Modern lightweight construction has already been helping automotive and aerospace industry to save fuel and materials and to reduce environmental impact. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS have recently found a way to transfer such proven design principles to other industries. By using lasers, they weld filigree hollow chamber structures with cover sheets to form lightweight sandwich panels. Such metal structures can be produced particularly efficiently in the roll-to-roll process of Fraunhofer IWS. The new technology ensures higher production speeds and a wider range of uses for lightweight panels. This opens up new lightweight construction perspectives, as in the construction of ship superstructures, railroads and factory buildings.
Fraunhofer Representative Office Beijing