Dear Alumnus/ Alumna,
Please join us for today’s (Wed, Oct 19) talk on “Vehicle Light-Weighting” by Dr.-Ing. Dirk Landgrebe (Chair of Forming and Joining at TU Chemnitz; Head of Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU in Chemnitz) at 4:30 pm in IC & SR Auditorium.
Brief Summary:
Regarding the increase in world population the satisfaction of needs concerning the limited availability of raw materials such as oil, ore or water reaches an alarming level. This situation is intensified by the increased consumption orientation of developing and emerging countries towards industrial countries. This clearly anticipates global distribution conflicts on remaining resources.
A main challenge for industrial businesses is the development of strategies to reduce costs, resource and energy input as well as emissions. This means to produce the most possible out of the input raw material and energy.
One example of a promising approach to the question of how to achieve a positive impact on energy and resource efficiency in the car manufacturing sector lies in the achievement of significant weight reductions in the bodywork and power train. For this reason the consistent implementation of lightweight construction strategies represents an important factor. This includes
– the use of lightweight construction materials and semi-finished products
and/or
– the realization of innovative part design.
Beside these aspects, especially the weight of cars influences the fuel consumption as well as the CO2 emissions. The use of lightweight materials and/or the realization of lightweight design offer the chance to achieve significant weight reductions and consequently fuel savings.
Main aspects of the presentation will be:
– motivation for light-weighting in car manufacturing
– solution approaches
– selected case studies for powertrain and car body components
Bio:
Dr.-Ing. Dirk Landgrebe is Chair of Forming and Joining by Forming at the Chemnitz University of Technology (TU Chemnitz) and also heads the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU in Chemnitz. Dr.-Ing. Dirk Landgrebe began working at Hirschvogel Umformtechnik GmbH in 1999 as Head of Research and Development. From 2002, he headed the production area for constant-velocity shaft parts. From 2005 until 2010, Dr.-Ing. Dirk Landgrebe was General Manager of Hirschvogel Automotive Components (Pinghu) Co., Ltd. in China. During this time, he built up the plant from its founding until it reached sales of approx. 14 million euros and a workforce of around 200 people. From 2010 until 2011, he was a member of the Board of Directors at Hirschvogel Holding GmbH. Since 2012, he has been responsible for the area of “Corporate Engineering” as a global central function for machine procurement and the entire infrastructure of the Hirschvogel Automotive Group.