28th International Colloquium Plastics Technology

Aachen, October 2015 – The Institute of Plastics Processing (IKV) in Industry and the Skilled Crafts at RWTH Aachen University extends a cordial invitation to attend the 28th International Colloquium Plastics Technology in Aachen on February 24 and 25, 2016. The event, which is held every two years, is again expected to attract some 800 experts from the global plastics industry. In 2014, the Colloquium brought together delegates from more than 300 companies and 15 nations. Because of the international character of the event, all the papers will be interpreted simultaneously into English.

“Recruiting. Networking. Innovating.” is the leitmotif of the IKV Colloquium. Scientific assistants from the Institute will speak in 36 papers about ongoing research projects at IKV, while well-known industry experts will underline the practical relevance of the research results for the industry. 

Furthermore, five plenary lectures given by high-calibre speakers from the plastics segment will deal with the latest topics affecting the industry as there are additive manufacture, “Industry 4.0” and lightweight construction. Dr. Jochen Kopp from BMW, for example, will talk about the use of plastics for lightweight construction in the automotive industry. Dr. Heinz Neubert from Siemens will look at the additive manufacturing of plastic parts in a digitised industry, and Günter Hofmann from Werkzeugbau Siegfried Hofmann will speak about additive manufacture in mould construction. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Hopmann, the head of IKV, will open the Colloquium with a lecture on Industry 4.0 and strategies for plastics technologies, and he will look at the subject of additive manufacture from his point of view as a researcher.
 
At “IKV 360°” on the afternoon of the first day, IKV will open its doors to the IKV technical laboratories and pilot plants to enable the Colloquium delegates to experience the Institute’s research first hand. While the machines and testing equipment are in operation, the IKV scientists will be present to answer any questions. The presentations on the second day of the Colloquium are aimed at deepening the practical impressions gained at the various demonstrations in the laboratories.

The accompanying trade show in the foyer of the Eurogress Aachen has always been an integral part of the IKV Colloquium. It offers exhibitors an opportunity to present solutions for the plastics industry and to discuss relevant topics with industry partners. More than 50 exhibitors are expected to participate, and the Colloquium will give them an opportunity to nurture contacts with business associates or make new contacts with experts from the industry.

For more than sixty years, the IKV Colloquium has been successfully promoting the communication and transfer of innovations in the plastics industry. The fact that the IKV papers reflect the full breadth of the Institute’s research is key here. They deal, for example, with innovative process techniques in injection moulding and extrusion, rubber compounding, mould and tooling technology, part design and fibre-reinforced plastics. The presentation of research and innovation across the whole spectrum of plastics processing technology raises the IKV Colloquium to a level above that of other similar events. The keynote presentations and plenary lectures from well-renowned speakers also make a valuable contribution to making the event a success from the point of view of its practical relevance and close links with industrial application.
 

Another item on the agenda is the award of the Georg Menges Prize, donated by the VDMA, PlasticsEurope and the IKV Association of Sponsors. It will be presented for the tenth time in 2016. The award is made to an outstanding personality or group of people in the plastics industry who have made a particularly valuable contribution to cooperation between industry and science.

 

The 18 Sessions at the International Colloquium Plastics Technology:

 • Injection moulding of foamed structural components and precision optics

•  Damage behaviour of fibre-reinforced plastics

•  New approaches in rubber processing

•  Integrated and customised production of FRP parts

•  Improved material testing of dynamically stressed thermoplastics

•  Simulating and improving permeation barrier

•  Precision melt engineering – Controlling the solidification process in injection moulding

•  Die technology and screw coating in extrusion

•  New production technologies for fibre-reinforced polyurethanes

•  A better understanding of LFT processing

•  Prediction of inhomogeneous material properties based on local morphology

•  Production of micro-scale and microstructured parts

•  Integrative simulation of process-related part properties

•  Quality in processing and repair of FRP parts

•  New approaches in product development of injection moulded elastomers

•  Integrated production of plastic/metal hybrid parts

•  Ageing of plastics – modelling and accelerated testing

•  Systematic development of highly filled plastics

 

About IKV

IKV, the Institute of Plastics Processing at RWTH Aachen University, is Europe-wide the leading research and education

institute engaged in the field of plastics processing enjoying outstanding reputation. More than 300 staff are employed in 

finding solutions to problems connected with processing, materials technology and part design in the plastics and rubber 

industries. IKV's close contacts with industry and science, together with its outstanding facilities, enable cutting-edge 

research in plastics technology and ensure that students benefit from a comprehensive, practically oriented course of study. 

Plastics engineering graduates from IKV are thus sought-after experts in industry. In organisational terms, IKV is divided up 

into the four specialist departments of Injection Moulding, Extrusion and Rubber Technology, Part Design and Materials 

Technology, and Composites and Polyurethane Technology. The Institute also takes in the Centre for Analysis and Testing

of Plastics, and the Training and Further Education department. IKV is run by an Association of Sponsors, which currently

has a membership of more than 230 plastics companies from all over the world. Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Hopmann is 

Head of the Institute and Managing Director of the Association of Sponsors. He also holds the Chair of Plastics 

Processing at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at RWTH Aachen University. 

 

 

Press contact:

Institut für Kunststoffverarbeitung (IKV)

in Industrie und Handwerk an der RWTH Aachen

Ulla Köhne

Head of public relations

Pontstr. 49

52062 Aachen

Phone: +49 (0) 241 80-96631

Fax: +49 (0) 241 80-92660

E-Mail: [email protected]

 At the 2014 IKV Colloquium, some 800 experts from the plastics segment came to the event in Aachen at the Eurogress (photo: TEMA/IKV)