Review 2021

4th Symposium on Materials Technology organized by CZM with more than 200 participants

25.02.2021 - 26.02.2021

More than 200 participants learned about the latest trends in materials technology over two days on February 25/26 at the Materials Technology Symposium. Both the industrial and the research perspective on the subject area were illuminated. The special Clausthal "care package" ensured a real conference atmosphere at the online event.

In his welcoming remarks, Prof. Joachim Schachtner briefly introduced the highlights of the program and, in this context, outlined the Circular Economy as the new mission statement of the Clausthal University of Technology. It was precisely to the aspect of sustainability that plastics can also make an important contribution, Guido Frohnhaus from the company Arburg took up the topic in his subsequent keynote speech "Challenges in the plastics industry". However, this requires a cross-industry, fact-based discussion that goes beyond science. As a technical example of the sustainable use of plastics, he presented, among other things, that recyclates, i.e. reprocessed plastics, can already be used on a large scale in certain component areas (e.g. without color fastness requirements).

The second keynote lecture by Prof. Norbert Enzinger from Graz University of Technology was devoted to the topic of 3D printing of metals by means of so-called Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM), i.e. metal inert gas welding. Metal powder-filled welding wires were investigated for the targeted influencing of the material composition and the associated adaptation of the material properties. In contrast to plastics, 3D printing of metallic materials with high deposition rates is not fully established in the state of the art. Contributions from Clausthal also addressed this highly topical issue, such as the generation and properties of multi-material structures, metrological aspects with regard to component distortion, and process control techniques using artificial intelligence methods.

In addition to 80 technical presentations, the participants were also able to attend a virtual poster show and demonstrator exhibition of the Lower Saxony innovation network GROTESK "Generative Manufacturing of Optical, Thermal and Structural Components", e.g. for the assembly of lasers. Partners here are, in addition to the TU Clausthal, the Leibniz University of Hannover, the Hannover University of Applied Sciences and the Laser Center Hannover.

Since it was not possible to hold the event in person, all participants were sent a Clausthal "care package" in advance, as Prof. Maus-Friedrichs, CZM board spokesman, called it in his welcome address. In addition to all conference utensils, the package also contained some culinary resin specialties in order to create at least a certain genuine conference atmosphere. According to the feedback of some participants, this was also present at the latest during the evening lecture by Prof. Martin Korte from the TU Braunschweig on the topic of "Lifelong Learning".

Prizes for particularly successful presentations were awarded to 3 speakers. Mr. Benedikt Dorbath from the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg from the Chair of High Frequency Technology. He presented new wireless sensor concepts that can be used to detect the curing processes in epoxy resins and fiber composite components in-situ. Mr. Tobias Grabe from the Institute of Product Development and Device Engineering at Leibniz University Hannover was recognized for his contribution to modeling thermomechanical effects in additive manufacturing of glass waveguides. Dr. Manel Ellouz from the Laboratory for Materials Testing at Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences also received an award for her paper on the computed tomographic investigation of an automotive chassis hybrid component consisting of aluminum and CFRP.

Finally, Dr.-Ing. Henning Wiche looked ahead: "At the Symposium on Materials Technology in February 2023, we expect all guests to be present again in the best winter weather in the Harz mountains. In addition, it is then at the 5th Symposium Material Technology a small premiere, to which the guests can certainly look forward to one or the other surprise. Contact: Dr.-Ing. Henning Wiche Clausthal Center for Materials Technology E-mail: sekretariat@czm.tu-clausthal.de Phone: +49 5323 72-3330 Fax: +49 5323 72-3399