The Chair of Engineering Design and Plastics Machinery at the Institute for Product Engineering is a companion and driver of research topics in the field of the plastics industry. The scientific staff works on research projects with the main focus on injection molding technology, extrusion technology as well as component testing. Within these areas publicly funded projects as well as bilateral projects are worked on directly with partners from industry.

For digitalization in plastics processing, the approach is to make process and machine data completely available on all machines and peripheral equipment and to utilize this data intelligently for the further development of technologies with regard to resource- and quality-efficient production through a holistic approach. The integrative use of modern simulation tools, sound theoretical modeling and experimental testing can bridge the gap between science and industry to solve current problems. These tools are used along the process chain from the plastification of the raw material to the mapping of the flow field in the mold to the simulation of product properties and are the basis for the possibility of mapping digital twins of machines or machine components.

In order to train new engineering specialists, the integration of student employees in research is an important part of the institute's philosophy. Facilities for the experimental testing of new ideas in the technical laboratory are available to the employees on an area of approx. 1000 m².