KTmfk
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At the Chair of Engineering Design, we research, improve and validate new processes, methods and tools to support demanding development- and design activities. We are active in the fields of virtual product development and design methodology, machine elements and tribology as well as lightweight design. Through our research and teaching activities, we create the foundation for innovative, new or optimized products and thus contribute to maintaining and strengthening the industrial base in Europe. We would like to invite you to learn more about us during your stay on our website!
News – Categories
Launch of the DFG-funded project on the automated conversion of aesthetically and technically functional design geometries from topology optimization results in November 2025.
Topology optimization is an established method in lightweight design that enables the systematic determination of mechan...
Computer-Aided Tolerancing software has become the standard for statistically analyzing the effects of geometrical part variations on product quality. The consideration of physical product behavior requires the solution of differential equations, conducted numerically using Finite Element Analysis ...
As a consequence of the development of energy-efficient and sustainable technical products, reducing friction losses and preventing wear in lubricated contacts of machine elements has become extremely important. Oil is often used as a lubricant to separate the contact surfaces in these tribological...
Christopher Platis joined the Machine Elements and Tribology team as a research assistant at the beginning of October. He previously studied mechanical engineering at Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, specialising in engineering design, advanced mechanics and production metrology. ...
In the now completed research project “LightConstruct,” a methodology for multi-material topology optimization (MMTO) was developed at Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg in collaboration with partners PH-Mechanik GmbH & Co. KG and Wilhelm-Plastic GmbH & Co. KG. The goal was t...
Tim Ruf joined the Lightweight Design Group as a research assistant at the beginning of November. He previously studied mechanical engineering at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. In his master's thesis at KTmfk, he developed methods for quantifying subjective design characteristic...
Conventional tolerance management aims to limit variations of components to a degree that guarantees the function of the product. Frequently, aspects such as manufacturability, assemblability, and influences of operation are not taken into account. As a result, variations that lead to assembly prob...
The consideration of variations and their functional restriction during the design of a product is an important task of tolerance management. Endless-fiber reinforced plastics (FRP), which are increasingly used due to their high lightweight potential, increase the complexity of this task due to the...
