Autonomous, self-controlling production systems have tremendous potential in the transformation towards sustainability. At the Hannover Messe, the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST will be presenting innovative solutions for real-time data acquisition directly in the running process.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…

Artificial muscles are making drive systems small and sustainable. Wherever electric motors or electromagnets are too large or too heavy to be incorporated into a technical component, the novel drive mechanisms being developed by a research team led by Professors Stefan Seelecke and Paul Motzki at Saarland University can help to save space, weight and energy. Their shape-memory drives have a diameter of 300–400 microns (1 micron = 1 thousandth of a millimetre) and are ultralight and very energy efficient….

Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) are indispensable key components for electro mobility and the success of the energy transition. They offer high energy density and high cycle stability. Eight partners from industry and science are developing technologies and components in the funded project “revoLect” (funding reference: 03ETE041) in order to be able to produce resource-saving and more efficient LIBs. The project is pursuing two key innovations: the replacement of the usual metal foils with a metallized fabric structure and the use of…

New technology is making it possible to control valves and locking devices without the need for any additional sensors. A metal piston, a tiny chip and small pulses of current – that’s all that the drive systems specialists led by Professor Matthias Nienhaus of Saarland University need for their sustainable and cost-effective technology. The continuously adjustable piston can move back and forth slowly or quickly as required, can hold any position and can return softly to its stop position if…

These highly stable metal-organic frameworks could be useful for applications such as capturing greenhouse gases. Materials known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have a rigid, cage-like structure that lends itself to a variety of applications, from gas storage to drug delivery. By changing the building blocks that go into the materials, or the way they are arranged, researchers can design MOFs suited to different uses. However, not all possible MOF structures are stable enough to be deployed for applications such as…

Artificial muscles and nerves made from the shape memory alloy nickel-titanium are making robot arms as supple and agile as their animal counterparts. But these artificial limbs also weigh less, will work tirelessly and can be precisely controlled. The bionic robot arms that are being developed by Professor Stefan Seelecke’s research team at Saarland University in collaboration with the German automation specialist Festo consume very little electric power and can work safely with humans. The research team will be presenting…

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. Their performance significantly influences both the quality and the cost of the manufactured product and, consequently, the economic and ecological sustainability of the production process. One objective of the work at the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST in Braunschweig is the development of resilient and…

Rice, UMD lead effort to overcome major barrier. They’re considered some of the strongest materials on the planet, but tapping that strength has proved to be a challenge. 2D materials, thinner than the most delicate onionskin paper, have attracted intense interest because of their incredible mechanical properties. Those properties, however, dissipate when the materials are stacked in multiple layers, thus limiting their usefulness. “Think of a graphite pencil,” says Teng Li, Keystone Professor at the University of Maryland’s (UMD) Department of Mechanical…

Texas A&M researchers discover storage capacity increase of water-based battery electrodes. Researchers at Texas A&M University have discovered a 1,000% difference in the storage capacity of metal-free, water-based battery electrodes. These batteries are different from lithium-ion batteries that contain cobalt. The group’s goal of researching metal-free batteries stems from having better control over the domestic supply chain since cobalt and lithium are outsourced. This safer chemistry would also prevent battery fires. Chemical engineering professor Dr. Jodie Lutkenhaus and chemistry assistant…

A research team at Chalmers University of Technology is the first to demonstrate a unique method that reduces the aerodynamic resistance of ships by 7.5 per cent. This opens the way for large cargo ships borne across the oceans by wind alone, as wind-powered ships are more affected by aerodynamic drag than fossil-fueled ones. To hit international climate targets, the carbon emissions from shipping must be reduced by more than 50 per cent by 2050 compared to 2008 levels. As…

– Coupled with Improved Performance. High-performance battery cells are a crucial prerequisite for electrifying the mobility sector. With this in mind, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen have developed innovative laser-based technologies for producing lithium-ion batteries — which, in comparison with those produced conventionally, can be charged more quickly and have a longer service lifetime. Furthermore, laser-based drying in the water-based electrode coating process is significantly more efficient. Fraunhofer ILT will be presenting a demonstrator…

Traffic researchers from TU Dresden and Ruhr-University Bochum want to optimise the design, marking and signage of “turbo roundabouts”. Roundabouts have become an integral part of the German road network. In many places they increase traffic safety at junctions and promote traffic flow. Since the 1990s, this type of junction has become widespread throughout Germany. Thirty years later, a new type of roundabout is the focus of a research project that has become more widespread in recent years: “turbo roundabouts”….

Manufacturing automobiles requires energy and resources on a large scale. Higher vehicle mileage could result in a significant drop in the continuous energy demand during production, while also reducing the extraction of natural resources considerably. This is where the KOSEL research project comes in; a project that has seen the Fraunhofer IWU join forces with partners from industry and research: Vehicle components that have a long service life can be used over several vehicle life cycles and therefore do not…

Force-sensitive, dynamic, energy efficient and with a range of applications – these qualities are what distinguish the new robot gripper created by the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechatronic Systems Design IEM. It can transport fragile objects from one production step to the next without damaging them. The gripper is specially designed for the food industry, where careful handling of fragile products helps to avoid waste. The electric drive makes costly pneumatics obsolete. The robot gripper will be presented at the joint…

Modern lightweight construction has already been helping automotive and aerospace industry to save fuel and materials and to reduce environmental impact. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS have recently found a way to transfer such proven design principles to other industries. By using lasers, they weld filigree hollow chamber structures with cover sheets to form lightweight sandwich panels. Such metal structures can be produced particularly efficiently in the roll-to-roll process of the Fraunhofer IWS. The…

Advanced materials become increasingly complex due to the high requirements they have to fulfill regarding sustainability and applicability. Dierk Raabe, and colleagues reviewed the use of artificial intelligence in materials science and the untapped spaces it opens if combined with physics-based simulations. Compared to traditional simulation mehtods AI has several advantages and will play a crucial role for material sciences in the future. Max Planck scientists explore the possibilities of artificial intelligence in materials science and publish their review in…