Fraunhofer ILT, TRUMPF collaborate on laser material deposition

TRUMPF GmbH + Co. KG

The Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (ILT), Aachen, Germany, and TRUMPF Laser- und Systemtechnik GmbH, Ditzingen, Germany, have signed an agreement to cooperate more closely in the field of laser material deposition and accelerate the transfer of the technology to industry.

“Our core business is developing application-adapted processes and system technology components,” said Dr. Thomas Schopphoven, head of the laser material deposition competence area at Fraunhofer ILT. “The basis for this is our 30 years of experience in laser material deposition, in applications we have developed for a wide variety of industries.”

During this period, the Aachen scientists have influenced the development of the technology with innovations such as extreme-high-speed laser material deposition.

“When we transfer our technologies to industrial applications, our customers are increasingly focusing on the questions of systems engineering implementation, especially with regard to the availability, stability, and suitability of the components,” Schopphoven said.

For process and application development in Aachen, TRUMPF provides the team at Fraunhofer ILT with laser systems that have various optical systems and powder feed nozzles. “In this way, we research our processes directly on industrially relevant systems. This enables us to transfer our research into customer applications particularly efficiently,” Schopphoven explained.

Numerous applications are already in sight, such as the economical coating of passenger car brake discs or the wear and corrosion protection of hydraulic cylinders.