The project “Laser Sintering of Metal” in the winter term 2012/13 dealt with the analysis of the term “lightweight construction” and with the development of complex spatial structures suitable for appropriate component parts.
At the project’s beginning (the project was a joint program undertaken and supported by “Systemhaus Technik” of the DLR in Cologne-Porz) was the slightly provocative question if bees, if provided with CAD-knowledge and regenerative production techniques, configured their honeycombs according to common tradition. That question inspired students to develop some drafts being later exemplarily produced to patterns and models formed from stainless steel powder on laser sintering machines at DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt/ German Aerospace Center). The insights were stunning as it is possible to develop complex and highly solid structures that can be produced with hollow cavities and undercuts – without respective tools and, in future, also in serial production.
Participants: Toni Groß, Sascha Praet, Moritz Wallasch, Christian Zander, and other students
Term: Winter term 2012/13
Project: Long-term project
Supervised by Prof. Hatto Grosse (Design for Manufacturing)
