Chemnitz University of Technology

The Professorship “Professorship Production Systems and Processes” is integrated into the Institute for Machine Tools and Production Processes (IWP) of Chemnitz University of Technology. Established in 1956, it has developed into an efficient and recognized research and training facility for production technology in Germany.

Integrated into the focal areas of the TU Chemnitz - "Energy-Efficient Production Processes", "Human Factors in Technologies" and "Smart Systems and Materials" - the professorship has been able to consistently expand its position as a center of teaching and research in the field of production technology that is visible throughout Germany and internationally. In close interdisciplinary collaboration between the divisions and the Fraunhofer IWU, basic research is expanded, focused on future-oriented topics and supported with industry-related projects for automotive and mechanical engineering. In the three teaching and research divisions "Machine Tools and Machining Technologies", "Process Informatics / Virtual Product Development" and "Control and Feedback Control Technology", our researchers interdisciplinarily deal with topics that can be assigned to the strategic goals of Industry 4.0 and resource efficiency in production. Areas of application are primarily mechanical engineering, the automotive and supplier industry as well as medical technology.

Visibility on a national and international level is achieved through active participation in the German Academic Association for Production Technology (WGP), the Innovation Network for Mechanical Engineering Saxony (VEMAS) and in the International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP). The network "AVARE", an association of research institutions and companies, has established itself in the field of solving problems in the manufacturing industry with tools of "virtual techniques". It combines joint application-driven research with opportunities to get to know virtual techniques and their field of application.

The international network "META - Manufacturing 4.0 through the development and transfer of progressive automation solutions" of the professorship supports small and medium-sized companies from the field of manufacturing technology in monitoring their processes and products by developing smart monitoring and automation solutions. By bundling a wide variety of competencies, experts and interests in the fields of automation and production technology as well as digitalization and networking, relevant process and plant data are collected from problem-oriented (sub-) processes and processed into metadata by means of intelligent information aggregation. These serve to monitor, evaluate and optimize the respective products and services as well as the associated machines and processes. Essential conditions for the strategies and solutions to be developed are, in addition to the available resources, integrity and acceptance on the part of the company. Furthermore, META pursues the goal of facilitating access to the contents of Industrie 4.0 for these SMEs and bringing them into line with their business and innovation processes for long-term value creation.