Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWSOrganosandwich semi-finished products enable resource-efficient, large-scale production of thermoplastic sandwich components. In a new project, ThermHex Waben GmbH and the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS in Halle (Saale) are working on improved solutions for automated processing and digital traceability of the production chain. The focus is also on new findings on fatigue behavior, hot handling, and inline quality monitoring. The aim is to enable safe and highly resilient lightweight structures for automotive and aerospace applications.
On the one hand, the focus is on overcoming existing technological limitations in the continuous production of thermoplastic sandwich structures with thin multiaxial skin layers and the integration of even more efficient quality monitoring. On the other hand, the project, which will run until October 2027, aims to investigate the potential of thermoforming processes for further processing sandwich semi-finished products into 3D-formed components in short cycle times.
"We want to make a decisive contribution to the manufacture of high-performance sandwich structures, including for safety-critical applications, with production costs and times that are attractive to industry," says Dr. Ralf Schäuble, who is leading the project at Fraunhofer IMWS.
Among other things, the team at Fraunhofer IMWS is contributing its expertise in analyzing the fatigue and creep behavior as well as failure mechanisms of sandwich structures and honeycomb core structures, for example, using highly specialized evaluation tools in combination with non-destructive testing methods such as X-ray computed tomography. The TS molding process developed at Fraunhofer IMWS for the production of 3D-shaped sandwich components is also to be further developed.
It is particularly important to transfer solutions from the laboratory to the pilot scale, as the aim is to enable process and machine concepts suitable for large-scale production for processing Organosandwich semi-finished products. This includes the development of gripper and handling concepts, methods for the safe routing of semi-finished products, and the selection and implementation of machine concepts. "This requires coordinating specifications, design data, and possible configurations of manufacturing systems. We will also integrate various sensors to monitor process parameters such as temperature distribution, heating times, and transfer times, and to investigate their effects on the connection quality between individual components or the edge geometry and properties of edge zones," says Schäuble.
The integrated digitization approaches enable process status tracking, process optimization, and, as a result, resource efficiency and waste reduction. They also support interfaces for coordinating process and control technology.
Schäuble summarizes the goals of the collaboration: "A precise understanding of the manufacturing processes and their influence on the material structure in sandwich composites, as well as the resulting component performance under typical long-term loads, leads to safer, lighter components and the economical production of organosandwich structures."
(February 16, 2026)