Link between research and industry
Expert advisory boards
We have set up the advisory boards in order to maintain a constant exchange on our focus topics and to receive direct feedback on the applicability of our results.
Your feedback on our research initiatives
The project initiatives of the KUZ arise from the needs of industrial practice. In each project phase, it is important to keep this focus in mind. How must a project be aligned so that it answers our partners' questions as well as possible? What needs to be developed in the project so that the results can be applied later and represent added value for industrial practice? What is the best way to implement the solutions developed in series production in a simple manner? The advisory boards therefore support us in the orientation of our research projects.
Tasks
The KUZ advisory boards meet annually to discuss completed and ongoing projects in the respective focus topic area in terms of applicability and benefits. What is good? What is still missing? What should be designed differently or supplemented? New ideas or entirely new topics are also presented and refined in joint brainstorming sessions. This generates valuable impulses for new and further initiatives.
Composition
The expert groups of the advisory boards consist of experienced representatives from industry who are also involved in the focus topic areas of the KUZ. They can therefore contribute practical expertise to each phase of the project. In doing so, we try to include every perspective on a focus field: Material and raw material, machine technology, process and processing, product and application as well as flanking expertise, for example, from the fields of sensor technology, simulation and engineering.
- Lightweight Construction Advisory Board
The Lightweight Construction Advisory Council focuses on innovations that enable lightweight construction through material reduction. In this way, performance advantages can be combined with cost advantages.
Because of this focus, the KUZ has been working on thermoplastic foams for many years. Correctly designed, the reduction of material density in the right place creates both lightweight construction and a cost advantage while maintaining component performance. This is just one example of many other possibilities for efficient lightweight construction.
Other topics include intelligent sandwich structures, benchmarks between material systems with a view to life cycle assessment, and the generation of lightweight solutions from recycled material systems. We are looking forward to the discussion with the participants of the companies
EDAG Group | FRIMO Group GmbH | HeiQ - Heitkamp Kunststofftechnik | Koller Group | Trexel | Wittmann Battenfeld GmbH
- Functionalization Advisory Board
The Functionalization Advisory Board focuses on the added value of plastics applications. Functional integration in components can break down complex assemblies and thus reduce costs in most cases. The team deals with functionalization through physical effects such as heat conduction, diffusion, electrical conductivity or even shielding, as well as chemical processes in the component under certain conditions. Also multi-K systems can lead to functions within a component by combining several materials like light conduction by combinations with transparent materials. We are looking forward to the discussion with the participants of the companies
BOGE Rubber & Plastics | Biconex GmbH | FEP Fahrzeugelektrik GmbH & Co. KG
- Miniaturization Advisory Board
The topic of miniaturization is very closely linked to the competence profile of the KUZ with our MiKA, Application Center for Microplastic Technologies. When it comes to the smallest parts with shot weights below 0.1 grams, there is no way around the KUZ. All special processes and materials to be processed are qualified by our experts. The focus is not only on injection molding but on all process steps of the application.
We are looking forward to the discussion with the companies
Carl Zeiss Meditec AG | Kunststoff Helbrechts AG | Raumedic AG | Stryker Leibinger GmbH & Co. KG | Wesko GmbH | Wittmann Battenfeld GmbH
- Polyurethane Processing Advisory Board
The Polyurethane Advisory Board is the model for establishing our new advisory groups. In this network, the discussion of our project topics and orientation takes place every year. Thus, over the years, a group of experts has formed who know the subject area from all sides and can provide a correspondingly broad range of opinions and comprehensive feedback. In this way, the research activities of the KUZ always remain close to industrial practice and its needs.
We are looking forward to the discussion with the participants of the companies
Andorit GmbH | BASF Polyurethanes GmbH | Bosig Baukunststoffe GmbH | Covestro Deutschland AG | Frimo GmbH | F.S. Fehrer Automotive Foam GmbH | Hennecke GmbH | Huntsman (Germany) GmbH | Ilkazell Isoliertechnik Zwickau GmbH | Recticel Engineered Foams Germany GmbH | Votteler Lackfabrik GmbH & Co. KG
- Sustainability / Recycling Advisory Board
Probably the most versatile advisory board in our company is the one on sustainability and recycling, because every project and every innovation is also considered in terms of various aspects of sustainability. Nevertheless, the KUZ and thus the advisory board on sustainability / recycling focuses on topics ranging from processable recyclate to a valuable technical product. We have to ignore the aspects of processing recyclable materials into recyclates and topics of downcycling, as they do not form synergies with our other main topics.
At present, the work of the advisory board is focused on topics relating to energy efficiency, the processability of recyclates and biobased plastics, increasing customer acceptance of products made from recyclates, expanding the range of recyclates that can be used for technical applications, and practical life cycle assessment.
We are looking forward to the discussion with the participants of the companies
APK AG | Borealis AG | BYK-Chemie GmbH | CKT-Ökoplast GmbH | Covestro AG | DOMO Engineering Plastics Europe
- Digitalization / AI Advisory Board
Not just an abstract concept, but concrete benefits in industrial practice - this is the motto under which experts from industry, together with scientific staff of the KUZ, consider the implementation of innovations from Industry 4.0 and Datascience in the Expert Advisory Board on Digitization / AI.
Currently, much of the work in the advisory board still revolves around simple and manageable ways of recording data in a meaningful way, processing it further and making it transparent. The KUZ modules for digitization are designed to be as flexible and adaptive as possible with industry feedback - so the advisory board is looking not only at injection molding but also joining and polyurethane processing. The focus is on the use of various process models to predict component quality and on linking the real world with the virtual world - for example, incorporating simulation tools.
We are looking forward to the discussion with participants from the following companies
Sumitomo (SHI) Demag | MS Ultrasonic Technology Group | Simcon | Micro-Epsilon
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