Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWSWe cooperate with a number of renowned companies - from start-ups and SMEs to large corporations - and support you in developing and optimizing processes and products and bringing them to market. You can find some of the voices of customers we have already won over with our competent, structured and successful working methods here.
References
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Cooperations
Airbus
“Airbus has been cooperating successfully with the Fraunhofer IMWS since 2005, for example on the potential applications of new lightweight materials. We value the highly professional cooperation with the institute's staff and their ability to react to our requirements quickly and in a highly competent manner.”
Benjamin Teich, Senior Technology Manager, R&D Coordination Composite Box Structures, Airbus
Exipnos GmbH
“The DCIM (direct compounding injection molding) technology developed in our company has always presented us with exciting puzzles. Practical tests showed, for example, that DCIM often produces materials with significantly higher properties than those obtained by conventional, two-stage plastics processing from compounding and injection molding – despite identical starting materials! A joint research and development project with the Fraunhofer IMWS finally provided us with a scientifically sound explanation for the causes of this phenomenon. The investigations carried out by the researchers and the possibilities of drawing on excellent technical equipment in the field of microstructure diagnostics made the physical processes in materials processing visible down to the nanometer range. The expertise gained from this enabled us, together with the materials scientists at the IMWS, to develop the innovative plastic “Polyamid-Blend 111”, which features low water absorption and low shrinkage, retains its high impact strength even at low temperatures, is UV-stable and is ideal for matt surfaces. The new material is thus highly suitable as a cost-effective, high-quality alternative to polycarbonate/ABS or polycarbonate/ASA, such as for paneling and shelving in the direct sunlight area of vehicle interiors. It is one of our contributions to the automotive future.”
Peter Putsch, Managing Director Exipnos GmbH, Merseburg
Sonae Indústria
»Many thanks to the Fraunhofer IMWS compounding team. Their expertise and first class equipment allowed us to achieve great results in Woodforce industrialization. We had hard days of work together, in a very ambitious & creative atmosphere!«
Xavier Le Fur, Product Development & Technical Manager, Sonae Indústria
KraussMaffei
“The Fraunhofer PAZ has established itself as an important driving force for the central German “chemical triangle”. As partners, we also highly appreciate the unique equipment, the expertise and creativity of the employees and their great understanding of the needs of a very dynamic sector. The combination of our wide-ranging expertise in mechanical engineering and process engineering as well as the in-depth understanding of plastics processing processes on the part of Fraunhofer researchers enables us to jointly develop individual solutions at the highest level for our customers both quickly and reliably.”
Dr. Hans Ulrich Golz, President of the Injection Molding Division of the KraussMaffei Group and Managing Director, KraussMaffei
Science Awards
Science awards
Here you can see an overview of the prizes won by our scientists.
Year |
Prize |
Award winner |
2023 |
Poster Award of ESAO Winter School Poster "A standardized in vitro bioengineered skin for penetrating wound modelling", Zweiter Platz bei der Winter School der European Society for Artificial Organs (ESAO) |
Celia Sofia Salazar Silva |
| 2020 | Hugo Junkers Prize of the State of Saxony-Anhalt A team led by Prof. Mario Beiner received first place for the development of a biomimetic synthetic rubber, the use of which enables lower abrasion in tire applications. Second place goes to Dr Christian Schmelzer, Tobias Hedtke and Dr Marco Götze, who developed an innovative solution to process natural elastin into wound dressing materials. |
Prof. Dr. Mario Beiner, Dr. Christian Schmelzer, Tobias Hedtke, Dr. Marco Götze |
2015 |
WAK Prize to Matthias Zscheyge for his dissertation “On temperature- and strain-rate-dependent deformation and damage behavior of textile-thermoplastic composites” In his dissertation, Matthias Zscheyge investigated the deformation and damage behavior of textile thermoplastic composites. These are especially in demand in the automotive industry for the development of lighter and more crash-resistant body parts. For the development of calculation models based on practical experiments, which simulate the behavior of the material at different temperatures and load speeds and thus contribute to the improvement of crash properties, the researcher was awarded the WAK Prize by the Scientific Working Group of University Professors of Plastics Technology (Wissenschaftlicher Arbeitskreis der Universitätsprofessoren der Kunststofftechnik, WAK). |
Matthias Zscheyge |
2015 |
Hugo Junkers Award, Special Award for Resource Efficiency Ralf Schlimper received the Hugo Junkers Award in the category “Special Award: Resource Efficiency”. In collaboration with the aviation supplier P-D Aircraft Interior GmbH, a manufacturing process was developed for aircraft floors and side parts that saves up to 35% of energy. |
Ralf Schlimper |
2014 |
Rehau Award for Technology, Dissertation Category Ralf Schlimper was awarded the Rehau Award for Technology in the Dissertation category. With this award, the Rehau company honors outstanding work in the field of polymer applications. |
Ralf Schlimper |
2014 |
Poster Award of the Academy of Central German Plastics Innovation |
Anas Mujtaba |
2012 |
Karl Hermann Zipp Prize of the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences For his bachelor thesis “Conception and implementation of a control unit for a roll-to-roll winding machine for coating high-performance polymer films by means of vacuum surface modification”, André Ogrodowsk was awarded the Karl Hermann Zipp Prize of the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences in Köthen in the field of electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and industrial engineering. |
André Ogrodowski
|
2011 |
International Materials Science Prize of the Polychar World Forum on Advanced Materials Sven Henning from the Fraunhofer IMWS received the prize for his scientific research on materials for bone replacement. Henning and his team are working on a material that could replace human bone in the near future: The basis for applications in the human body is a biologically compatible nanocomposite. |
Sven Henning |
2010 |
Sponsorship award of the Halle regional association of the Association of German Engineers For her diploma thesis on the topic “Investigation of crack propagation in CFRP foam sandwich structures”, Marianne John was awarded the sponsorship award of the Halle regional association of the Association of German Engineers. In her practice-oriented diploma thesis, John dealt with the damage tolerance of lightweight structures, known as CFRP foam sandwich structures. She investigated how many load changes a defective structure can withstand until a loss of function occurs. |
Marianne John |
2010 |
MBDA 1-Star Innovation Award of MBDA Missile Systems Ralf Schäuble and Matthias Petersilge received the MBDA Innovation Award for their contribution to “C-C/SiC Rocket Motor Nozzle Technology”. Ralf Schäuble and his team worked on the development and optimization of nozzle technology for rocket engines. The rocket nozzles consist of a ceramic fiber composite, which was investigated by the Fraunhofer IMWS for its structure-property relationship. |
Ralf Schäuble und Matthias Petersilge |