How to make sheet metal production cheaper, and improve the surface properties of metals? The FIP Academy seminar will give you a clue

While the opening presentation will focus, among other things, on the economical production of customised sheet metal parts, the second will be devoted to the modification of metal surfaces using micro-arc oxidation technology.

How to save time and money when producing customised sheet metal parts in small batches or prototypes? Many industrial companies would welcome a solution to this challenge. Since conventional deep drawing requires expensive tools, incremental sheet metal forming (ISF), where a forming punch reshapes the sheet metal via a counter tool, is a suitable alternative. Dieter Weise will present the RapidSheet project in which the Fraunhofer IWU researchers are involved. While until now the counter punch has to be milled on a separate machine tool, the project is looking for ways to combine 3D printing of the counter punch with the ISF process in a single machine.

An equally hot topic is the development of metallic materials with exceptional surface properties using various surface modification methods. Researcher and developer Roman Gabor will focus on surface modification using micro-arc oxidation technology. His research focuses on the preparation and properties of oxide coatings on aluminium alloys and titanium alloys by micro-arc, and also on the utilisation of waste from the metallurgical industry.

The online seminar will take place on 2nd March at 2pm, interested parties can register here. The FIP Academy allows researchers from VSB-TUO, the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT and the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU to present their research results and seek opportunities for collaboration.