Fraunhofer IGCV

We are convinced that sustainable production in combination with efficient engineering is essential for a life-affirming future.

Sustainable production combines ecological, economic and social aspects –years ago, a theoretical need for action was identified, and it has since grown into a relevance that many found hard to accept. Indeed, there is significant potential for greater sustainability in industrial production, with many low-hanging fruits!
Therefore, we assist companies in becoming more sustainable and identifying potential strategies for ecologically responsible production. We want to build a new basis for sustainable work and management in production.

We specialize in process optimization to enhance production efficiency and quality. This involves reducing scrap, developing innovative materials, and digitalizing manufacturing. Along the entire process chain we establish the groundwork for sustainable and forward-looking production.

Production planning and optimization

Factory production must be planned and optimized to be effective and efficient. This involves constantly monitoring processes, material flow and inventories and optimizing them to ensure a smooth and safe overall process.

The topic of digitalization is also playing an increasingly important role for Fraunhofer IGCV. In almost all areas of competence, we are researching possibilities for process digitization towards more sustainability in production and facilitating and simplifying work steps, e.g., through digital assistance systems. In the processing of composite materials, for example, our project for automated prepreg deposition in the production of shell components for a helicopter deserves special mention. The foundry business, which impresses with its thousands of years of history, is also undergoing a significant transformation due to the possibilities offered by digitalization.  

Fraunhofer IGCV offers many opportunities for collaboration and further training in this area, especially within the framework of our learning factory for networked production.

Thanks to our partnership with the Mittelstand-Digital Zentrum Augsburg, we can offer special offers and attractive solutions for collaboration, especially to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Design of components, assemblies, products, processes, machines or plants and optimization of manufacturing processes

Manufacturing and production require a careful interplay of designs, materials, processes and tolerances to produce the final product efficiently. In this regard, one of our success stories is developing and producing the A350 door bulkhead, which Fraunhofer IGCV accompanied for Airbus from TRL2 to take off.

By using process-specific simulation approaches, AI and Big Data analytics, the scientists at Fraunhofer IGCV are enabling a step towards the future that is reflected in all of the institute's areas of expertise.

In combination with our competences  in the field of additive manufacturing, especially in the production of multi-material components and the know-how in various CFRP manufacturing processes such as pultrusion or fiber placement and composite molding, so-called »first-time-right manufacturing«, for example, is becoming possible and increasingly easy to implement in practice for production engineering companies.

In addition, we are constantly researching how to make greater use of the flexibility of robotic systems in industry, e.g. by automating mold supply using mobile assistance robotics.

Selection, testing and recycling of suitable materials (CFRP, metals, sand, multi-material)

Within the scope of our production technology research, selecting the suitable materials for production is also crucial. Here, our diverse capabilities in measurement and testing technology with a focus on composite and metal components, the recycling of composite components and, for example, the characterization of molding and casting materials play a major role.

Quality management

Our research and development work also ensures that production processes are precise and reliable to guarantee consistent quality. Here, for example, the focus is on our work in quality and technical cleanliness in process chains.

Since July 1, 2016, the Fraunhofer Institute branch Functionally Integrated Lightweight Construction FIL of the Fraunhofer ICT, the Project Group Resource Efficient Mechatronic Processing Machines RMV of Fraunhofer IWU and the utg Casting Working Group of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have started their work as the new Fraunhofer Research Institution for Casting, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV in Augsburg and Garching near Munich.

Fraunhofer IGCV aims to:

• bundle research and development in the fields of lightweight casting technologies, fiber composites and automated manufacturing,
• generate innovations for German industry and
• advance interdisciplinary research in the core German industries of automotive engineering, aircraft construction, and mechanical and plant engineering.

Funding for the new facility:

• Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs
• Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
• Technical University of Munich (TUM)
  

Management, administration and the research areas of automation, processing and composites are based at the headquarters in Augsburg, while casting technology is located at the Garching site. In close networking with the Augsburg university landscape, establishing a European center for resource efficiency in Augsburg is consistently pursued.

Fraunhofer IGCV conducts production and processing technology research with direct application relevance. Its competencies range from materials science and structural mechanics to manufacturing technology and production. The main focus is on providing novel structures for lightweight construction, differentiated by manufacturing concepts and joining techniques.

As founder and head of the Project Group Resource Efficient Mechatronic Processing Machines RMV of Fraunhofer IWU, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gunther Reinhart established production and processing technology research in Augsburg at an early stage. The RMV project group, the Functionally Integrated Lightweight Construction FIL project group, and the Casting Engineering working group of the Chair of Metal Forming and Casting (utg) at the Technical University of Munich gave rise to the Fraunhofer Institute for Casting, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV. As the institute's director from the very beginning, Prof. Reinhart played a key role in its foundation.

Since then, he has made a significant impact on the success of Fraunhofer IGCV and finally took his well-deserved retirement shortly after the institute's founding in 2020.

During his career, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gunther Reinhart has held various positions in science (Technical University of Munich) and industry (BMW AG, IWKA AG). For example, he has more recently worked on cyber-physical production systems, mobile cooperative robots, or battery production. In addition to Fraunhofer IGCV, he headed the Institute for Machine Tools and Industrial Management at the Technical University of Munich. He was also a full professor of the Chair of Industrial Management and Assembly Technology for 27 years.

At Fraunhofer IGCV, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gunther Reinhart was part of the three-member institute management team and took over the institute's executive management from 2016 to 2019.

After many years of intensive commitment, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gunther Reinhart became emeritus on October 1, 2020. The entire Fraunhofer IGCV wishes him all the best for his retirement.