Manufacturing
Micro machining und precision machining
In micro machining and precision machining, milling, drilling, turning and grinding are used to manufacture micro structures, micro components and high-precision surfaces with an accuracy that is one order of magnitude (factor 10) better than the state of the art. The occurring chip formation mechanisms, size effects and complex process-machine interactions are investigated experimentally and simulatively and are to be understood at the level of the underlying physical effects. For the micro structuring and nano structuring of surfaces as well as for precision machining, more wear-resistant tools are needed. In order to increase the wear resistance and to specifically influence the result of machining, micro tools are coated in LPME and characterized with respect to their properties in use.
Micro Laser Ablation
The focus of research work in the field of micro laser ablation is on the use of ultrashort pulse lasers with pulse durations in the femtosecond range for micro structuring surfaces and manufacturing innovative tools for micro machining and precision machining. Investigations are carried out on the relationship between the process parameters selected for processing, the resulting properties of the surface layer and accuracies of the structures as well as the resulting component properties in application in order to achieve a better understanding of the interrelationships.
Additive Micro Manufacturing
Additive manufacturing processes are used to manufacture micro structured and nano structured metallic and non-metallic components. Since powder-based additive manufacturing processes are often problematic for micro manufacturing due to the particle size, a new powderless additive process for metallic materials is being developed in LPME and compared with powder-based processes. Characteristic for additively manufactured structures are anisotropic material properties and strongly inhomogeneous residual stresses. Here, the objective is to understand the physical effects and interactions on which additive micro manufacturing is based and to use them specifically for the reproducible production of structured components with optimized material properties.
Coating and micro structuring of surfaces with solid particles
Using thermal cold gas spraying, surfaces are coated with finely dispersed particles and micro structured in order to specifically influence the functional properties of the surfaces. A change in the surface morphology through the deposition of particles can have a positive effect on many physical effects such as friction, adhesion of particles and biofilms, wetting properties and heat and mass transfer processes. The focus of the investigations is on the improvement of the physical surface properties by creating a defined topographical micro structure with the required chemical composition.