Bachelor-/ Master Thesis: »Product development for inline microscopy of cutting processes«

At the Fraunhofer IPT in Aachen, we work with more than 530 employees every day to make the production of the future more digital, flexible, and sustainable. In the department of "High Performance Cutting" one of the challenges we are driven by is the automation of tool wear detection. Currently there are indirect and direct assessment approaches undergoing. 

Within the scope of your thesis, you will optimize and develop a microscope for inline microscopy of tool wear. Microscopy is a usual method for assessing tool condition. Common tool wear manifestations as flank wear, rake wear and edge radius can be directly assessed through microscopy. Nevertheless, offline microscopy is costly and laborious. For this reason, it is estimated that ~ 30% of the tool lifetime is wasted by preventive maintenance actions in the milling industry. Inline microscopy is a growing field aligned with deep learning based approaches for automated tool wear detection.

Here you work on your tasks on site in our institute / in our machine park.

What you will do

• Assessment of requirements with industrial end user and current inline microscope developments
• Definition of fundamental functions, principal solutions and technical solutions 
• Development of CAD parts and assemblies
• Prototyping and validation of the developed product in a 5-axis machine tool

What you bring to the table

• You are studying mechanical/mechatronic engineering, product development, CES or a comparable subject
• Experience in CAD is required, while skills in Siemens NX are advantageous
• A high degree of creativity, independence and motivation
• Good language skills in German and/or English

What you can expect

• Ideal conditions for practical experience alongside your studies
• Professional supervision and collaboration in a dedicated team
• A state-of-the-art machine park equipped with edge cloud systems and 5G infrastructure
• Flexible working to combine study and job in the best possible way

We value and promote the diversity of our employees' skills and therefore welcome all applications - regardless of age, gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion, ideology, disability, sexual orientation and identity. Severely disabled persons are given preference in the event of equal suitability. 

With its focus on developing key technologies that are vital for the future and enabling the commercial utilization of this work by business and industry, Fraunhofer plays a central role in the innovation process. As a pioneer and catalyst for groundbreaking developments and scientific excellence, Fraunhofer helps shape society now and in the future. 

Interested? Apply online now. We look forward to getting to know you!

For any further information on this position please contact:

Gustavo Laydner de Melo Rosa B. Sc.
Research assistant »High performance cutting«
Phone: +49 241 8904-256

Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT

Requisition Number: 75994                Application Deadline: