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Certification in accordance to DIN 6701

Adhesive bonds on rail vehicles have differing safety requirements. For this reason, the DIN 6701standard, which was published in May 2006 was adopted by the German Federal Railway Authority (EBA / Eisenbahn-Bundesamt) in 2008. It formulates binding standards for adhesive bonding work in the rail vehicle manufacturing and maintenance sector.

Companies that carry out safety-related adhesive bonding processes for products/services for the rail sector in Germany must have their facilities audited and certified according to the DIN 6701standard.

Fraunhofer IFAM runs a Certification Body for auditing and certifying companies in rail vehicle sector in accordance to DIN 6701. Our certificates are recognized by the German Federal Railway Authority. Therefore it is not exaggeratedly to say that we will help companies to enter the German rail market in case adhesive bonding is requested.

Although DIN 6701 is a German standard, it also has an influence on the international stage: Major international companies were involved in the development of the standard and they recognized the need to give the quality of the adhesive bonding work in the rail vehicle manufacturing sector both a reliable and binding basis. In addition, many German companies prefer to work with national and international suppliers who meet the requirements of the DIN standard. As similar quality standards, up to now, do not exist anywhere else in the world, it is to be assumed that DIN 6701 will become a sort of global directive.

Workforce qualification in Adhesive Bonding and Composite Technology 

One basic requirement of achieving a certification according to DIN 6701 is the qualification of employees involved into the adhesive bonding processes. Similar to the welding certification system the employees must have the capability to establish, control and perform adhesive bonding processes. 

The skills of adhesive bonding have to be learned. Therefore the Training Center for Adhesive Bonding Technology of Fraunhofer IFAM was set up in 1994. In order to ensure a high level of knowledge transfer many of the research and development scientists at Fraunhofer IFAM are also working as course tutors in the Training Center for Adhesive Bonding Technology.

The Training Center for Adhesive Bonding Technology is accredited according ISO/IEC 17024 as a training establishment by the DVS (German Society of Welding, Joining and Cutting), a member of the European Federation for Welding, Joining and Cutting (EWF).

To date, several thousand people have successfully passed the following internationally  recognized EWF accredited courses:
European Adhesive Bonder – EAB
European Adhesive Specialist – EAS
European Adhesive Engineer – EAE

The objective is to transfer R&D findings to industry and to simultaneously support the quality management of companies by passing on practical adhesive bonding skills and knowledge.

In the rail vehicle sector, qualifications gained through accredited courses at Fraunhofer IFAM are a precondition for using adhesive bonding in production and for achieving a certificate according to DIN 6701.

These qualifications allow the personnel to effectively utilize the potential of adhesive bonding technology. In their specific work area they are then able to assess all factors which influence product quality and hence make the correct decisions. Regardless of whether it concerns the construction of a component, design, adhesive-specific performance features and parameters, optimization, monitoring of the bonding process in the production or work safety: The company also benefits in many ways from having a correctly qualified workforce.

Services of Fraunhofer IFAM like work force qualification and certification according to DIN 6701 are carried out around the world. Cooperation partners in many countries help to ensure a reliable relation between customers and us.

For more detailed information or in case of any question please feel free to contact us. Of course you can also visit us in our institute in the lovely city of Bremen in the northern part of Germany.

Fraunhofer IFAM is one of the largest independent research organizations worldwide in the field of "Adhesive Bonding Technology and Surfaces" and "Shaping and Functional Materials". The focus of all the R&D activities is to provide customers with effective, application-oriented solutions. Most of the products, processes, and technologies we develop are for sectors where sustainability is particularly important, namely the aviation industry, automotive sector, energy and environment, medical technology, and life sciences. The solutions developed at Fraunhofer IFAM are, however, also used in various other branches of industry including machinery and plant construction, electronics and electrical engineering, shipbuilding, rail vehicle manufacture, the packaging industry, and the construction sector.

Fraunhofer IFAM has a highly qualified workforce of currently 589 people, organized into project teams and business segments covering specific topics. These topics include materials, shaping, joining technologies, surface functionalization, development of complete components, and complex systems. This means that Fraunhofer IFAM covers the whole value-creation chain from materials' development and product design to integration into industrial production – including pilot trials and customized workforce training in new technologies. 

Fraunhofer IFAM focuses on the material sciences and in particular metallic and polymer materials. The broad-based technological and scientific expertise is grouped into seven core competencies: Adhesive Bonding Technology, Surface Technology, Casting Technology, Powder Technology, Sintered/Composite/Cellular Metallic Materials, Electrical Components and Systems, and Fiber Reinforced Plastics. These core competencies – individually and in particular together – are the reason for the leading position of Fraunhofer IFAM in applied R&D and are the foundation for future innovation.

Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM

Wiener Straße 12
28359 Bremen
Germany

www.ifam.fraunhofer.de

Dr. Erik Meiß

Head of Training Center for Adhesive Bonding Technology
Telephone +49 421 2246-632 | Fax -605
erik.meiss@ifam.fraunhofer.de
www.bremen-bonding.com

Frank Stein

Head Certification Body according to DIN 6701
Telephone +49 421 2246-655 | Fax -605
frank.stein@ifam.fraunhofer.de