Visions are coordinated here

Dr Sebastian Ortmann

Last month, the Institut Chemnitzer Maschinen- und Anlagenbau e. V. (ICM) celebrated its 30th birthday. As a research and development organisation, the ICM Chemnitz has established itself in the industry with practical research work for three decades: but not because they maintain the Chemnitz mechanical engineering tradition, but because they also combine this tradition with innovation and progress. Institute Director Dr Sebastian Ortmann reveals what probes in cows, motion sequences in ski jumpers and alarm systems on windows have to do with mechanical engineering in the Maker of the Week interview.

The ICM Chemnitz has a long tradition and yet is little known among the people of Chemnitz. What do you do here at the site?
Dr Sebastian Ortmann: To put it briefly - industrial research. It's applied research for small and medium-sized enterprises. And as our name suggests, we do industrial research in mechanical engineering. There are now six specialisms at our institute, all of which deal with mechanical engineering in some way. There is new mobility, production technology, resource and energy efficiency, mechatronic and human-technology systems, information and communication technologies and innovation management - but always in the context of mechanical engineering.

How do you get your orders?
Companies often come to us with an idea for a new product or a new technology and ask if we can develop it. Then we get started together. In the end, the companies either receive a finished product from us that they can then market or a demonstrator.

Where do your customers come from?
Around 80 per cent of our customers come from the south-west Saxony region. However, there are now some who come from North Rhine-Westphalia or Bavaria, for example.

Your cooperation partners, not only in the city but also beyond the region, trust the capabilities of the non-profit research institute to apply their knowledge. A special attribute of Chemnitz has always been to have one more idea than the competition. The ICM has set itself the task of transforming these knowledge advantages into products. At first glance, some of the results of the joint projects and close collaborations seem somewhat bizarre. The latest innovation at the institute is probes for cows.

What do probes for cows and motion sequences in ski jumping have to do with mechanical engineering?
One of our departments is Innovation Management. This is where ideas and visions are coordinated. However, there are also topics that at first glance have nothing to do with mechanical engineering. In this case, the probes for cows, a professor from a university came to us and said that he was active in cattle farming and was looking for support. Originally it was about the manicure of cows, that the claws can be processed with a laser. This is gentler on the animals. We then derive innovations from such product ideas. In this specific case, we want to place a probe in the stomachs of cattle to see whether the cow is working or not - in very technical terms. But it's always about animal welfare. This is where we utilise our experience in information and communication technology. How can the probe transport the collected information to the outside world? As you can see, there is actually nothing that cannot be solved with mechanical engineering.

You have also worked together with the Chemnitz figure skating couple Aljona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy.
That's right. That's called motion capture. Sensors were attached to the pair's sports gear. The sensors were analysed via cameras in the hall and the movements were evaluated. We recorded the movements during skating - transferred everything to a simulation program and then suggested improvements to optimise the movement sequences. We also carried out similar tests for ski jumping in Oberwiesenthal. How is the take-off speed and force, how do they fly and how is the landing? We work together with the Chemnitz Olympic Training Centre for the analyses. They have the necessary expertise and we have the technology.

Which project in the institute's recent history are you particularly proud of?
The wireless alarm spider. Most people who have an alarm system in their private homes have magnets on their windows and if they open, this is detected and an alarm is signalled. We have installed electronics in the insulating glass, i.e. between the window panes. It detects when the glass is broken or the window is moved. This means that this product is supplied integrated into the window and can be integrated into an existing alarm system. This means that every window can be monitored.
We have been involved with electromobility for over 13 years. Starting with micromobility, from three-wheeled vehicles to scooters. We are now in the marketing phase. We market our own scooter - a cargo scooter. This has nothing directly to do with special machine construction, but we utilise the expertise of mechanical engineering. We make the frame constructions, we simulate the weight, we optimise. It's a product that we develop from scratch through to series production.

You are also conducting research into hydrogen and fuel cell technology. What exactly are you doing?
We are more active in the field of applications. Chemnitz University of Technology is heavily involved in fuel cell development. We at the ICM take the fuel cell and integrate it into vehicles. Certain systems have to be developed. Cooling, adequate ventilation and everything that goes with it. We then carry out tests with them.

You have a fairly young team. Is it difficult to attract workers to the region?
We have good contact with the universities and universities of applied sciences in the region through internships and final theses that we supervise. We look to see whether the students might be a good fit for us. It has certainly become much more difficult. We don't even fill some positions.
We describe ourselves as an ICM family. We also try to live that. Of course, this becomes more difficult with the increasing size of the institute. But I think we've done a pretty good job of ensuring that the people who work for us recommend their jobs to others. That's the best thing that can happen to us.

If you had one wish, what project or idea would you like to realise?
In a way, we have a responsibility to the medium-sized companies in the region. It doesn't depend on a specific customer. We want SMEs to remain strong and continue to drive innovation. Then we'll do well too.

Where do you see ICM in 30 years' time?
Still active in mechanical engineering. But everything will be very much in the direction of automation, information and communication technology and data. Less manual labour. The climate issue will be very important to us: C02-neutral production, alternative and regenerative energies.