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Honorary doctorate for Herbert Kraibühler
· Former Arburg Managing Director Technology & Engineering recognised by Technical University of Munich
· Outstanding achievements in research and development honoured
· Ceremony attended by the Arburg Partners
Lossburg/Munich. On 10 July 2015, the former Arburg Managing Director Technology & Engineering, Herbert Kraibühler, was awarded an honorary doctorate by Technical University of Munich (TUM) for his outstanding achievements and ideas in research and development for plastics processing in the areas of injection moulding and additive manufacturing. These developments are frequently used today in industrial production.
In awarding Herbert Kraibühler the right to use the title “Dr.-Ing. E.h.”, TUM cited the further development of injection moulding technology as one of his achievements. He promoted the integration and automation of injection moulding technology and optimised production. In doing so, he pre-empted a development which today goes by the name of Industry 4.0. Herbert Kraibühler also realised early on the central role that interaction between human and machine would play in modern production. This resulted in the development of an innovative machine controller, the Selogica, which to this day enables full control over increasingly complex injection moulding processes.
Herbert Kraibühler was also a visionary in the field of additive manufacturing. He spent many years working on joint research projects with the TUM, investigating fundamental questions in this area. The topics covered included polymers, dosage methods and optimum filling strategies. The result was an innovative system for industrial additive manufacturing which had much more to offer than simple 3D printers.
Ceremony
The Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Prof. Tim Lüth, described the cooperation as “an exemplary partnership between an innovative, family-run company and an elite technical university”. Herbert Kraibühler’s outstanding technical and scientific achievements have now been rewarded with the honorary doctorate. Also present at the conferment ceremony with Herbert Kraibühler were his wife Ellen and son Mathias, Arburg Partners Eugen Hehl, Juliane Hehl, Michael Hehl and Renate Keinath as well as the Director Research & Development Dr. Eberhard Duffner and his wife Eva.
Half a century at Arburg
In total, Herbert Kraibühler spent 50 years at Arburg. He started his apprenticeship as a machine fitter at the company in 1964. He then studied precision engineering specialising in plastics technology in Karlsruhe, before returning to the company as a development engineer in 1972. His career ultimately led him to the position of Managing Director Technology & Engineering, which he held for 18 years.
Photo
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Dr.-Ing. E.h. Herbert Kraibühler (centre) with Prof. Tim Lüth (left), Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Prof. Wolfgang A. Herrmann, President of the TUM.
Photo: BHP design/TUM
About Arburg
German machine manufacturer Arburg is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of injection moulding machines with clamping forces between 125 and 5,000 kN. This is complemented by robotic systems, customer- and sector-specific turnkey solutions and further peripherals. An innovative additive manufacturing system was added to the plastic processing range in 2013.
The company places the topic of production efficiency at the centre of all its activities, taking into account the entire value-added chain. The objective is to enable the Arburg customers to manufacture their plastic products, whether one-off parts or high-volume production, in optimal quality and at minimum unit costs – e.g. for the automotive and packaging industries, communication and entertainment electronics, medical technology, or the white goods sector.
An international sales and service network guarantees first-class, local customer support. Arburg is represented by its own organisations at 32 locations in 24 countries and by trading partners in more than 50 countries. The machines are produced exclusively at the parent factory in Lossburg, Germany. From a total of around 2,400 employees, around 2,000 work in Germany. About 400 further employees work in Arburg’s organisations around the world. In 2012, Arburg became one of the first companies to gain triple certification: to ISO 9001 (Quality), ISO 14001 (Environment) and ISO 50001 (Energy).
Further information about Arburg can be found at www.arburg.com.
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