Sadowski

Manufacturing processes for sheet metal processing cannot designed efficiently only by increasing the cutting speed. For the cutting of sheet metal components using a laser is now much faster than the cutting process upstream and downstream process steps such as sorting and removing the remnants.

How can engineers optimize the process chain in the laser cutting of the parts? 42 KIT-engineering students from the IPEK - Institute for Product Development - concerned about this question under the direction of Albert Albers. In the project "Development of innovations for the sheet metal processing with focus on 2D laser machines" that accompanies the course "Integrated Product Development" of the IPEK, the junior engineers worked out together over 200 solutions, which they converted seven as a prototype, validated and presented them at the closing ceremony: They range from simple tools to facilitate manual handling of sheet metal components to fully automated systems for laser cutting processes for pre-and post-processing of untreated sheet metal parts and finished parts.

The solutions could increase the efficiency of sheet metal forming processes by 60 percent and the production capacity by up to 80 percent. Partners in the winter semester 2011/2012 was the TRUMPF GmbH + Co. KG. The aim of the course Integrated product development is to link the theoretical content of the course with the practical requirements of industry.