DREAM · Project

Faster, Cheaper 3D Metal Printing for Automotive, Medical and Industrial Parts

manufacturingTestedTRL 5

Imagine 3D-printing metal parts the way you'd print a document — except with titanium, aluminium, and steel. Right now, laser-based metal printing is too slow and expensive for large-scale factory use. DREAM figured out how to speed up the process, waste less raw material, and make the printed parts last longer under stress. They tested this on real products: a hip implant stem and a car engine subframe.

By the numbers

Materials validated (titanium, aluminium, steel)

Consortium partners

SMEs in the consortium

83%

Industry partner ratio

EUR 3,242,435

EU contribution

Total deliverables produced

Main technical challenges addressed

Countries represented

The business problem

What needed solving

Metal 3D printing with lasers is too slow, too expensive, and wastes too much raw material for most factories to use at scale. Parts produced this way also suffer from unpredictable fatigue life, making them risky for safety-critical applications like car components or medical implants. Manufacturers need faster throughput, lower per-part costs, and reliable mechanical performance before they can justify switching from traditional methods.

The solution

What was built

The project delivered prototypal components — a femoral stem (hip implant) and an engine subframe — both optimized in geometry, material and construction using improved laser powder bed fusion. Across 15 deliverables, the team developed optimized processes for 3 metals (titanium, aluminium, steel), improved AM machine control software, raw material contamination prevention methods, and nanostructured titanium powder formulations.

Audience

Who needs this

Automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers printing lightweight aluminium structural partsOrthopedic implant manufacturers producing custom titanium prostheticsMould and die makers using steel additive manufacturing for complex toolingMetal powder suppliers looking to offer optimized or nanostructured powdersAdditive manufacturing service bureaus seeking faster throughput and lower reject rates

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Automotive manufacturing

enterprise

Target: Auto parts manufacturers and OEMs producing lightweight structural components

If you are an automotive parts manufacturer dealing with the high cost and slow throughput of metal 3D printing for structural components — this project developed optimized laser powder bed fusion processes for aluminium that produced a prototype engine subframe with higher strength-to-weight ratios. The consortium of 12 partners including 10 industrial companies validated the approach across 3 materials.

Medical devices and implants

mid-size

Target: Orthopedic implant manufacturers producing custom prosthetics

If you are a medical device company struggling with slow production cycles for custom titanium implants — this project developed optimized powder bed fusion for titanium, including nanostructured titanium alloys that sinter with lower energy input and faster speed. They produced a prototype femoral stem optimized in geometry, material and construction.

Tooling and mould making

SME

Target: Mould and die manufacturers seeking faster production of complex steel tooling

If you are a mould maker facing long lead times and high material waste when producing complex steel tooling inserts — this project optimized laser-based additive manufacturing for steel parts, tackling powder contamination and process control to increase throughput. The work was validated with 5 SME partners across 5 countries.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to adopt this improved metal 3D printing process?

The project focused on reducing costs of laser powder bed fusion by optimizing raw material use, process speed, and software control — not on selling a product at a fixed price. With EUR 3,242,435 in EU funding and 12 partners involved, the results are research outputs that would need licensing or partnership agreements to implement in your production line.

Can this scale to industrial production volumes?

Scaling up to industrial-relevant productivity was an explicit goal. The project tackled 4 main challenges including process optimization and control software improvements specifically to enable high-throughput production. However, results were demonstrated on prototypal components, not full production lines.

What about IP and licensing for these technologies?

The project produced 15 deliverables across 12 consortium partners in 5 countries. IP is likely shared among consortium members. Businesses interested in licensing the optimized processes or nanostructured titanium powder technology would need to contact the coordinator or relevant industrial partners.

Which metals does this work with?

The project validated results across 3 materials: titanium (for prosthetics), aluminium (for automotive), and steel (for moulding applications). Each material had dedicated optimization for powder quality, laser parameters, and post-processing.

How does nanostructured titanium powder improve production?

Nanostructured titanium alloys can be sintered with lower energy input and faster speed while maintaining the same granulometric (particle size) dimensions. This means you can print titanium parts quicker and with less power consumption, directly cutting per-part costs.

What evidence exists that the printed parts are reliable?

The project specifically targeted controlled and significantly increased fatigue life and higher strength-to-weight ratios. Prototypal components — a femoral stem and engine subframe — were produced and optimized in geometry, material and construction as demonstration deliverables.

Consortium

Who built it

This is a heavily industry-driven consortium: 10 out of 12 partners are industrial companies (83%), with 5 of them being SMEs, plus 1 university and 1 research organization across 5 countries (Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Romania). The coordinator is INSTM, an Italian interuniversity materials science consortium. The strong industrial presence — including 3 end-users from prosthetics, automotive, and moulding sectors — signals that the research was shaped by real manufacturing needs rather than pure academic interest. For a business looking to adopt these results, the existing industrial partners are natural first contacts for technology transfer or supply chain collaboration.

CONSORZIO INTERUNIVERSITARIO NAZIONALE PER LA SCIENZA E TECNOLOGIA DEI MATERIALICoordinator · IT
FERRARI-SOCIETA' PER AZIONI ESERCIZIO FABBRICHE AUTOMOBILI E CORSEparticipant · IT
POLY-SHAPEparticipant · FR
BEWARRANTparticipant · BE
EOS GMBH ELECTRO OPTICAL SYSTEMSparticipant · DE
R.B. S.P.A.participant · IT
UNIVERSITATEA TRANSILVANIA DIN BRASOVparticipant · RO
TINEXTA INNOVATION HUB S.P.A.thirdparty · IT

How to reach the team

CONSORZIO INTERUNIVERSITARIO NAZIONALE PER LA SCIENZA E TECNOLOGIA DEI MATERIALI (INSTM), Italy — reach out to their technology transfer office for licensing inquiries.

Order a report on this consortium See CONSORZIO INTERUNIVERSITARIO NAZIONALE PER LA SCIENZA E TECNOLOGIA DEI MATERIALI profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to connect with the DREAM team for licensing their optimized metal 3D printing processes? SciTransfer can arrange an introduction and help you evaluate the fit for your production needs.

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