Press

Landing gear assemblies are among the most heavily loaded parts of an aircraft. During takeoff, landing and taxiing, wheel axles, pistons, pins and other safety-critical components withstand substantial forces; at their functional surfaces, bearings, bushings and seals contact component surfaces. Friction, localized pressure peaks and repeated loading cause wear at these points. Cold, heat, moisture, kerosene, cleaning and deicing agents as well as ice, sand and dust also attack the surfaces and promote corrosion.

On April 27 and 28, 2027, the international ultrafast laser community will gather in Aachen for the 9th UKP Workshop – Ultrafast Laser Technology. How can manufacturers use increasingly powerful lasers to process more material, faster, and without sacrificing precision? Which technologies have already proven themselves in practice, and where do technical limits remain? The Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT invites experts from industry and research to discuss the next steps in ultrafast laser technology.

The Fraunhofer Competence Field Additive Manufacturing (“Fraunhofer ADDITIV”) will present a comprehensive overview at Formnext in Frankfurt, Germany from November 17 to 20, 2026, demonstrating how functions can be integrated directly into additively manufactured structures across metals, polymers, ceramics, and multi-material systems. Advanced processes and simulation-driven development will further accelerate the industrial adoption of 3D printing. Engineered by Fraunhofer, the solutions range from specialized software and process simulation to surface treatment and quality management.

The European Commission is providing 47.5 million euros in funding to support the Quantum Internet Alliance (QIA) in the next phase of developing and deploying quantum internet technologies. The Fraunhofer ILT is contributing to this effort by developing low-noise quantum frequency converters and, through ALICE, providing a hardware-based, open-access platform in Aachen for testing and further developing quantum networking technologies based on an NV network node.