Dr. Jens Standfuß takes over the management of the business unit “Joining“

Press release (Nr. III) - Fraunhofer IWS Dresden, /

With effect from January 1, 2015 Dr. Jens Standfuß heads the business unit “Joining”. He succeeds Prof. Dr. Berndt Brenner, who celebrated his 65th birthday in November 2014. Prof. Brenner will be contributing his expertise to support his colleagues in their scientific research in the future.

Main research issue of the business unit “Joining“ is the development of innovative technologies for the aircraft industry. Prof. Dr. Berndt Brenner (left) hands over the management of his business field to Dr. Jens Standfuß (right) in January 2015.
© Fraunhofer IWS Dresden / Jürgen Jeibmann
Main research issue of the business unit “Joining“ is the development of innovative technologies for the aircraft industry. Prof. Dr. Berndt Brenner (left) hands over the management of his business field to Dr. Jens Standfuß (right) in January 2015.

In the business unit “Joining” IWS scientists have, for many years, focused their research into innovative technologies especially in the field of laser welding and adhesive bonding. The broad range of IWS technologies have been expanded by new methods such as friction stir welding, electromagnetic pulse welding and laser beam brazing. The integration of fiber composite technologies into the group “Adhesive Bonding“ and the setting up of the group “Component Design“ enable the processing of complex welding tasks in an interdisciplinary, more comprehensive manner.

The business unit “Joining“ includes the following groups:

  • Laser Beam Welding (head: Dr. Dirk Dittrich)
  • Bonding and Composite Technology (head: Dr. Irene Jansen)
  • Special Joining Technologies (head: Dr. Jens Standfuß)
  • Component Design (head: Dr. Axel Jahn)

Due to increasing demands regarding lightweight construction and the trend towards more sophisticated material combinations, joining technologies face more and more new challenges. Special joining processes such as friction stir welding and electromagnetic pulse welding are the most promising procedures to address these challenges. During the last years newly adapted systems have been designed and implemented into the IWS laboratories in close cooperation with our partners. Our modern system technologies for various joining procedures, together with our excellent materials knowhow and our component design concepts enable us to offer one stop solutions to our customers.

Up to now IWS essential research priority in the business unit “Joining” has been the development of laser welding technologies for the fabrication of metal fuselage structures, which have been advanced to industrial applications in close cooperation with the company Airbus. “In the field of aircraft manufacturing an enormous potential for new joining technologies can be seen in the high requirements with respect to cost and weight reductions”, Dr. Jens Standfuß explains. “Our next development target is the application of the friction stir technology for the welding of large area, flexible 3 D skins. This task requires a novel machine concept and a correspondingly adapted intelligent clamping technology. Within the aviation research programs IV and V we will develop a machine concept which enables the fixing, positioning, milling and the subsequent friction stir welding of large area, flexible 3 D skins in one clamping process“.

Dresden joints in a unique manner the most diversified competencies in the field of joining procedures. For example, the Fraunhofer IWS in cooperation with the TU Dresden and the HTW Dresden established the joining technology center “Tailored Joining”. The center provides an overview about the possibilities and limitations of various joining procedures, new developments and industrial solutions.

After completing an apprenticeship to be a steelworker Dr. Jens Standfuß studied from 1988 to 1993 at the Technischen Universität Dresden and graduated with a diploma in material science. In 1998 he received a Ph.D at the TU Dresden in the subject “Fatigue strength of laser hardened Q&T steel”. Since 1998 Dr. Jens Standfuß has headed the group “Laser Welding“ and has decisively contributed to the establishment of the groups “Special Joining Processes“ and “Component Design“.