DIMAP · Project

Nanoparticle-Enhanced 3D Printing Inks That Print Functional Parts, Not Just Prototypes

manufacturingTestedTRL 6

Imagine your office 3D printer could print not just plastic shapes, but actual working parts — ones that conduct electricity, resist heat, or flex like a rubber joint. That's what DIMAP tackled: they mixed nanoparticles into special inks for multi-material 3D printers so the output goes far beyond simple prototypes. They proved it by printing soft robotic arms and custom lighting fixtures in one go, with different materials in different spots — hard where you need strength, flexible where you need movement, conductive where you need wiring. It's like upgrading from a black-and-white printer to a full-color one, except the "colors" are real engineering materials.

By the numbers

consortium partners involved

countries represented in the consortium

industry partners (69% industry ratio)

SMEs in the consortium

The business problem

What needed solving

Most 3D printers today produce parts from a single material — usually basic plastic — making them useful for prototypes but not for functional end-use products. Manufacturers who need parts combining rigid, flexible, conductive, or lightweight properties still rely on multi-step assembly processes with separate components, driving up cost and lead time. There is no easy way to print a finished, multi-material functional part in one shot.

The solution

What was built

DIMAP developed nanoparticle-enhanced ink materials (ceramic-enhanced, electrically conducting, light-weight, and high-strength polymeric) for multi-material PolyJet 3D printing. They built a modified multi-material 3D printer with inline thermal control, and produced final demonstrators including soft robotic arms/joints and customized luminaires.

Audience

Who needs this

Robotics companies building soft grippers or flexible jointsCustom lighting and luminaire manufacturersAerospace or automotive suppliers needing lightweight multi-material partsElectronics manufacturers seeking printed conductive pathwaysContract 3D-printing service bureaus looking to expand material offerings

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Robotics & Automation

SME

Target: Manufacturers of robotic grippers, collaborative robots, or soft actuators

If you are a robotics company struggling with multi-step assembly of soft joints and rigid housings — DIMAP developed nanoparticle-enhanced inks that let you 3D-print an entire soft robotic arm in a single run, combining flexible and rigid sections. The consortium of 13 partners across 5 countries validated this with final demonstrators on a modified PolyJet printer. This could cut your joint-assembly steps and let you iterate custom gripper designs in days instead of weeks.

Lighting & Electronics

mid-size

Target: Custom luminaire designers and LED fixture manufacturers

If you are a lighting company that needs customized housings with embedded conductive pathways — DIMAP created electrically conducting inks and light-weight polymeric materials printable in a single 3D-printing session. Their final demonstrators included customized luminaires produced on a multi-material PolyJet printer. This means you can consolidate housing, heat management, and wiring into one printed part, reducing component count and assembly time.

Aerospace & Automotive Components

mid-size

Target: Tier-2 suppliers making lightweight structural or functional components

If you are a parts supplier under pressure to reduce weight without sacrificing strength — DIMAP developed ceramic-enhanced and high-strength polymeric inks for multi-material 3D printing. Their 9 industry partners helped validate these materials for production use, not just prototyping. By printing parts with varying material properties in a single pass, you could eliminate gluing or fastening steps for composite assemblies.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to adopt these materials and printing capabilities?

The project data does not disclose material or licensing costs. DIMAP built on existing PolyJet technology (Stratasys-type printers) with modified ink formulations, so adoption likely requires compatible hardware plus the new ink materials. Contact the coordinator for pricing and availability details.

Can these materials be used at industrial production scale?

DIMAP explicitly aimed to move additive manufacturing from rapid prototyping into production processes. Final demonstrators were printed on a modified PolyJet printer with inline control systems, suggesting the technology is designed for repeatable production rather than one-off lab work. However, throughput and batch-size data are not available.

What is the IP and licensing situation?

The project involved 13 partners including 9 industry players and 3 SMEs, so IP is likely shared across the consortium. The coordinator PROFACTOR GMBH in Austria would be the first point of contact for licensing discussions. Specific patent filings are not detailed in the available data.

How mature is the technology — is it ready to use today?

The project produced final demonstrators (soft robotic arms and luminaires) printed on the modified PolyJet printer, with thermal data and inline control system evaluation completed. This puts it past the prototype stage into validated demonstration. The project ended in 2018, so further commercialization may have occurred since.

Can this integrate with our existing 3D printing equipment?

DIMAP specifically worked with PolyJet technology, which is a well-established multi-material 3D printing platform. The new ink materials were designed for a modified version of this printer type. If you already use PolyJet systems, integration could be relatively straightforward; other printer types would likely require adaptation.

What safety and regulatory considerations apply?

DIMAP included safe-by-design approaches, workplace safety protocols, risk assessment, and life cycle assessment as core focus areas. They also collaborated with an EU safety cluster. This means the nanomaterial-enhanced inks were developed with regulatory compliance in mind from the start.

Consortium

Who built it

This is a strongly industry-driven consortium: 9 out of 13 partners come from industry (69%), with only 2 universities and 1 research organization. That ratio signals the project was built for practical application, not just academic publishing. The 5-country spread across Austria, Germany, Spain, Israel, and the Netherlands covers key European manufacturing hubs plus Israel's strong robotics ecosystem. The coordinator PROFACTOR GMBH is an Austrian applied research company, and the 3 SMEs in the mix suggest the technology was tested with smaller, agile manufacturers who would be early adopters.

PROFACTOR GMBHCoordinator · AT
P.V. NANO CELL LTDparticipant · IL
FESTO SE & CO KGparticipant · DE
TECNOLOGIA NAVARRA DE NANOPRODUCTOS SLparticipant · ES
TIGER Coatingsparticipant · AT
BOREALIS POLYOLEFINE GMBHparticipant · AT
UNIVERSITAT LINZparticipant · AT
STRATASYS LTDparticipant · IL
KARLSRUHER INSTITUT FUER TECHNOLOGIEparticipant · DE
PHILIPS ELECTRONICS NEDERLAND BVparticipant · NL
CIRP GMBHparticipant · DE
SIGNIFY NETHERLANDS BVparticipant · NL

How to reach the team

PROFACTOR GMBH in Austria — an applied research company specializing in manufacturing automation. Reach out via their corporate website for licensing or collaboration inquiries.

Order a report on this consortium See PROFACTOR GMBH profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want an introduction to the DIMAP team to discuss licensing their nanoparticle-enhanced 3D printing inks or the modified PolyJet printer technology? SciTransfer can arrange a direct meeting with the right consortium partner for your use case.

Order a report on this topic More in Manufacturing & Industry 4.0