University of Siegen – Chair of Forming Technology (UTS)

Company description:

The Chair of Forming Technology at the University of Siegen (short: UTS, Umformtechnik Siegen) works in close cooperation with the Chairs of Production Engineering, Automotive Engineering and Materials Engineering. In addition to teaching, the main tasks of the chair are basic research and support for industrial research.

The work concentrates on the investigation of selected sheet metal forming processes. These include profile bending and hydroforming. In addition to profile forming, the chair is also involved in the forming of laminated composites and the forming of fiber-reinforced thermoplastics. With this research profile, the chair ideally supports lightweight construction developments in mechanical and vehicle engineering through the use of profiles, hybrid materials and the associated process technology for economic use.

Forming technology issues are addressed using plastomechanical approaches, finite element simulations and practical tests. The institute’s own facilities enable practical experiments and the determination of mechanical material characteristics.

With modern simulation techniques, high-performance bending systems for large and small profile cross-sections and a prototype system for profile forming of fiber-reinforced thermoplastics, basic research for industrial practice is carried out at the chair.

The close connection to industry is often the starting point for innovation and also the motivation for basic engineering research.
The most important processes of primary and forming technology should be presented in the training and, in particular, the forming mechanisms should be taught. The fundamentals of plasticity theory in forming technology are deepened in connection with modern computer-aided working methods. The structure and design of forming machines – especially presses – are taught. In addition to an overview of common forming processes, applications in the automotive industry are covered in depth.

The topics of the supervised student research projects/diploma/bachelor’s and master’s theses are usually closely related to the research focus areas and development projects being worked on.