In this case, the name of the lecture was a clear statement of intent: 32 students from the Mechanical Engineering Faculty of Regensburg University could do hands-on work in the “Design Application” lecture, and see if their designs could satisfy the high demands of the real engineering world. In an exemplary partnership between business and scientific education, the students were set to the task of designing innovative clamping devices for laser plastic welding applications.
 
This joining technology exerts very low mechanical stress on the components, but does require a moderate amount of joining pressure which should ideally be applied orthogonal to the welding seam to guarantee the creation of a reliable join between the two welding partners. The design of the clamping tools also has to ensure that nothing stands in the way of the laser beam and the welding seam.

The groups of students supervised by their lecturers Prof. Dr. Stefan Hierl and Prof. Dr. Thomas Schaeffer first toured the LPKF production facilities in Erlangen, where they also clarified any technical questions about the task in hand.

At the end of the project, Frank Brunnecker, Vice President LPKF Laser Welding Division, reported that there was unanimous agreement about the win-win outcome for all sides. All of the results used innovative methods and ultra-modern design and engineering techniques to solve the complex task. In addition to reinterpreting conventional clamping concepts, a number of solutions stand out by way of their creative approaches – some of which will be developed further. All of the participants agreed that this was a very valuable form of cooperation which was well worth repeating in future.


The awards ceremony was conducted by LPKF Innovation Manager Manuel Sieben, who said in praise of the work that was presented: “The high technical standards of the designs completely satisfied our ambitions, and amply demonstrate the high quality of the teaching.” This was also reflected in the awards won by the groups of students: In addition to the first and second prizes, there were also two third place prizes – and a big get together to exchange ideas and experience with the University President Prof. Dr. Josef Eckstein, Vice Dean Prof. Dr. Werner Britten, lecturers, LPKF engineers, and the up-and-coming mechanical engineering students.