Institute

The wbk (Institute of Production Science) of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) with almost 130 employees is one of the largest institutes within the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.

The three departments Manufacturing and Material Engineering, Machines, Equipment and Process Automation and Production Systems, directed by Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Volker Schulze as well as Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frederik Zanger, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Fleischer and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gisela Lanza respectively, focus on applied research, education and innovation in production science at the KIT.

In addition to research activities in the traditional fields of mechanical and plant engineering, the wbk focuses on the further development of production technology for forward-looking technology fields such as electromobility, sustainable production, production-informed AI, and additive manufacturing. Within this framework, research is conducted into how data-supported and artificial intelligence-based approaches can increase production efficiency and enable new business models. Another focus is on the scaling of production facilities and the design of future factory environments and their intelligent networking. Here, research is conducted into how traditional production technologies can be transferred to new materials and digital process chains and optimized.

With its modern and comprehensive equipment, the wbk offers its scientific staff as well as students excellent conditions for theoretical and experimental research work. In cooperation and joint projects with industrial partners, the wbk develops solutions for various topics in production engineering and, with a particular view on the future and works on methods and processes for the production of tomorrow.