Hot forming, e.g. in the form of pressing, forging and spinning of steels, is widely used in industry. Especially in small and medium-sized companies, there is considerable potential for increasing productivity and efficiency from an economic and ecological point of view, as current production is often based on empirical/handicraft experience.

Using the example of the production of pipe bends using the "Hamburg process", new methods for optimising the process chain are to be researched and practically verified in collaboration with the university, engineering companies and industrial users. The aim is to reduce energy consumption by more than 12%, cut material losses by more than 33% and significantly increase productivity.

One focus is on researching a new type of program system that can be transferred to other hot forming processes and can also be used for optimisation in small and medium-sized companies thanks to its pre-parameterisation. The aim is to achieve a transfer of knowledge and technology for a broad target group so that the potential for increasing efficiency can be systematically identified and utilised for the first time. The project thus contributes to the promotion of technological and economic innovation in NRW.