Nearly all industrially manufactured products have one thing in common: without efficient manufacturing processes, they would be virtually unaffordable. They also wouldn’t meet our quality standards. Whether it’s a car, a toothbrush, or a smartphone—many complex, but also very simple products, would be impossible to manufacture or accessible to only a very few people without innovative production technology. This is where we at Fraunhofer IWU come in. Our research goal is to develop even better processes, systems, and technical solutions. For us, “better” means: resource-efficient, climate-friendly, and in close collaboration with companies of all sizes.
We unlock potential for competitive manufacturing, across industries like automotive, aerospace, electrical engineering, and precision engineering. Our research and contract research encompass the entire manufacturing ecosystem, from individual components to processes, methods, complex machine systems and human interaction. We master the processing of a wide variety of materials and explore the latest technologies in lightweight engineering and additive manufacturing (3D printing). To support the transition to renewable energies, we develop solutions for integrating electricity storage systems into factories and for the large-scale production of hydrogen systems.
Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology