3D printing material development and process optimization - Get help from our specialists
In Danish
Get specialist advice that helps you choose the right materials, optimize your 3D printing processes, and safely adopt additive manufacturing in your production.
Many companies experience that the path from a 3D-printed prototype to reliable series production is longer and more complex than expected. Materials behave differently than in conventional manufacturing, process parameters must be precisely adapted, and documentation requirements increase as components become more critical.
Danish Technological Institute has worked with 3D printing for more than 35 years, and our specialists can help you with material development, process optimization, and quality assurance within metal (e.g., SLM - Selective Laser Melting and DED) and polymer (e.g., SLS -Selective Laser Sintering and FDM). We work with a wide selection of materials - from titanium and inconel to nylon and BlueDP - and advise based on our own ISO 9001-certified production.
Typical challenges that create a need for specialist advice
Companies working with industrial 3D printing often face one or more of these challenges:
- Material selection and qualification: It is difficult to assess which material performs best in a specific application and whether it can be approved for that purpose.
- Process optimization: Parameter settings significantly affect strength, surface finish, dimensional accuracy, and repeatability, but optimization requires systematic testing.
- Quality documentation: Customers and authorities place increasing demands on the documentation of mechanical properties, microstructure, and process control.
- Scaling from prototype to production: A process that works on one machine at a small scale cannot always be transferred directly to series production.
- Internal knowledge gap: Many companies lack the specialist knowledge and equipment needed to solve advanced AM challenges in-house.
How Can Danish Technological Institute Help You?
Our additive manufacturing specialists collaborate with you on the entire journey from idea to qualified production:
- Advice on material selection for both metal and polymer 3D printing—including titanium, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, inconel, nylon, BlueDP, and Aheadd CP1
- Development and qualification of new materials for specific AM processes
- Optimization of process parameters for better quality, strength, and repeatability
- Characterization and testing of 3D-printed parts—mechanically, metallurgically, and dimensionally
- Troubleshooting and analysis of existing AM processes
- Sparring on design for additive manufacturing (DfAM)
- Support for implementing 3D printing in your production environment
- Help building internal knowledge and competencies within AM
Broad material knowledge in metal and polymer
Selecting the right material is often the most critical decision in an AM project. A material that works in conventional manufacturing can behave significantly differently when built layer by layer in an SLM, SLS, DED, or FDM process. Therefore, material selection and qualification require specific knowledge of how each material reacts under given process conditions.
Our broad material knowledge allows you to receive qualified advice on which material best matches your requirements for mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, weight, thermal conductivity, or other critical parameters.
Sometimes, we experience that companies desire specific material properties without having access to a material that fulfills them. Here, it is necessary to step back a bit further. For example, we previously encountered a request from the food processing industry to be able to print in a material that is both metal- and X-ray detectable as well as visually detectable. We ran a development project that resulted in BlueDP, which meets all these requirements and is approved for food contact.
Process optimization – from experiments to reliable production
One of the biggest barriers to the industrial use of 3D printing is the transition from test results to stable, repeatable production. Here, parameters such as laser power, scanning speed, layer thickness, and build strategy directly affect the parts' strength, surface quality, and dimensional accuracy.
Our specialists help you systemize that process—from initial planning and parameter studies to validation and documentation of the finished production process. With more than 35 years of experience in additive manufacturing, we have built a deep understanding of how process parameters and material properties interrelate, and how to achieve the required results.
For instance, we previously succeeded in halving the use of new plastic in the 3D printing process across all plastic printers—a significant step in documenting that 3D printing can be a green technology.
Every time a build platform with plastic parts is produced in the 3D printer, there are several kilograms of surplus plastic powder that can be reused for the subsequent build job. Previously, Danish Technological Institute used a ratio of 50 percent recycled plastic from a previous print job and 50 percent new plastic for 3D printing plastic components. However, after a thorough overhaul and an extended period of testing and investigation, we succeeded in further reducing the use of new plastic in the printing process.
What we have arrived at is that we can instead settle for adding 25 percent new plastic powder to the printer, while the remaining 75 percent is our own recycled powder. This means that we can cut the use of new powder that we apply in half.
- Ellen Hedegaard, Danish Technological Institute
Even though the amount of recycled plastic is increased, it will not affect either the printing process or the quality of the parts: The printing process will still take place in a closed loop consisting exclusively of Danish Technological Institute's own quality-assured powder, and the quality of the parts will continue to meet the same high standard.
Quality assurance and documentation
Increasing requirements from customers, authorities, and industry standards mean that quality documentation is a prerequisite for using 3D printing for critical components. This applies particularly in industries such as aerospace, defense, medical, energy, and offshore.
Danish Technological Institute operates within a quality management system certified according to ISO 9001, ensuring a systematic and traceable approach to all tasks. This gives you peace of mind that material data, test results, and process descriptions meet the demands of your customers and partners.
Unbiased advice based on 35+ years of experience
As a self-governing and independent research and technology institute, Danish Technological Institute is not tied to specific machine vendors or material manufacturers. This means you receive advice based solely on your needs and the most suitable technology.
Danish Technological Institute has worked with additive manufacturing since 1989, making us one of the most experienced players in the field in Denmark. This long-standing experience, combined with access to specialized equipment and laboratory capacity, provides you with a solid foundation for making the right decisions regarding materials, processes, and implementation.
Contact us
Are you and your company facing a specific challenge with materials, processes, or quality in your 3D printing production? Contact Danish Technological Institute's specialist, Ellen M. J. Hedegaard, PhD, for an initial dialogue on how we can help you move forward—whether it concerns material selection, process optimization, or scaling to series production.