Materials tester with outstanding qualifications trained in Jena

In 2017, Dreyer decided to train as a materials tester at ifw Jena. He achieved his professional qualification with 96 percent of the required examination. The research institute has been working on metals, ceramics and glass for more than 25 years, developing processes such as 3D printing of metals or welding glass with a laser beam. In the materials testing laboratory of ifw Jena, the results of the developed processes are then checked, as well as components from external customers, such as welding seams for structural and bridge construction, are thoroughly tested.

“I like the variety that exists in materials testing”, Dreyer describes his work, “there are very manual tasks such as sawing or grinding the samples, analytical tasks such as evaluating measurement results and microscope images, but also desk work when protocols and reports have to be written after an examination. ”

During his training, Milan Dreyer passed through all areas of testing predominantly metallic materials: Samples sent by customers are examined with the eye, pieces suitable for testing are sawn, sanded and etched. The smallest cracks are visible in the incident light and scanning electron microscopes. The sample is radiated with X-rays to reveal internal defects. Finally, in tensile and pressure tests, the sample can be strained to failure, thus determining the maximum load capacity. “As a materials tester, you have a great deal of responsibility”, says Dreyer, “our measurement results determine, for example, whether a bridge beam holds. Customers rely on our tests here. ”

Maik Anders was Milan Dreyer’s trainer, completed his training at the ifw Jena himself and has been a materials tester at the institute for 14 years. He, too, is proud of the top performance of his apprentice: “The training is very demanding and extensive. That Milan did so well is a great achievement. We all at the institute congratulate him on that. ”

Currently, another trainee is studying at ifw Jena in his second year of apprenticeship with Maik Anders. “It is important to have an interest in technology and to have fun getting to the bottom of things”, he says when asked what an apprentice has to bring, “our apprentices learn the rest with us. ”

And now? Milan Dreyer will continue to work at ifw Jena as a materials inspector after his apprenticeship. Later, he wants to further qualify as a materials and testing technician. “Trained materials testers are familiar with many materials and their properties and are therefore in demand in almost all technical areas – from research to final production”, says Christian Straube, head of the materials testing laboratory, with a confident view of Dreyer’s future.