From left: Professor Dr. Albrecht Swietlik (Dean, HFU), Stefan Helbig (State Officer, District of Tuttlingen), Dr. Claus Eppler (CTO, CHIRON Group), Professor Dr. Hadi Mozaffari-Jovein (Head of IWAT, HFU) and Klaus Harter (Technical Consulting/Sales, CHIRON Group). Photo: © HFU
“Practical training for young people is important to us!”
In April, a CNC machining centre from the Tuttlingen-based machine tool manufacturer CHIRON Group was officially donated to Furtwangen University (HFU). Seven years ago, the company loaned the machine to the Tuttlingen Campus of Furtwangen University for teaching purposes. Students use the machine for developments and tests as part of their internships, project work and dissertations.
With the 5-axis machining center, students studying materials science and production technology gain initial experience in milling, drilling and turning, for example. “The practical qualification of young people is important to us. In particular, learning programming methods and the production of workpieces are key subjects for future engineers,” says Dr. Claus Eppler, CTO of the CHIRON Group, adding, ”Production technology is of the utmost importance for Germany as a business location. As an industry partner, we are therefore happy to support the Tuttlingen Campus of HFU.”
Win-win for science and industry
According to Dean, Professor Dr. Albrecht Swietlik and Dean of Studies Professor Dr. Hadi Mozaffari-Jovein, Head of the Institute for Materials and Application Technology Tuttlingen (IWAT), the synergies between science and industry at the Tuttlingen Campus are special and a win-win situation. “Machining technology is one of the most important manufacturing processes in Tuttlingen and the region. The exchange with the CHIRON Group enables the prospective engineers to gain experience in machining different materials and to get to know the manufacturing process better, with the aim of applying their knowledge later in their careers in regional companies such as the CHIRON Group,” say the professors.
The degree programme at HFU Tuttlingen is characterised in particular by its proximity to industry and practice. As a sponsor of the Friends of Tuttlingen Campus sponsoring association, the CHIRON Group has supported the teaching activities together with numerous other companies in the region since the site was founded in 2009. “The sponsorship association thrives on the companies that support it – the CHIRON Group has been a member from the very beginning,” says Stefan Helbig, First State Official and Head of Office of the sponsorship association, emphasising the cooperation.