On 1 March 1954, the Institute of Mining Machinery was founded. Dipl.-Ing. GERHARD JOHANNES BAHR (1906-1989) was appointed professor with a chair, head of department and director of the institute. Prof. Dipl.-Ing. GERHARD JOHANNES BAHR represented mining machinery, primarily in open-cast mining operations.

From 1 August 1956, Dipl.-Ing.FERDINAND GUNTERMANN took over the lectures on winding machines in underground mining operations and extraction machines.

A new institute building began in mid-October 1956 and ended on 17 May 1960 with the official takeover of the entire building, which bears the name "JULIUS-WEISBACH-BAU". The institute, which later became the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, was based there until 1993.

The Institute of Mining Machinery (Faculty of Mining) was divided into two working and research facilities, one for open-cast mining machinery and one for underground mining machinery.

In September 1969, as part of the third university reform, the Chair of Mining Machinery was rededicated as the Chair of Earthworks and Civil Engineering Machinery, which Prof. BAHR headed until September 1971.

After the establishment of the Chair of Mineral Processing, Building Material and Ceramic Machinery under Prof. Dr.-Ing.Ing. habil. Dr h. c. KARL HÖFFL (1932-2013) in 1969, the Institute for Earthworks and Civil Engineering Machinery and the Chair of Mineral Processing Machinery were merged in 1970 to form the scientific field of extraction and mineral processing machinery.

Dr.-Ing. DIETMAR BESSER was appointed as a university lecturer for machine support structures (maintenance) from 1973.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. GERD SIEGFRIED KUHNERT headed the Chair of Mining Machinery as a full professor from 1987 to 1993, having previously been a lecturer in mining machinery from 1980.

The scientific field of mining and processing machinery in the Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering was transferred to the Institute of Mechanical Engineering in 1991.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. DIETMAR BESSER (1930-2016) was appointed to the Chair of Mechanical Engineering 3 (Plant Engineering) in 1992 and retired in 1996 due to his age.

At the start of the 1993/94 winter semester, the appointed professors GEORG UNLAND (Processing Machines) and EGON HERMANN HENKEL (Extraction Machines) also began teaching.

With the spin-off of the Chair of Mineral Processing Machinery to form the Institute of Mineral Processing Machinery by Prof. GEORG UNLAND in 1996, the Institute of Mechanical Engineering consisted of only two professorships. From 1992 to 2010, Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. JÜRGEN LOTHAR BAST was appointed to the C4 professorship for metallurgical, foundry and forming machines. From 1 July 1993, Dr.-Ing. EGON HERMANN HENKEL took over the C4 professorship for Mechanical Engineering 1 - Mining Machinery and Special Civil Engineering - and headed this until his retirement in 2005.

In the meantime, following the retirement of Prof. BAST, the Institute of Mechanical Engineering consisted only of the professorship for Recycling Machinery, represented by Dr.-Ing. HANS-GEORG JÄCKEL.

Since 1 July 2019, Prof. Dr.-Ing. MARTIN SOBCZYK has headed the W3 endowed professorship for "Connected Mobile Machinery" as Director of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering. Naturally, "Industry 4.0" will be a focal point for teaching and research in the field of construction machinery. Proven teaching content for the mechanical engineering specialisation "Special civil engineering and extraction machines" will be continued.

A highlight for the professorship was the presentation of the innovation award for the joint project Deep Sea Sampling at the world's largest construction machinery trade fair "bauma" 2022 in Munich. The number of staff employed at the professorship and the institute continues to grow. In the meantime, the institute has been able to network more intensively and become more efficient thanks to the addition of another professorship. The Junior Professorship for Measurement, Sensor and Embedded Systems (MSE Lab) has been part of the institute since May 2023. The integrated TEAM is headed by J.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. CHRISTIAN KUPSCH.