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 surface of a component has a decisive influence on its function and service life. In an interdisciplinary cooperation between mechanical engineering, process engineering and surface physics, the SFB 926 develops scientific fundamentals for the generation, characterization, and application of function-specific component surfaces. The focus is on microscale processes and methods. The central focus of the SFB 926 is the morphology of the component surface. It is defined by the geometric shape (topography), its microstructural composition, and its physical-chemical properties. A major goal of SFB 926 is to investigate surface-production-morphology-property relationships, which allow to directly infer the application behavior of a component from the manufacturing process and its process parameters. Conversely, knowledge of the surface-production-morphology-property relationships allows an optimal component design to be derived from the functional requirements of a component.

The SFB 926 is methodically divided into the project areas:

• Modeling and simulation
• Generation and experimental characterization
• Applications

These are thematically represented in the cross-sectional groups: Machining Microstructuring of Component Surfaces, Particles on Component Surfaces, Phase Transformations on Component Surfaces. Surface-production-morphology-properties are investigated, which enable new industrial applications and make existing ones more controllable. Thus, a scientific question is addressed, the successful processing of which can set essential impulses in the industry and thus open up a considerable economic potential.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved the first funding period for the International Research Training Group (IRTG) on July 1, 2014. The Subject is “Physical Modeling for Virtual Manufacturing Systems and Processes”. The partner University of the TUK is the University of California, with locations in Berkeley and Davis. This program is Germany's first international graduate program in the field of production engineering. The second funding period is now approved and has started in January 2019 for another 4.5 years.

The aim of the research in the college is to provide the planning of production on a new basis. Production is already planned from a single machine to a complete factory with the help of computer models. What these models are lacking, is a description of the actual physical properties. Based on such models, it will be possible to calculate key properties of a production line as the quality of the products or the energy consumption of a factory in advance and to perform targeted improvements. In particular, the physical interactions of the three levels: factory, machine and process are to be considered.

The topic is content-driven mainly by two disciplines: engineering and computer science. Through the application of scientific knowledge and advanced computer-based methods in conjunction with physical models on a level unrealized in the past, technologies and methods are promoted, which can be used for planning and optimization manufacturing systems and processes. As a result, fundamental understanding as well as extensive systems, tools and computational algorithms which significantly improve the integration of advanced computational methods for solving problems of manufacturing systems and processes will be available.

In addition to the excellent research program, the International Research Training Group is characterized by a unique training and support concept for the students involved. This not only enables our students to finish their PhD in their respective field of research within three years, but also gives them the opportunity of the training of key qualifications, as well as the seamless exchange of scientific knowledge and staff at all levels and in all disciplines. Thus, the lectures are specially designed for the individual research areas for doctoral candidates, in which background information and current methods are taught for the IRTG.

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.