In July 2008, "Advanced Materials Engineering" was established at University of Kaiserslautern as a major research focus by the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Education, Science, Youth, and Culture. In addition to FBK, other institutes in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science and two affiliated "An-Institutes" at the University of Kaiserslautern are contributing to the major research activity.

The group of high and super high tensile steels, lightweight metal alloys, and hybrid materials like fiber-polymer composites or metal matrix composites are among the important materials in the area of lightweight construction. These material groups are key to the future of lightweight construction solutions, for example, in transportation engineering. A major prerequisite for the successful employment of these materials is a highly interconnected network of experiments, models, and simulations in the development of innovative products and the associated production processes. The aim of AME is the development of a combination of experiments, models, and simulations to enable the reliable and efficient operation of plants and systems as well as to facilitate innovative functional properties. During the funding term for the major research focus AME, an "Augmented Materials Laboratory (AML)" must be established where the experimental and model-based work of the working groups and research facilities can be combined and the experimental results validated. The planned activities provide an important contribution to innovative product development in the high-tech industries like the automobile, aircraft, and biomedical branches.

The Machining Working Group was founded in 2019 with the aim of pooling the further development of machining manufacturing in research and teaching through regular scientific exchange, as well as developing collaborative initiatives among its members. Machining is the most widespread manufacturing technology in the metalworking industry. Machining technologies are used to process a wide variety of materials as well as produce diverse component geometries. The spectrum of products machined by cutting processes ranges from large parts such as turbines and motors for the generation of electrical energy, through tools and molds, to optical components and microcomponents for medical technology. The interlinked development of materials, tools, processes, and machine tools in conjunction with the increasing integration of measuring and sensor technology as well as information technology has led to a constant expansion of the range of applications of cutting technologies.

The Machining Working Group has set itself the goal of further advancing the performance of metal-cutting manufacturing through research by specifically intensifying scientific exchange in this field and developing joint initiatives to promote important research topics. The main focus is on the promotion of research on metal cutting manufacturing and interdisciplinary focus areas with an emphasis on bringing together scientific fundamentals and production engineering applications. In this way, the preconditions for the use of increasingly productive processes in industry are created in a coordinated and targeted manner.

The teaching of the institutes and professorships participating in the consortium forms an essential basis for the transfer of knowledge and methods for the further development of the field to the next generation of specialists. The coordination of teaching content supports both the reliable teaching of basic specialist knowledge and the training in scientific focal points at the various locations. The members of the Machining Working Group promote exchange and cooperation with industry and other sectors of the economy and the public sector by participating in transfer and joint projects as well as by offering professional training and public information events.The Machining Working Group supports international cooperation with foreign institutions, associations, and the like in the training and support of students in research and technology transfer.

The Application Center for Additive Manufacturing (AAF) was founded in 2020 as part of the Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Production Systems (FBK) at the TU Kaiserslautern. The funding for the AAF is provided by the European Regional Development Fund (EFRE) and the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The core of the application center is a novel high speed laser metal deposition machine that enables additive manufacturing at significantly increased buildup rates. In addition to its research tasks, the AAF is available to interested companies as a contact partner for all additive manufacturing topics.

The Laboratory for Ultra-Precision and Micro Engineering (LPME) is a new research building at TU Kaiserslautern that will be ready for occupancy in 2023. In the research building, scientists from mechanical engineering, process engineering, physics, and computer science work on the fundamental understanding of the complex scale effects and interactions by which manufacturing and characterization are defined at the level of ultra-precision and microtechnologies.

Ultraprecision and microtechnologies are among the key technologies of the 21st century. Whether in medical technology, optics, or consumer goods of everyday life, ultra-precision and micro-technologies are increasingly used. Thanks to them, it is possible to produce surfaces of components in the micro range, examine them, and equip them with new properties. Ultra-precision and micro-technologies are strongly characterized by economies of scale. The physical effects that are involved during manufacturing and characterization differ significantly from the macroscale. For example, the behavior of typical materials is inhomogeneous and anisotropic on the microscale, electrical and electrostatic effects (e.g. van der Waals forces) are significant for the manufacturing result, and metrological dimensions have to be measured where physical effects (e.g. diffraction) have to be considered that are not relevant on the macroscale. These scale effects must also be taken into account in modeling, simulation, and visualization of the results and require new scientific approaches here as well.

The overall goal and expected research outcome is a fundamental understanding of the complex scale effects and interactions by which manufacturing and characterization are defined at the micro-scale. This understanding will allow manufacturing processes to be mastered, component quality to be predicted with a high degree of confidence, and, as a consequence, entirely new applications for ultra-precision and micro-technology to be developed.

The planned research will be carried out in four interdisciplinary research areas, which are interlinked and bring together expertise from mechanical engineering, process engineering, physics, and computer science in a common research program.

1. MANUFACTURING

Investigation of separating and additive processes for microstructuring of surfaces, coating of microstructures, and ultra-precise manufacturing of components from different material classes.

2. CHARACTERIZATION

Investigation of functionally important properties of the fabricated components, in particular the component edge layer. 

3. MODELING AND SIMULATION

Development of novel simulation techniques that take into account the specifics of ultra-precision and micromachining.

4. APPLICATION

Realization of scientific and prototypical industrial applications in medical technology, optics, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), mechanical engineering, and automotive engineering.

The objective of TRR 375 is to establish a new class of components: multifunctional high-performance components. These consist of hybrid porous (HyPo for short) materials, which are characterized by a combination of different metallic materials and an intentionally cellular material structure.

Components made from HyPo-materials have a locally varying density, for example in the form of graded porosity, and mechanical and thermal properties that are specifically tailored to the application. They should also fulfill additional functions, including sensors integrated into the components. The sensors can, for example, be used for permanent self-monitoring. Thus, a complete load history of the component up to its impending failure can be recorded, its lifetime can be determined and thus fully exploited.

The focus of the Collaborative Research Centre is on developing methods for the calculation, design, construction, manufacture and characterization of components made of HyPo-materials. In order to answer the underlying questions, the Collaborative Research Centre pursues an interdisciplinary approach. In TRR 375, researchers from the disciplines of production engineering, materials engineering, metrology, mechanics, design and computer science work together to understand the material design, development and production of multifunctional high-performance components. This addresses a scientific issue that can make a significant contribution to resource efficiency and the ecological sustainability of products and production processes. In addition, HyPo materials can also enable better product safety through component-integrated sensor technology and contribute to product-integrated data acquisition in the context of digitalization.