Master's students from Béthune took part in the themed seminar "Process chains for quality assurance using the example of a reverse engineering process" at the Faculty of Engineering.
After a three-year coronavirus break, Master's students from the French partner university Université d'Artois were once again able to take part in a themed seminar at the Faculty of Engineering at HTWK Leipzig in the last week of January 2023.
The French guests from Béthune are studying on the "Conception, Méthodes et Innovation" programme, which deals with the conception and implementation of products and processes as well as their continuous improvement using innovative ideas. The Master's students were accompanied by their professors Martin Geiß and Alain Bataille.
Prof. Anke Bucher organised the themed seminar "Process chains for quality assurance using the example of a reverse engineering process" for the French partner university, with financial support from the Franco-German Youth Office and grants from HTWK Leipzig and Université d'Artois.
The themed seminar centred on various courses and practicals that dealt with process chains relating to a component, a reducing flange. Among other things, Lukas Kube explained how a 3D scanner works and then scanned the reducing flange. The resulting grid of the component surface can then be used for a wide variety of purposes, for example as a starting point for a finite element simulation of the stresses on the component. Felix Kaule took over this part of the programme at very short notice and carried out strength simulations with ANSYS. Together with Moritz Leo Neubert, the seminar participants created a casting model of the component using the CAD programme CATIA. Finally, the seminar participants were able to cast the flange in a sand mould under the guidance of Robin Mäder, which was a very exciting moment for everyone. On the last day, the programme included the post-processing of the cast part using a computer-controlled machine tool, so that the students were able to gain a comprehensive insight into the interrelationships of reverse engineering.
In addition to the themed seminar, the programme also included various excursions and visits. These included a visit to the production site of Direkt Form GmbH in Freiberg, which belongs to Micromat GmbH Dresden. Mr Wagner, the managing director at the site, explained to the students the challenges and advantages of the process of creating casting moulds from sand by milling - a very versatile technology that does not require casting patterns. Another highlight of the excursion to Freiberg was a visit to the Terra Mineralia exhibition at Freudenstein Castle. During a very entertaining guided tour, the students were able to marvel at a wide variety of minerals and learn about their significance in everyday life.
During their stay in Germany, the French students were also able to experience typical local culture by meeting the local people. The student council of the Faculty of Engineering organised a joint dinner for the French and German students in the restaurant "L'Osteria" in Leipzig city centre right at the beginning of their stay. The students from France also met with pupils from the bilingual Anton-Philipp-Reclam grammar school. The French language is taught in depth at this grammar school. The very dedicated French teacher Mr Forschle had prepared his pupils well for the meeting with the French students. The pupils had great fun presenting their home town of Leipzig and engaging in lively dialogue in the foreign language.
The week flew by for everyone involved. The interesting courses and friendly encounters once again made the themed seminar a highlight of the semester for the French guests and their German hosts.
Long-standing cooperation
The cooperation between HTWK Leipzig and the Université d'Artois has existed for over twenty years. On the part of the Faculty of Engineering, the cooperation with Béthune is brought to life in particular by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Fritz Peter Schulze, who travels to Béthune several times a year to give courses in hydraulics.
Exchange programme
Members of the Faculty of Engineering will soon be travelling to Béthune to discuss further cooperation projects between HTWK Leipzig and the Université d'Artois and to develop ideas for joint Franco-German project work by students from Béthune and Leipzig.
In September 2023, there will be a regular return visit by students from the Faculty of Engineering to the Université d'Artois in Béthune. They will then be able to deal with specific problems in the use of the CAD programme CATIA in an English-language seminar.
