New research opportunities at the HFU Research Center

The new cleanroom at the Research Center Rottweil will open up new research opportunities.

The Furtwangen University (HFU) celebrates another milestone at its Research Center in Rottweil on Thursday, October 1st: a new cleanroom laboratory will open there, opening up new possibilities for research. The interested public is cordially invited to attend the inauguration of the new facilities and to get an exclusive insight into current research projects during the open house day.

Starting at 4 p.m., the Research Center at Neckartal 142 in Rottweil will open its doors, offering guided tours of the new laboratory. Afterwards, researchers will be available for交流 and questions during a get-together with barbecues.

The new cleanroom is an ISO 7 class laboratory, meeting the requirements for real production processes of approved medical devices. Functional coatings are produced in industrial quantities in the cleanroom, for example for medical devices or delicate technology such as watch springs. Current projects are being carried out jointly with the University Eye Clinic Tübingen and the University of Ulm on the topic "Sharp vision in old age." Solutions for medical technology are also being developed with the companies KLS Martin SE & Co. KG and KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG – including a 3D probe that makes nerves visible in body openings to prevent surgical damage. Simultaneously, the team is working on new plasma processes that can replace environmentally harmful gases in the cleaning of circuit boards. Future plans include a research project with Rottweil surgeons focused on the development of patient-specific finger joint replacement implants.

The research activities in the new cleanroom of the Rottweil Research Center complement the existing Micro- and Nanotechnology Laboratory of HFU in Furtwangen through industry-related transfer work and application-oriented research. Rottweil schools also benefit from this infrastructure through laboratory internships and seminar courses in their final exams, in cooperation with the center.

The cleanroom is funded by KLS Martin SE & Co. KG, and the Rottweil Research Center is supported by the city of Rottweil. At the HFU Research Center, teaching, research, and industrial application are closely interconnected – students from the programs "Engineering and Business Management," "Advanced Precision Engineering," and "Micro Medical Technology" are also involved in the research activities.

No registration is required for the open house day.

Further information about the HFU Research Center can be found on the university's website: https://hfu.li/21yw.