Fraunhofer IPA @ Chulalongkorn University

Shortly before Christmas, the activities undertaken in 2019 were analyzed, taking into account what worked particularly well and where there is still room for improvement. The project plan for 2020 was also adopted, with special attention being paid to planning international workshops, rolling out service offers and planning further research projects and publications. At the time, nobody had a clue that the situation in 2020 was going to be so different due to external influences.

Supported by NXPO (formerly STI), two MMRI members came to IPA for training purposes. The focus of the training measure in this case was on further developing skills in chemical analysis and process control & stability. The development of such expertise promotes the long-term strategic focus of the research station.

Supported by NXPO (formerly STI), two MMRI members visited IPA for training purposes. The focus of the training measure in this case was on developing service skills to improve process stability from the aspect of metallography as well as on plant technology for experimental test setups. The development of such expertise promotes the long-term strategic focus of the research station.

To support the strategy measure “Research station for industry”, service offers for the electroplating industry in Southeast Asia were developed and tested on site as a demonstrator. These include consulting services to increase energy efficiency, simulation calculations for electroplating companies and services to increase process stability.

The progress made by ECOPLATE was presented to an audience of around 300 listeners. The focus was on the aspects of global warming through CO2 emissions and how measures in electroplating processes and plant engineering (i.e. exactly the core of ECOPLATE) can help to reduce emissions and thus contribute to protecting the climate.

The infrastructure for experimental work in the ECOPLATE research station was extended by another IPA-specific test facility. A test setup for conducting in-situ measurements of residual stresses in electroplated layers was sent to Bangkok and installed in the research station.

Kick-off meeting for the TRF-IRN funded project, which aims to increase energy and material efficiency in zinc electroplating by enhancing process reliability. An additional workshop was held concerning industrial needs for electroplating processes and human resources at STI to discuss the next steps in this part of the co-operation network of IPA, Chulalongkorn, TEPNET, STI

ECOPLATE was presented at the conference to an audience of around 300 people, while visitors to the TEPNET booth also had the chance to find out all about the project. The president of the Taiwanese Surface Finishing Association (TSFA) was also present, strengthening links to Taiwan. 

A delegation from Chulalongkorn University and TEPNET visited Germany. The trip was supported by ECOPLATE and STI and involved further workshops to analyze needs in specific R+D subjects, an extensive lab tour at IPA and visits to the Schwäbisch Gmünd vocational school for electroplating in addition to the companies Umicore and Fischer. TEPNET was also represented by the delegtaion at the Surface Technology GERMANY fair in Stuttgart, with Prof. Boonyonmaneerat additionally holding a speech at the forum. 

A series of workshops was held with the electroplating industry concerning analysis of needs for R+D, with additional support from the Thai STI. 

In the very first week after launching the project, the kick-off meeting was held on-site at MMRI.