News

When generating an optimal design proposal, one of the main challenges is to maximize material efficiency and minimize stress concentrations while taking various boundary conditions and loads into account. In this context computer-aided algorithms are increasingly being used in terms of structural o...

A new interactive touchscreen now welcomes all visitors to our main site in Martensstraße – offering quick and direct access to the latest updates from the chair. Whether it’s news, upcoming events, or newly posted thesis topics – all it takes is a tap. The system was created as part of a Bachelor's...

On July 4, 2025, students of the courses “Tribology & Surface Technology” and “Rolling Bearing Technology” visited the Schaeffler company in Herzogenaurach as part of an excursion. The event offered the participants a comprehensive insight into the technologies, production processes and career o...

On June 3 and 4, 2025, the 16th VDI Conference " Gleit- und Wälzlagerungen: Gestaltung – Berechnung – Einsatz" took place. The Chair of Engineering Design (KTmfk) actively participated in the conference with two contributions. In addition to Prof. Sandro Wartzack and Felix Pfister, students Max Poh...

Moritz Treschau joined the Lightweight Design research group as a research assistant at the beginning of June. Previously, he studied mechanical engineering at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. He also wrote his master's thesis on Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINN) in the field...

The European Group of Research in Tolerancing (E-GRT) met for the 6th time - this time in Milan, Italy. The E-GRT is an association of chairs from France, Sweden, Italy, and Germany with the aim of promoting and strengthening international cooperation in the research field of tolerancing. The event ...

Perhaps a little less scientific, but just as engaging: This year, our entire team from the Chair of Engineering Design (KTmfk) once again took part in the traditional Bergdienstag at the Erlangen Bergkirchweih. Together with Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sandro Wartzack, we swapped the office for a relaxed after...

The Chair of Engineering Design congratulates Mr. Paul Schächtl on successfully passing the doctoral examination for Dr.-Ing. with distinction on 13.05.2025. Mr. Schächtl presented the contents of his dissertation entitled “Tolerance-compliant product and process design of additively manufactured me...

The Stuttgart Symposium for Product Development took place from 21 to 22 May 2025. KTmfk participated with two contributions and was represented on site by Yannick Utz, Jan Kopatsch, and Dr.-Ing. Stefan Goetz. The papers dealt with the efficient consideration of non-geometric key characteristics in ...

The Chair of Engineering Design congratulates Mr. Sebastian Bickel on successfully passing his doctoral examination for the degree of Dr.-Ing. on May 7, 2025, which he completed with distinction. Mr. Bickel presented the contents of his dissertation titled "Development of a Procedure Model for the A...

The Chair of Design Engineering (KTmfk) welcomes Prof. Dr.-Ing. Katharina Völkel to the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. She takes over the tenure-track professorship for Machine Elements in the Context of E-mobility at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Faculty of En...

At KTmfk, we often faced this challenge — especially when trying to reuse and communicate tolerancing approaches across disciplines in research and industry projects. After three years of collaboration, we are happy to share the results in our latest publication. We introduce a holistic descripti...

The KTmfk took part in SheMet25 in Paderborn from March 31 to April 3. SheMet is an international scientific conference that focuses on current developments, methods and applications in sheet metal processing and forming technology. The KTmfk was represented by a scientific paper by Jonathan-Markus ...

From 2nd to 4th April 2025, the 35th CIRP DESIGN CONFERENCE took place at the University of Patras in Greece. KTmfk contributed with two scientific papers and was represented by Jessica Pickel, Marc Behringer and Prof. Sandro Wartzack. The presented topics included an overview on the use of ontologi...

For this year's strategy meeting, the KTmfk - Chair of Design Engineering at FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg retired to the Ammersee at the Seminarhotel Riederau from March 26 to 28. The focus was on optimizing internal chair processes, developing new research ideas and strengthening team cohesion. In additi...

Dr. Miehling is now a member of the Editorial Board of the renowned journal Scientific Reports in the field of Biomedical Engineering. Scientific Reports is an interdisciplinary open access journal from Nature Portfolio and the 5th most-cited journal worldwide. The Editorial Board is a crucial compo...

Preliminary design decisions shape a product’s entire lifecycle, yet freehand sketching remains disconnected from digital workflows. Our study explores natural VR modeling as a viable alternative, enabling intuitive, CAD-compatible 3D modeling. A controlled user study compared VR modeling and sketch...

The Chair of Design Engineering would like to congratulate Mr Benjamin Gerschütz on successfully completing his doctorate in engineering on 21 March 2025. In his dissertation entitled ‘Identification of use cases and integration of data-driven methods in the product development process’, Mr Gerschüt...

The Chair of Engineering Design congratulates Mr. Andreas Winkler on successfully passing the doctoral examination to become a Dr.-Ing. on March 10, 2025, which he completed with distinction. Mr. Winkler presented the contents of his dissertation entitled “Numerical wear modeling of rolling/sliding ...

Developing user-centered products requires a careful balance between usability and emotional design. While usability ensures efficiency and intuitive handling, emotional design shapes user perception and acceptance. But what factors influence this interaction? A recent systematic literature review i...

Dr. Christian Witzgall was appointed by Prof. Sandro Wartzack as a senior engineer and head of the lightweight construction research group at the KTmfk - Chair of Design Engineering at FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg on 1 February 2025. He brings many years of experience in the simulation and experimental te...

Our new annual report is out and offers an exciting journey through 2024. This year has been particularly special for the Chair of Engineering Design (KTmfk) as we celebrated 40 years of innovation and growth. The research report provides exclusive insights into our current projects and key highl...

The ability to perform coordinated movements is a central factor in people's everyday lives. However, various events, such as trauma, strokes, etc., can damage the nerve structures and thus cause motor disorders. The lower leg muscles are frequently affected, resulting in a pathophysiological moveme...

In the context of digitalised product development, modern concepts such as Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), Digital Twin and Digital Engineering appear. However, it is often unclear how these concepts are linked and what role they play in holistic digital engineering. In an interview between ...

Researchers from the Institute of Engineering Design (KTmfk) have published a novel method for improving infill structures in additive manufacturing in the journal Materials. The article, entitled A New Slicer-Based Method to Generate Infill Inspired by Sandwich-Patterns for Reduced Material Consump...

On December 1st, a familiar face, Dr.-Ing. Benedict Rothammer, was appointed by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sandro Wartzack as Senior Engineer and Manager of the “Machine Elements and Tribology” research team. As a long-standing team member at the KTmfk, he contributes valuable insights, particularly from but no...

The use of components made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) is steadily increasing. With these higher quantities, variation management during product development is becoming increasingly important. In this study, artificial fiber misalignment has been introduced into the outer plies of tens...

The Chair of Engineering Design congratulates Mr. Fabian Wilking on successfully passing the doctoral examination to become a Dr.-Ing. on 14.11.2024, which he completed with distinction. Mr. Wilking presented the contents of his dissertation entitled “Assistance system for the utilization of system ...

The Chair of Design Engineering congratulates Mr. Christian Witzgall on successfully passing the doctoral examination for Dr.-Ing. on 25.10.2024, which he completed with distinction. Mr. Witzgall presented the contents of his dissertation entitled "Consideration of previous fatigue damage in the cra...

The KTmfk welcomes Prof Régis Kovacs Scalice as a visiting professor at the Chair. Mr Scalice is a professor at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina in Joinville, Brazil. He conducts research in the fields of model-based systems engineering and IoT for product-service systems and is the author...