Locations

The principal facilities of Fraunhofer IWU are located in Chemnitz, a city with a long tradition in mechanical engineering. The campus “E³ Production” located in direct vicinity to the Chemnitz University of Technology, comprises the “E³ Research Factory Resource-Efficient Production”, various test facilities, and a Virtual Reality Center for research and development activities in the fields of machine tools and production systems, forming technology, assembly, cutting technology, micro engineering, and production management.  

The Dresden branch of Fraunhofer IWU is located in direct vicinity to the Dresden University of Technology. This branch comprises a Technology Center for research in adaptronic, acoustical engineering, additive manufacturing, mechanical joining, and medical engineering. In addition to highly modern equipment for machines and plants in industrial manufacturing, it includes an anechoic room where acoustic investigations can be conducted on machines, vehicles, and plants. 

Fraunhofer Plastics Technology Center Oberlausitz

The Fraunhofer Plastics Technology Center Oberlausitz focuses on developing economic and resource-efficient technologies for lightweight construction. The fields of competence comprise plastics processing, additive manufacturing, lightweight construction, automation, and even hydrogen technologies. Moreover, the technical center of the Fraunhofer Plastics Technology Center lies in direct vicinity to the University of Applied Sciences Zittau / Görlitz. 

Within the framework of the public-private partnership "Open Hybrid LabFactory e.V. (OHLF)", Fraunhofer institutes IFAM, IST, IWU and WKI conduct research at the “Fraunhofer Project Center Wolfsburg”, investigating the entire process chain development for lightweight structures and subsequently testing it under conditions close-to-mass-production. Together with partners from research institutes and industrial companies, we develop solutions for technological challenges of resource-efficient and cost-effective lightweight construction.