Technologies

WET CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT FOR BETTER BONDS AND COATINGS | Wet chemical pre-treatment, often referred to as galvanization or galvanic technology, still occupies a key position in the field of surface pre-treatment in many industrial sectors, such as the aerospace industry, medical technology, or the automotive industry. Fraunhofer IFAM provides support in this field by developing and optimizing various processes and products for wet-chemical surface treatment for metals.

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY AND RESOURCE-EFFICIENT SURFACE TREATMENT | Laser technology offers a wide range of possibilities for cleaning and modifying surfaces. For example, metal surfaces can be made more resistant to corrosion, the adhesion of a paint or adhesive can be improved, or storage-capable and liquid-transporting layers can be created.

REMOVAL À LA CARTE - SELECTIVELY OR DOWN TO THE SUBSTRATE | As an ablative process, the laser is ideally suited to remove coatings from surfaces and preparing them directly for recoating. This saves time and money, especially in the case of local repair, as the laser can be guided in a very defined way, resulting in an ablation with sharp edges without a mask. Depending on the material combinations and the laser parameters used, a coating can be selectively removed or stripped down to the base substrate while maintaining virtually the same surface quality.

CLEANING AND FUNCTIONALIZING SURFACES WITH LIGHT - FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE ENVIRONMENT | Clean, modified surfaces form the basis for long-term stable bonding and painting. Surface treatment by laser offers many advantages over other processes: Not only are the surfaces cleaned, but in a one-step process, the topography and chemistry are adjusted in parallel according to individual requirements. And the technology is environmentally friendly, resource-efficient and in a compact design that can be easily integrated into existing process chains.

Elemental analysis at Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden provides precise quantitative determination of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur in metallic, ceramic and inorganic materials. Using CHNS and ONH methods, we deliver reliable analytical data for quality control, materials development, and research and industrial applications.

The Fraunhofer IFAM in Stade develops automated, forward-looking joining and sealing processes for numerous branches, including aviation and space, automotive engineering, rail vehicle construction, shipbuilding and the energy sector, up to full-scale. The individual solutions are based on the application-specific requirements for joining or sealing of structures.

We cover the complete value chain for the additive processes we have available at Fraunhofer IFAM – from the creation of 3D data models, through manufacturing, to final processing and inspection of the components.

Fraunhofer IFAM has been working on electromobility and the casting of electric drive components since 2008. The focus is on the development and testing of new casting concepts and design methods for electric motor castings. The field of expertise has been expanded to include the analysis and evaluation of castings for the body construction of electric vehicles, with a particular focus on giga-casting.

PLASMA AND LASER PROCESSES: THE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY WAY OF SURFACE TREATMENT | Resource- and environmentally friendly processes are more in demand than ever. The functionalization of components using completely dry techniques based on the plasma or laser processing enables to slash the use of wet chemicals such as solvents, primers and rinsing media. This significantly improves the CO2 footprint of manufacturing processes and products. Fraunhofer IFAM is currently researching versatile applications of plasma and laser technologies for the pretreatment and functionalization of a wide range of technical surfaces such as metals, polymers, and glass for various industrial branches.

EFFICIENT PLASMA COATING WITH CUSTOMIZED NOZZLES | Inline Coating with Atmospheric Pressure Plasmas has established itself as a sustainable solution in industrial manufacturing. This technology offers, for example, environmentally friendly corrosion protection and enables secure adhesion of adhesives and paints – all without the use of harmful primers. Each industrial application scenario presents individual challenges: from coating width and accessibility of complex, three-dimensional components to the treatment of temperature-sensitive materials. At Fraunhofer IFAM, customized nozzle heads are developed to flexibly address these varying requirements.