Advisory Board
LightCon is actively supported in terms of content and concept by an interdisciplinary advisory board with experts from all material and technology areas of lightweight construction.
Head of Advisory Board
1. Which aspect of lightweight construction do you stand for with your organization and what is your most important message?
Lightweight construction can be implemented in different ways. In addition to intelligent materials, additive manufacturing as an innovative technology promises unimagined potential. Europe's largest 3D printing network MgA wants to support the implementation of new ideas and products.
2. In your opinion, which user industries have the greatest untapped potential for lightweight construction?
Lightweight components have been used in the aviation sector for years. However, many user industries are not yet aware of the potential for lightweight construction. The application possibilities are huge in the mobility sector, individualized medicine, the construction sector, and even production technologies, e.g., with lighter tools. Above all, lightweight construction also supports sustainability strategies to save materials and CO2 through weight-reduced applications. With additive manufacturing, parts can be designed in a completely different way. Cavities, cooling ducts or honeycomb molds help reduce the weight of printed parts by up to 80% while maintaining the same stability.
3. Why does the market need LightCon as a cross-material and cross-technology lightweight construction platform?
Lightcon has the great task of providing information about innovative materials and new manufacturing technologies to enable new applications. To this end, experts will provide information on the latest trends and real implemented applications can be experienced on site. Especially in small and medium-sized companies, the possibilities are often not sufficiently explored yet. Get inspired by other companies at LightCon!
1. Which aspect of lightweight construction do you stand for with your organization and what is your most important message?
Composites United promotes the sustainable use of multi-material lightweight construction and has set itself the goal of positioning the group of hybrid high-performance lightweight construction composites in global competition as an environmental and economic added value.
2. In your opinion, which user industries have the greatest untapped potential for lightweight construction?
General mechanical engineering and the construction industry.
3. Why does the market need LightCon as a cross-material and cross-technology lightweight construction platform?
No previous format represents a truly cross-material approach and can therefore convey the current state of the art in lightweight construction to both experienced and inexperienced new customers. In addition, LightCon offers market-oriented solutions both in the selection of materials and in their processing while taking into account ecological and economic aspects.
The Advisory Board
1. Which aspect of lightweight construction do you stand for with your organization and what is your most important message?
When taking a look at the key technology of lightweight construction, there is no way around the material steel when it comes to realizing high-performing and economical build components. Steel manufacturers aim to develop innovative lightweight materials that combine high strength with good formability. A further central approach is an intelligent material mix of high-strength steels, light metals and, in the long term, composite hybrid materials, while at the same time taking into account new processing and component design requirements.
2. In your opinion, which user industries have the greatest untapped potential for lightweight construction?
In the automotive industry, lightweight design solutions have long been concentrated on the carbody and sheet metal-based lightweight design solutions. For some time now, the focus has been increasingly shifting to the powertrain and the chassis. Since 2013, the Massive Lightweight Construction Initiative, a cooperation of companies from the steel production and massive forming industries, has been highlighting the as yet unknown lightweight construction potential of massive formed steel components in powertrain and chassis. But agricultural engineering is another sector in which the potential for lightweight construction has been underestimated.
3. Why does the market need LightCon as a cross-material and cross-technology lightweight construction platform?
The right material in the right place is a frequent demand in connection with the key technology of lightweight construction. For the user who wants to find the right material for his application, it is important to obtain comprehensive information on the use of suitable materials along the entire value chain. For the first time, LightCon offers this opportunity across materials, technologies and industries for all those involved in component development.
1. Which aspect of lightweight construction do you stand for with your organization and what is your most important message?
The aerospace industry is a driver, application area and nucleus for advanced lightweight construction technology. Niedersachsen Aviation, the aerospace initiative of the state of Lower Saxony, contributes to further improving the transfer of technology from aerospace to other industries.
2. In your opinion, which user industries have the greatest untapped potential for lightweight construction?
Great potential for lightweight construction can (still) be tapped in all user industries. Many areas face the same or similar challenges. Intensive exchange is important to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and technology.
3. Why does the market need LightCon as a cross-material and cross-technology lightweight construction platform?
Lightweight construction materials and technologies are under continuous development and there are a vast number of possible combinations. The challenge lies in finding the optimal mix for each individual product. Lightweight construction technology on its own and in particular the combination of different materials leads to new challenges in all phases of a product's life cycle.
1. Which aspect of lightweight construction do you stand for with your organization and what is your most important message?
Thanks to its outstanding properties, aluminum can make an important contribution to resource-saving lightweight construction: it is durable, versatile and, if developed and controlled correctly, 100% reusable. The energy consumption of recycled materials is reduced by 95% compared to the production and use of raw aluminum. The ALU-Valley 4.0 project basically stands for two essential aspects that are interdependent with regard to the material aluminium: The development of new fields of application for the material aluminium in lightweight construction as well as ensuring an efficient, resource- and energy-saving circular economy in an increasingly "decarbonised" world.
2. In your opinion, which user industries have the greatest untapped potential for lightweight construction?
The expert panels of the Lightweight Construction Initiative have repeatedly emphasized the link between CO2 emissions and the advantages of lightweight construction. This means that on the one hand, industries that are currently still struggling with CO2 problems can benefit greatly from this, and on the other hand, lightweight construction as a cross-sectional technology can bring advantages to many industries. In addition, the "circular economy" concept can be strengthened in many sectors if designed and processed appropriately, so that in the end many industrial sectors will benefit from lightweight construction.
3. Why does the market need LightCon as a cross-material and cross-technology lightweight construction platform?
The topic of lightweight construction requires interdisciplinarity and avoidance of "silo thinking". Only then the full potential of this technology can be developed. The concept of LightCon is precisely geared to cross-industry networking and can therefore offer a more than suitable "stage" for the implementation of this technology in the market.
1. Which aspect of lightweight construction do you stand for with your organization and what is your most important message?
The focus of the LeichtbauCampus Open Hybrid LabFactory is the production technology for large-scale production of functionally integrated hybrid structures. Here, the value chain of the product and its sustainability in the life cycle is always considered in its entirety. Within the framework of a novel cooperation model - with science and industry on an equal footing - a unique infrastructure for research, development, production and testing of hybrid components has been created here, turning ideas into innovations.
2. In your opinion, which user industries have the greatest untapped potential for lightweight construction?
In general, the consumer goods sector is becoming increasingly important. Durable products generally have to meet a wide range of requirements, and handling as well as sustainability can be improved, for example, by selecting and saving suitable materials.
3. Why does the market need LightCon as a cross-material and cross-technology lightweight construction platform?
Lightweight construction has always been a combination of material, process and design. Innovative solutions can only be created by taking an interdisciplinary look at the challenges. The concept of LightCon takes this approach into account.
1. Which aspect of lightweight construction do you stand for with your organization and what is your most important message?
As the state cluster NMWP.NRW, we represent the fields of nanotechnology, microtechnology, new materials, optical technologies and QT, i.e. we don't stand for any specific area of lightweight construction, which makes it quite exciting. Due to our broad positioning, we in general are cross-technological in the field of lightweight construction and bring together players who are partly moving in parallel technological worlds, which makes it very exciting. That's why the most important message would be to "think outside the box" more often.
2. In your opinion, which user industries have the greatest untapped potential for lightweight construction?
I think it will be exciting in the future wherever the focus is not exclusively on automotive mobility. I'm thinking, for example, of user industries such as aviation (keyword: autonomous micro-aircraft) or transport (besides railways, developments such as the hyperloop are also exciting), and there's still a lot of room for improvement in construction, agriculture and energy.
3. Why does the market need LightCon as a cross-material and cross-technology lightweight construction platform?
Quite simply, you can't always fish in the same pond. To further develop lightweight construction, an interdisciplinary, cross-sector and cross-technology platform is needed. On the one hand, the different material fractions must enter into a fruitful exchange. On the other hand, lightweight construction solutions and technologies from the fashion or sports sector, for example, can also be of great relevance to other industries.
1. Which aspect of lightweight construction do you stand for with your organization and what is your most important message?
The International Magnesium Association and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht have set themselves the goal of demonstrating the lightweight construction potential of the lightest metallic structural material for a wide range of applications (automotive/civil aviation/tool industry) and customized lightweight construction concepts using magnesium materials. Essentially, the aim is to develop sustainable concepts with a positive ecological balance over the entire process chain up to application. In addition, the material offers itself as an ecological alternative to other battery materials (e.g. Li) with high energy density and long service life.
2. In your opinion, which user industries have the greatest untapped potential for lightweight construction?
I see great untapped lightweight construction potential, particularly in the areas of applications in public transport (rail/bus) and transportation (land-based/rail) and in the construction industry.
3. Why does the market need LightCon as a cross-material and cross-technology lightweight construction platform?
LightCon is one of the few lightweight construction platforms that, in addition to topics spanning materials and technologies, is increasingly dedicated to multisectional applications ranging from traffic engineering (automotive/transport industry/local and long-distance public transport) to structural and civil engineering and the furniture industry. Other events are often more or less focused on individual aspects (materials/application-specific events).
1. Which aspect of lightweight construction do you stand for with your organization and what is your most important message?
Lightweight construction is becoming increasingly important in the field of furniture and interior design. Weight reduction plays an important role for mobile interior fittings. Further arguments in favor of lightweight construction in our field of activity are also a significant reduction in the use of raw material - wood - of up to 50 % with equivalent or even better qualities and strengths, with additional benefits such as functional integration or for transport handling. Thanks to the comprehensive network of experts, igeL members can make an important contribution to the implementation of the Green Deal in the future.
2. In your opinion, which user industries have the greatest untapped potential for lightweight construction?
These include furniture series production. For highly automated production there is a demand for materials for rational processing - if possible, with existing equipment - as well as easy assembly. The interplay of material, joining solutions and technology plays an essential role. Here there are interesting alternatives for the market. The solid wood-based panels that are currently predominantly used are produced with high-performance plants, so that the same large-scale plants and supply chains for the lightweight construction materials are needed to replace them.
3. Why does the market need LightCon as a cross-material and cross-technology lightweight construction platform?
As a congress trade fair, LightCon offers a balanced platform to gain an overview of the multitude of different lightweight construction materials and solutions. The approach of a material-spanning presentation offers the possibility to compare different lightweight construction materials for the respective application purposes. In addition, the accompanying conference will present the latest results from research and development. There will also be an opportunity to establish personal contact with the innovators.
A concept that we are happy to support.
1. Which aspect of lightweight construction do you stand for with your organization and what is your most important message?
As a central institution of Technical University Chemnitz, the Cluster of Excellence MERGE deals with fundamental research questions around the key technology of lightweight construction. The goal is to merge basic technologies from the fields of plastics, metal, textiles and smart systems that are suitable for large-scale production to produce multifunctional lightweight structures in a resource-efficient manner. The cluster is thus pursuing the long-term strategy of Bivalent Resource Efficiency (BRE strategy). It describes the approach of energy efficiency both in production and in the use of a component.
2. In your opinion, which user industries have the greatest untapped potential for lightweight construction?
Even though lightweight construction is already finding its way into mobile applications, there are only a few isolated solutions for complex components and systems that fully exploit the potential of lightweight construction. In addition to the implementation of a holistic lightweight construction strategy, solutions for economic, ecological and social sustainability are increasingly in demand.
3. Why does the market need LightCon as a cross-material and cross-technology lightweight construction platform?
I see LightCon as a bridge between the various players in industry, science, politics and society. It can act as an incubator for new topics and as a catalyst to accelerate the formation of new strategic partnerships, which will enable Germany to maintain and expand its pioneering position in the field of lightweight construction.
1. Which aspect of lightweight construction do you stand for with your organization and what is your most important message?
The choice of materials plays a key role in lightweight construction. However, efficient lightweight construction can ultimately only be realized if the entire product life cycle is taken into consideration. At the Institute of Materials Science, new metallic materials are therefore developed together with the associated manufacturing processes in order to be able to map complete process chains that make it possible to produce sustainable high-performance products for lightweight construction. In addition to magnesium, aluminum and titanium materials, multi-material composites are playing an increasingly important role, as they can be used to create lightweight components that can withstand high local stresses.
2. In your opinion, which user industries have the greatest untapped potential for lightweight construction?
The current change in the mobility sector is leading to an increase in the mass of vehicles in many places. Considerable potential can still be tapped through consistent lightweight design, which not only considers the body materials but also includes components for the powertrain, energy supply, cooling, etc. One example is aluminum-copper composite components which can be used both for lightweight cooling solutions and for the transmission of electrical energy.
3. Why does the market need LightCon as a cross-material and cross-technology lightweight construction platform?
For the realization of efficient lightweight construction solutions, it is necessary to bring together very different competences. LightCon offers a tailor-made forum to discuss new lightweight construction approaches and technologies with experts from different disciplines.
1. Which aspect of lightweight construction do you stand for with your organization and what is your most important message?
The focus of my work is on the realization of a combined material and production-related lightweight construction. Lightweight construction materials, and here primarily aluminum and high-strength steel materials, must be capable of being formed, but also joined, in order to produce qualified components. The joint thinking and implementation of both aspects brings lightweight construction a step forward in the long term.
2. In your opinion, which user industries have the greatest untapped potential for lightweight construction?
All industries almost equally. The automotive industry has certainly been a leader in the field of lightweight construction research and development for years, but all industries involved in mobility (aviation, rail vehicles, ships) have the need and potential to take lightweight construction measures. The same applies to plant and mechanical engineering in general, and to some extent also to the household appliance industry, the construction industry, here especially in the field of cladding, and also the consumer goods industry. In many areas, we can leverage additional lightweight construction potential through lateral thinking and new approaches, so that lightweight construction, due to the associated resource and energy efficiency, is a task for us all.
3. Why does the market need LightCon as a cross-material and cross-technology lightweight construction platform?
To enable the exchange of ideas between the sectors, to present new approaches and solutions, to inspire, to bring together people who together think about lightweight construction in a new way every day.
1. Which aspect of lightweight construction do you stand for with your organization and what is your most important message?
The Institute for Competence in AutoMobility - IKAM GmbH is a business-supported development service provider. Together with our partners from industry and science, we are particularly interested in hybrid components, their properties and production technologies in lightweight construction. With our cooperative competence and the technical possibilities to carry out complex tests - among other things, durability tests of components - we want to continue to make an important contribution to the development and market launch processes of the products.
2. In your opinion, which user industries have the greatest untapped potential for lightweight construction?
In my opinion, we are still at the beginning of the possibilities of lightweight construction applications that will affect all areas of our lives. There is no doubt that mobility and its current transformation towards emission-free drives continues to be a key driver. If we want to achieve the climate targets we have set ourselves worldwide, the task and potential of lightweight construction strategies is enormous.
3. Why does the market need LightCon as a cross-material and cross-technology lightweight construction platform?
The interconnection of science and industry, the demonstration of materials, processes, products and services, the visualization of the degree of maturity in a concentrated form and across all perceived industry boundaries can only promote the further market introduction of lightweight construction technologies and their market positioning. The combination of conference and trade fair, as LightCon intends to do in the future, supports exactly this idea.
1. Which lightweight construction aspect do you stand for with your organization and what is your most important message?
Lightweight construction in cast iron stands for economical and sustainable components that have proven themselves, but also for forward-looking solutions in the fields of mobility and energy supply. Innovative casting processes enable the production of complex geometries and the integration of a wide range of functions in a resource-saving design. The variety of casting materials offers the right material for every requirement. The promotion of cast lightweight construction is an important field of activity of the Bundesverband der Deutschen Gießerei-Industrie BDG.
2. In your opinion, which user industries have the greatest untapped potential for lightweight construction?
The use of state-of-the-art simulation and optimization techniques and innovations in manufacturing technology are already making fascinating lightweight construction solutions possible today. In the future, these technologies will allow us to further exploit the enormous lightweight construction potential that still exists. The reliable prediction and maintenance of properties over the entire service life of a product will therefore also further strengthen lightweight construction in the field of mechanical and plant engineering.
3. Why does the market need LightCon as a cross-material and cross-technology lightweight construction platform?
Political goals and a broad social consensus in the field of climate protection and resource conservation pose enormous challenges for all of us. With its products and production processes, the industry will make a significant contribution to achieving these common goals. Consistent lightweight construction in particular offers enormous opportunities here. LightCon offers an attractive forum for the exchange of experience across materials and technologies and a meeting place to get to know the latest developments.
Interested in news about the development of the new LightCon in Hannover?
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