Research

The ECO-Center specializes in material processing using machining and forming methods designing process chains which are monitored by technological controlling. The workforce is continuously seeking to optimize potentials and exploiting them to the full. The well-engineered developments are put to good use in the automotive and the automotive supply industry, in aviation and space engineering as well as the other key sectors with additional innovations being implemented in the tooling sector, medical engineering and in machine tool manufacturing.

Key areas of the ECO-Center

• Machining of difficult to cut materials
• Metal working fluid research
• Hard finishing
• High-speed cutting
• Grinding technologies
• Surface layer strengthening by means of grind hardening and roller burnishing
• Optimized application of metal working fluids for grinding and cutting
• Prevention of material damage caused through metal cutting
• Distortion Engineering in material-removal and forming
• Modeling and simulation of manufacturing processes and process chains
• Sensor integration in metal-cutting tools
• Economical and ecological design of manufacturing processes (process cost accounting)
• Influence of process chains on surface integrity
• Machining of gearing processes

Current research projects

• Electronic nose for the survey of metal working fluids
• Evaluation of microbial contamination of water miscible metal working fluids
• Quality control and innovation management for the fibre reinforced plastics processing industry (QUALIF)
• Orbital drilling of mixed material stacks (Al/CFRP/Ti)
• Production of machine components without heat treatment using stress induced martensitic transformation in the surface layer of steels with metastable austenitic microstructure
• High speed cutting of thin-walled rotation-symmetrically constructed components
• Machining of extreme low sulphur steels through drilling and hobbing
• Prevention and elimination of wheel surface clogging
• Thermal limit of mechanical induced work-hardening as a result of the size effect in grinding
• Infrared radiation thermal monitored grinding IR – TherMoGrind
• Investigations for the numeric simulation of the grind hardening process for the computation of temperature distribution, structural transformation and workpiece distortion

Current research projects within Collaborative Research Centers

Research projects within Collaborative Research Center SFB 570 „Distortion Engineering“

• Numerical and experimental investigation of the distortion potential in forging gearwheel blanks 
  (Subproject A3)
• Analysis of mechanical and thermal loads as distortion potential of machining and grinding processes
  (Subproject A4)
• Analysis of the generation of distortion in gear machining processes
  (Subproject A9)
• Mechatronic machining system for Distortion Engineering by dynamic control of cutting parameters
  (Subproject B7)
• Influence of the distortion potential of roller bearings caused by metal transformation process
  (Subproject T1)
• Minimization of distortion caused by soft machining of drive components
  (Subproject T2)

Research Committee FA 23: "Ressource saving metal working processes"

Main objective of the research committee FA 23 “Ressource saving metal working processes” is to support users of metal working fluids by means of

• development of processes to provide optimized application of metal working fluids in machining processes
• application of the MQL (minimum quantity lubrication)
• recycling of residues of machining processes and
• collaboration between public authorities, customers of metal working fluids, dumping enterprises, plant engineering, producers of metal working fluids and research institutes.

The members of the Research Committee FA 23 meet every sixth months.