Materials

The requirements of future cars demand for concepts of lightweight construction where materials, design and manufacturing processes interact optimally. Using lightweight materials only makes sense if their mechanical properties such as strength, stiffness and temperature resistance are superior to conventional steel. This also applies to the cost. For this reason we conduct research on forming and joining processes for the ideal use of high-strength steels, aluminum, magnesium and fiber composites.

Exploiting material trends early on

Metal lightweight materials include aluminum, magnesium, high-strength steels, titanium and metal foams. Innovative forming and joining processes enable wide usage in numerous fields of application such as automotive engineering, mechanical engineering, aerospace industry and commercial vehicle engineering.

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Lightweight construction with fiber plastic composites

Fiber plastic composites are used more and more in mechanical and automotive engineering due to their lightweight potential and their excellent mechanical properties. We develop technologies for their processing as well as new application possibilities. 

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Hybrid lightweight construction achieves the best overall properties

System-efficient hybrid lightweight construction has the objective of combining various materials in such a way that their combination results in a product with the best overall properties. In addition to suitable production processes, hybrid joining technology plays a major role in this area.

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Combining shape and function

By applying structural integration of active materials such as piezoceramics, shape memory alloys or rheological fluids, entirely new solutions become possible for production technology and automotive engineering. We create holistic solutions – from feasibility studies to functional patterns up to manufacturing technologies for adaptronic systems.  

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