CZS Center for Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency through Additive Manufacturing Technologies (KRAFt)

The careful use of limited resources such as raw materials and energy is one of the most pressing challenges of our time. The research network of the CZS Center KRAFt is exploring the potential of additive manufacturing. On the one hand, it makes it possible to develop new types of components with a high level of functionality and, on the other, to use recycled secondary materials in additive plastic and metal processes for resource-efficient production. This allows resources to be saved during product manufacture, but also during the production process.

Within the Center, ten interdisciplinary working groups cover the entire additive manufacturing process chain for plastics, metals and technical ceramics - from precise material characterization and the analysis of material and energy data to the development of improved manufacturing processes and optimized products.

The aim of the center is to obtain high-quality primary materials and to design the entire process chain in additive manufacturing in a resource-efficient manner. In addition to optimizing ecological and economic parameters, the participants carry out comprehensive life cycle analyses. The aim is to demonstrate the extent to which the integrated use of secondary materials helps to reduce the use of primary raw materials. The Center is also pursuing the goal of recording and optimizing energy chains in detail in order to make a sustainable contribution to conserving resources.

The transferability of the newly developed solutions to various fields of application is ensured through collaboration with external cooperation partners.