The Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen and TRUMPF Laser- und Systemtechnik GmbH from Ditzingen have concluded a cooperation agreement. They want to intensify their collaboration in the field of laser metal deposition and accelerate the transfer of the technology to industry. Customers will benefit from the unique combination of world-leading laser system technology and many years of application-specific process expertise.
The aim of the collaboration: applications such as the economical coating of car brake disks or the wear and corrosion protection of hydraulic cylinders. (© TRUMPF GmbH + Co. KG (Holding), Ditzingen.)How can I increase my productivity in laser metal deposition? What are the best materials for my process? And how quickly can I coat with them? These are typical questions that Dr. Thomas Schopphoven and his team at Fraunhofer ILT are asked by interested customers from industry. "Our core business is the development of application-adapted processes and system technology components. The basis for this is our many years of expertise in a wide range of industries. This is based on 30 years of experience in laser metal deposition," says Schopphoven.
During this time, the Aachen scientists have played a key role in shaping the development of the technology and have set numerous trends. Innovations such as extreme high-speed laser metal deposition (EHLA) have won a number of prizes and have been successfully implemented in many industrial applications.
"When transferring our technologies to industrial applications, our customers are increasingly focusing on the technical implementation of systems. Particularly with regard to the availability, stability and suitability of the components," Dr. Thomas Schopphoven is certain.
This is where cooperation partner TRUMPF comes in with more than 20 years of experience. As the world's leading manufacturer of laser systems and components for laser metal deposition, TRUMPF has the necessary expertise in the manufacture of robust, reliable and highly productive laser material processing machines for industrial series production.
For Marco Göbel, Industry Manager at TRUMPF in Ditzingen, the cooperation with the Fraunhofer ILT is a win-win situation for the company and its customers: "Thanks to the close cooperation with the Fraunhofer ILT, we can offer comprehensive solutions from a single source. By combining our system technology optimized for industrial use with adapted or specially developed processes, we can benefit customers all over the world."
Research and development of the latest TRUMPF system technology
For process and application development in Aachen, TRUMPF provides the team at the Fraunhofer ILT with state-of-the-art laser systems with various optics and powder feed nozzles. "This allows us to research our processes directly on industry-relevant systems. This enables a particularly efficient transfer to the customer's application," says Dr. Thomas Schopphoven, Head of the Laser Material Deposition Competence Field at Fraunhofer ILT.
The system will be installed at the beginning of this year and will be available for the first tests in the spring. Numerous promising applications are already in the pipeline, such as the economical coating of car brake disks or the wear and corrosion protection of hydraulic cylinders.
For the two partners, this is another important step in their long-standing collaboration. There are already plans to expand the cooperation between TRUMPF and Fraunhofer ILT in other areas of laser material processing.
