3D printing is booming in the aeronautics, biomedical and automotive sectors. To capitalise on this, five universities across Europe worked together to advance knowledge about industrial 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing. The legacy of their work is inspiring the next generation of 3D printing experts.
Leading universities in research and innovation from Italy and Norway teamed up with emerging research centres in Czechia, Romania and Serbia to better understand how 3D printing ink affects the final components’ ability to bear loads – a knowledge gap that was limiting how fully the technology could be embraced.
Their work developed ways of evaluating the structural properties of 3D printed parts to make them safer and more reliable.
At the same time, the collaboration raised the profile of the partners taking part, helping to establish their regions as centres of excellence for industrial 3D printing.
Over three years, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norway) and the University of Parma (Italy) cooperated in a knowledge-sharing partnership with the University of Belgrade (Serbia), the Institute of Physics of Materials, Academy of Sciences (Czechia) and the Polytechnical University of Timisoara (Romania). The project took shape through staff exchange programmes, training, workshops and seminars.
Benefiting the most were early-stage researchers able to use the programme as a springboard for their careers in additive manufacturing.
After the programme, a master’s course in industrial 3D printing was set up at the Polytechnical University of Timisoara to maintain the knowledge-sharing momentum. The course’s popularity has inspired similar courses in Serbia and Czechia.
More information
Read more about the SIRAMM project
And in Horizon Magazine
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