News

Prof. Frank Mantwill (Chair of Machine Elements and Computer Aided Product Design at Helmut-Schmidt University Hamburg) invited the research assistants of the WiGeP specialist group "Virtual Product Development" to meet in Hamburg from June 25 to 26. In addition to the exchange on topics from teachi...

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has extended its funding for the Transregional Collaborative Research Center TRR285 "Method development for mechanical joinability in versatile process chains" for another four years. The focus of the research group is on the development of scientific methods and...

While the functionality of a product is often taken for granted nowadays, good usability (i.e. simple, effective and efficient product use) and emotionally appealing product design (i.e. satisfaction, aesthetics and emotional fulfilment) are important components of the user experience. However, usab...

The aim of the research association was to research customized digital engineering methods for the development of the electric powertrain, especially in Bavarian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In cooperation with the Institute for Engineering Design and CAD at the University of Bayreuth ...

In the context of resource minimization and the development of energy-efficient and wear-resistant technical products, the reduction of friction losses in lubricated contacts of machine elements is of great importance. These losses mainly depend on the lubrication condition, the component geometry a...

The calculation of moments of area is one of the most fundamental aspects of engineering mechanics for calculating the properties of beams. While circles, rectangles, ellipses and their combinations, can be described symbolically and thus derivable, these symbolic expressions are missing for freefor...

Structural optimization programs are used at the KTmfk during the design of ankle foot orthoses using lightweight construction methods. For this purpose, the load cases must be known exactly. The loads that occur are currently determined within musculoskeletal human model simulation programs using p...

The individualization of medical aids - in particular orthoses - is becoming increasingly important due to growing market trends. With the help of additive manufacturing processes, patient-specific properties can be taken into account quickly and flexibly. In particular, the combination of fiber-rei...

On May 2, the opening of the Research Centre for the Engineering of Smarter Product Service Systems (ZESS) took place in Bochum. In addition to a tour of the facilities and a number of demonstrations, presentations from academia and industry provided important impulses on how sustainability can be i...

In the recently published article, which resulted from the great cooperation of KTmfk with the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile as well as with Optimol Instruments Prüftechnik GmbH and Carl Bechem GmbH, a topic on everyday tribology is examined in more detail. As part of a student thesis, Ma...

Prof. Sandro Wartzack (KTmfk, FAU) visited Prof. Simon Bickerton at the Centre for Advanced Composite Materials and Prof. Jörg Diegel at the Centre Creative Design and Additive Manufacturing at the University of Auckland, NZ. Prof Wartzack was invited as a presenter for a seminar on "Lightweight Des...

The field of application of data-driven product development is diverse and ranges from requirements to the detailed design of the product. The goal here is the consistent analysis of data to support and improve the development process. The virtual testing of products through finite element simulatio...

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sandro Wartzack (KTmfk, FAU) is delighted to have been awarded the Erskine Visiting Fellowship from the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. Within the framework of this fellowship, Prof. Wartzack will teach students in the transition from Bachelor's to Master's studie...

The established paradigm of virtual product development transforms to digital engineering. However, optimizing processes by integrating data-driven methods poses challenges for small and medium-sized companies, as approaches for targeted process analysis and method identification are missing. In the...

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings deposited on the surfaces of joint replacements have the potential to enhance the biotribological behavior and longevity. In our new published article, we employ an UHMWPE (PE) ball-on-three CoCr or Ti alloy pin configuration lubricated by simulated body fluid to c...

The transformation of virtual product development to digital engineering requires a successful integration of data-driven methods into existing product development processes. The lack of knowledge about these methods, their performance and limitations are major burdens in their application, especial...

As part of this year's design project course (KoPra), the challenge for the students was to develop an autonomously driving vehicle for picking, transporting and placing a "KTmfk egg", which is controlled using a microcontroller. For this, the students' vehicles had to cope with the autonomous deliv...

According to the citation database Scopus, Prof. Sandro Wartzack, as author and co-author of 472 peer-reviewed publications, achieves an h-index of 30 with a total of 3,678 citations. "I am pleased that we reach so many readers with our publications, who then cite us in their scientific articles. Th...

Since 2019, the Chair of Engineering Design has been part of the Transregional Collaborative Research Center 285 "Method development for mechanical joinability in versatile process chains" with a subproject on the topic of "Methodical Design of versatile Joints". In the 1st funding period, methods f...

The design of modern mobility concepts has to account for developments such as the finite nature of fossil fuels, global warming, and the increasing population density in urban centers. In urban environments in particular, so-called micromobility solutions offer a way of covering short distances (e....

Topology Optimization is an established method for the development of highly performant and innovative structural components. However, the computationally obtained optimization results have to be tediously redesigned in practical product development. Within the research project „TopoRestruct“, funde...

Last year, filming was in progress at KTmfk for the exciting video series "2 Minuten Wissen (2 Minutes of Knowledge)". The series presents interesting projects and research areas from the field of engineering in which students and researchers work hand in hand. In the recently released episode, B. R...

Tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) coatings have the potential to protect biomedical implants from wear and increase their service life. In the contribution - led by KTmfk - the biotribological effectiveness of ta-C coatings on cobalt-chromium-molybdenum and titanium alloys as well as on ultrahigh ...

With the Emerging Talents Initiative (ETI), FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg pursues the goal of recognizing and promoting excellent young scientists at an early stage. The funding serves to support the independent advancement of an innovative project and the development of scientific independence. In the last...

Wearable assistive devices, such as exoskeletons or orthoses, are products that support or protect people by force transmission. For their design, digital human models are increasingly used, as they allow evaluation of the biomechanical effects on the human body. The main factor for efficient human ...

In the simulation of short-fiber-reinforced thermoplastics, material parameters are usually used that originate from material testing on new specimens. In order to get closer to the condition on the road, where not only new vehicles are on the road, the influence of service loads on crash safety has...

Usability and emotionality are fundamental aspects of user experience. However, creating a product design that is both usable and emotional is a challenge for product developers, particularly due to the competing goals of both aspects. In order to make a user-oriented decision between a more usable ...

After two digital years, the OI-meeting of the cross-sectional group on Teaching of the Scientific Society for Product Development (WiGeP) could finally take place in presence again. The participants accepted an invitation from Ms. Wieghardt and Prof. Paetzold (Chair of Virtual Product Development) ...