GENERAL NEWS
TRUMPF reports strong incoming orders
High-tech sheet metal specialist , TRUMPF , closed the 2020 / 21 fiscal year on 30 June 2021 with sales at the previous year ’ s level . According to preliminary calculations , the figure stands at 3.5 billion euros ( fiscal year 2019 / 20 : 3.5 billion euros ).
“ After Germany , with sales of around 580 million euros , our largest individual markets are China with around 525 million euros , the USA with around 485 million euros , and the Netherlands with around 460 million euros , due to the EUV business with ASML . We also started the new fiscal year with bulging order books ; incoming
Dr . Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller , Chairwoman of the TRUMPF Group Executive Board .
orders rose by 20 per cent to 3.9 billion euros ( fiscal 2019 / 20 : 3.3 billion euros ),” the TRUMPF Group told ISMR .
Dr . Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller , Chairwoman of the TRUMPF Group Executive Board , explained : “ We started the new fiscal year with stable sales and very good incoming orders . They result , among other things , from strong economic demand from China , which come from electronics applications and the demand for our lasers for electromobility . However , there is also an unmistakable upturn in the European economy , which we are registering in the machinetool sector . Nevertheless , uncertainty remains as to how the stability of global supply chains and the handling of the coronavirus pandemic will develop .”
The number of employees group-wide rose slightly to 14,800 . In Germany , there were around 7,600 employees as of 30 June 2021 , including around 4,400 at TRUMPF ’ s headquarters in Ditzingen .
With over 70 subsidiaries , the TRUMPF Group is represented in nearly every European country as well as in North America , South America and Asia . The company has production facilities in Austria ; China ; the Czech Republic ; France ; Germany ; Italy ; Japan ; Mexico ; Poland ; Switzerland ; the United Kingdom and the United States . n
Electronic component production
University of Minnesota Twin Cities College of Science and Engineering researchers have invented a “ cheaper , safer and simpler technology ” that will allow a “ stubborn ” group of metals and metal oxides to be made into thin films used in many electronics , computer components and other applications . The research is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ( PNAS ).
The researchers worked with the University of Minnesota ’ s Technology Commercialisation Office to patent the technology and have already garnered interest from industry .
Many metals and their compounds must be made into thin films before they can be used in technological products such as electronics , displays , fuel cells or catalytic applications . “ Stubborn ” metals , however -- which include elements like platinum , iridium , ruthenium and tungsten , among others -- are very difficult to convert into thin films because they require extremely high temperatures ( usually more than 2,000 degrees Celsius ) to evaporate .
Typically , scientists synthesize these metal films using techniques such as sputtering and electron beam evaporation . The latter consists of melting and evaporating metals at high temperatures and allowing a film to form on top of wafers . However , this conventional method can be very expensive , uses a lot of energy and involves high voltages .
Now , University of Minnesota researchers have developed a way to evaporate these metals at significantly lower temperatures , fewer than 200 degrees Celsius instead of several thousands . By designing and adding
organic ligands -- combinations of carbon , hydrogen and oxygen atoms -- to the metals , the researchers were able to substantially increase the materials ’ vapour pressures , making them easier to evaporate at lower temperatures . Not only is their new technique simpler , but it also makes higher-quality materials that are easily scalable .
Photo credit : Bharat Jalan MBE Lab , University of Minnesota .
“ The ability to make new materials with ease and control is essential to transition into a new era of energy economy ,” said Bharat Jalan , the senior author of the study , an expert in material synthesis , and an associate professor and Shell Chair in the University of Minnesota Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science ( CEMS ). “ There is already a historical link between the innovation in synthesis science and the development of new technology . Millions of dollars go into making materials for various applications . Now , we ’ ve come up with a simpler and cheaper technology that enables better materials with atomic precision .”
These metals are used to make myriad products , from semiconductors for computer applications to display technology . Platinum , for example , also makes a great catalyst for energy conversion and storage and is being looked at for use in spintronic devices .
“ Bringing down the cost and complexity of metal deposition while also allowing for deposition of more complex materials like oxides will play a large role in both industrial and research efforts ,” said William Nunn , a University of Minnesota chemical engineering and materials science graduate student , the paper ’ s first author and a recipient of the department ’ s Robert V . Mattern Fellowship . “ Now that depositing these metals like platinum will become easier , we hope to see renewed interest in the more complex materials which contain these stubborn metals ,” he added .
In addition to Jalan and Nunn , the research team included University of Minnesota Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science grad students , Anusha Kamath Manjeshwar , Jin Yue , Tristan K . Truttmann and postdoctoral researcher Anil Rajapitamahuni . The research was funded primarily by the U . S . Department of Energy , with additional support from the U . S . Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the National Science Foundation .
Read the full paper entitled ,
“ Novel Synthesis Approach for ‘ Stubborn ’ Metals and Metal Oxides ” on the PNAS website
REPORT by clicking the link on the right .
ISMR September 2021 | sheetmetalplus . com | 9