or many decades, SCHERDEL’s
central laboratory has been creat-
ing a comprehensive and in-depth
knowledge of material science and
metrology. This know-how has been the
basis for numerous new and innovative
developments within the Group, which
have proven their value in innumerable
technical applications around the globe.
At the same time, the positive findings
from often extensive basic research are
still offered to all SCHERDEL cus-
tomers and partners as a service. This
delivers significant competitive advan-
tages, for example for automotive
clients – regardless of whether they are
engaged in traditional engine concepts
with combustion technology, hybrid dri-
ves or electromobility. After all, metal-
working products are applied in numer-
ous automotive components, particular-
ly when issues such as lightweight con-
struction, energy efficiency, safety and
comfort need to be taken into account.
Further sectors, like the electronics in-
dustry, mechanical engineering or med-
ical engineering, also rely on the skills
and expertise of SCHERDEL’s re-
search department.
The engineers and technicians at the
central laboratory spend their time re-
searching, for instance, the micro-struc-
tural properties of materials or heat
treatment processes, which often have
a decisive impact on products and a
lasting effect on the efficiency of parts.
Furthermore, the laboratory also leads
on quality assurance testing and dam-
age analyses, and participates in vari-
ous research projects. Specialist inves-
tigations deal with a whole gamut of
material scientific questions and prob-
lems for a wide range of materials – in-
cluding, above all, steels of all alloy and
quality classes, a number of non-fer-
rous metals and non-metals. Particular
attention is always paid to the profile of
requirements which results from the in-
tended use and differs from industry to
industry. The experience and knowl-
edge gained by the researchers is reg-
ularly incorporated into new standards
and processing specifications. Suppli-
ers and customers alike profit from
clearly defined material qualities that
are a yardstick for best practice in in-
dustrial production.
In order to meet the high innovation
and quality standards it has set itself,
SCHERDEL constantly invests in a
large number of analysis and evaluation
instruments. These include, for exam-
ple, a brand new scanning electron mi-
croscope, macro and micro hardness
measuring machines, an optical emis-
sion spectrometer and an X-ray diffrac-
tometer – appliances which can be
used to determine the specific proper-
ties of parts. But this is not all:
SCHERDEL also develops and con-
structs measuring devices to ensure
technological progress; for instance, a
new axial force balance with a quartz
crystal and an ingenious measuring
method that uses the piezoelectric ef-
fect to precisely determine the axial
forces of compression springs. All these
examples show that the SCHERDEL-
Group more than lives up to its reputa-
tion as one of metalworking’s foremost
experts and offers all of its customers
special benefits due to the continuous
development of technologies.
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F
RESEARCH
4
SERVICE CENTRE – LOCATIONS – TECHNOLOGY & PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT –
NEWS AND INFORMATION
Knowledge for
progress
Basic research is also a customer service
at SCHERDEL
Staff profile
We’d like to introduce staff mem-
bers who will act as your contact
if required.
Dr.-Ing. Martin Günthner
Position: Materials Engineer /
SCHERDEL INNOTEC
Martin Günthner obtained a
doctorate, which was graded
summa cum laude, in the area
of ceramic materials from the
University of Bayreuth and re-
ceived a scholarship from the
Industry Research Founda-
tion. He completed his under-
graduate engineering course
back in 2004 with excellent
grades. Besides his role as a
research assistant at the de-
partment of Ceramic Materials
Engineering in Bayreuth, Mar-
tin also passes on his experi-
ence in the scientific fields of
industrial and high-perfor-
mance ceramic materials and
coatings at the Fraunhofer
Centre HTL in Bayreuth.
As an employee at the
SCHERDEL subsidiary
INNOTEC, the materials engi-
neer contributes to the excel-
lent research work being un-
dertaken, for example, in the
areas of surface engineering,
thermo-chemical processes,
coatings and residual stress
testing.
In his free-time, the father-of-
three likes to go cycling with
his family and running. He al-
so plays the accordion and
keyboard and is a member of
a church band.
A further staff profile from
this field, featuring Christian
Konrad, can be found on
page 6.
