Showcase #1: Lattice Structures.

Additive manufacturing enables material to be placed exactly where it delivers value. Periodic lattice structures unlock new design possibilities—ranging from lightweight components and energy-absorbing zones to functional separation layers within a single part.

This demonstrator showcases three representative lattice architectures: Gyroid, Octet Truss, and Schwarz-P. Each structure follows a distinct geometric principle and offers specific performance characteristics in terms of stiffness, load distribution, damping, and functional integration.

By selecting and tailoring the appropriate lattice architecture, component performance can be precisely adapted to application requirements—whether structural efficiency, energy absorption, or thermal and mechanical decoupling.

Showcase #2: Cooling Jacket.

Cooling jackets play a critical role in controlling temperature and maintaining performance in demanding applications. With additive manufacturing, this cooling jacket can be realized as a single, integrated part with complex internal channels—eliminating the need for multiple components, joints, or assembly steps.

This demonstrator features channels designed in CAD to optimize fluid flow and heat transfer, ensuring uniform cooling, minimizing pressure losses, and maximizing thermal efficiency.

By leveraging AM, complex internal geometries that would be impossible to produce conventionally can be manufactured in one piece, allowing the cooling jacket to be tailored exactly to thermal and spatial requirements while reducing weight, cost, and assembly complexity.

To make the most of AM, several key considerations are essential. First, Design for AM (DfAM) involves topology optimization and lightweight structures to maximize efficiency and functionality. Second, material selection is crucial: choosing the right materials enhances the strength, durability, and sustainability of the final product. Finally, iterative prototyping enables rapid testing, and refining of designs, ensuring the best possible outcomes.

In our view, the future of manufacturing lies in combining all available methods, enhanced by the comprehensive AM toolbox.

Manufacturing network.

With our strong partner network, we offer a wide variety of machines and tools for rapid prototyping, post-processing, and CNC machining.

Showcase #3: Working with powder prototypes.

At MATERIA, working with specialized additive manufacturing powder prototypes allows components to be optimized for their specific application. By combining the right material with tailored process parameters, powder prototypes can achieve enhanced mechanical performance, thermal behavior, or functional integration compared to conventional approaches.

The microstructure of the powder itself plays a crucial role in unlocking the full potential of additive manufacturing. Our integrated approach to material and process development ensures reproducible quality and enables prototypes and series parts to fully benefit from the capabilities of both material and AM technology.

Showcase #4: Aluminium Alloy Process Development

The right parameters are key to a successful LPBF-build job. The most fundamental ones are the Laser Power P, the Scan Speed v, the Laser Beam Diameter σ, and the Layer Thickness t. Together, they express the Volumetric Energy Density (VED), calculated as VED=P/(vσt).

When exploring a material new to additive manufacturing, the relative density of test specimens serves as a key metric for assessing baseline print performance, typically ranging from around 98% to 100% in successful trials. Depending on the objectives, the most promising outcomes from initial evaluations can guide further advancements in quality and efficiency.

This approach leads to finely tuned process parameters that improve part integrity, productivity, and reliability in laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) manufacturing.