenkamp by the City of Braunschweig. As a result, our address at the institute will also be changing. From 13^th June 2023, you will find the Fraunhofer IST at its familiar location but with the new address “Riedenkamp 2, 38108 Braunschweig”.

The Fraunhofer ZESS is centered around the development of system solutions for energy storage and hydrogen technologies. To achieve this, the Fraunhofer institutes IFAM,  IST and IKTS are being provided with a new institute building at the Braunschweig Research Airport. The groundbreaking ceremony on June 7, 2023 marked the start of construction on a research building.

The requirements placed upon production are increasing continuously.  At the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST, systems for improved process control and the automated process management of coating processes are developed on the basis of a holistic understanding of the process. One example is the MOCCA+® software, which will be demonstrated live at LASER 2023.

Dr. Andreas Pflug from the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST was presented with the “Mentor Award” at this year’s conference of the Society of Vacuum Coaters (SVC TechCon 2023) in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the field of plasma-process simulation. With the award the SVC acknowledges exceptional contributions towards the development of vacuum coating technology or services to society.

Whether drilling, turning or milling: In machining – as well as in primary forming and re-forming, die casting and many other applications – tools are of pivotal importance for industrial production. One objective of the work at the Fraunhofer IST in Braunschweig is the development of resilient and smart tools under the requirements of sustainability. 

In order to achieve optimum product quality, precise control of the production process is necessary. For this purpose, the relevant parameters must be continuously recorded. In this context, the Fraunhofer IST will be presenting its most recent developments for the optimization of cotter rolling processe: Thin-film sensor inserts which enable precise in-situ detection of the temperature distribution on the tool surface.

Autonomous, self-controlling production systems have tremendous potential in the transformation towards sustainability. Through the development of integrated and wear-resistant thin-film sensors, parameters such as force, temperature or wear can be recorded in the vicinity of highly stressed forming zones. As a result, the manufacturing process for high-quality cold-forged parts can be monitored and optimized.