The new metal additive manufacturing infrastructure based on Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) technology will enable AZTERLAN to support companies in advancing the development of new materials, components and advanced manufacturing strategies aimed at high value-added industrial sectors.
The evolution of industry towards lighter, more efficient and more functional products is driving the need for new manufacturing technologies capable of addressing challenges related to geometric complexity, material optimisation and the integration of advanced functionalities into metallic components.
In this context, metal additive manufacturing has become established as a strategic tool for accelerating industrial innovation processes, enabling metallic components to be manufactured layer by layer directly from digital models and making possible designs that cannot be achieved through conventional technologies.
With the aim of supporting industrial companies in the development of new products and advanced manufacturing processes, AZTERLAN Metallurgy Research Centre has incorporated new metal additive manufacturing capabilities through L-PBF (Laser Powder Bed Fusion) technology, thereby strengthening its activity in the field of advanced materials and the manufacturing of high-performance components. This new infrastructure has been funded by the Provincial Council of Bizkaia through the Technology Transfer 2025 programme.
As explained by AZTERLAN’s General Manager, Dr Garikoitz Artola, “this investment, together with our capabilities in material development and metal powder production, responds to the need to complete the technological offering of the Basque Science, Technology and Innovation Network in the field of additive manufacturing. Specifically, the acquired equipment incorporates ad-hoc developments for the programming of highly dense mesh structures, the implementation of reduced heated build plates and in-operando interchangeability between inert atmosphere and vacuum. We can now address in the Basque Country geometry, material and process niches for which limitations previously existed.”
Main work-lines
Among the main lines of work that will be promoted thanks to this new infrastructure are the development of lightweight and optimised structures, the manufacture of hybrid components through the combination of conventional and additive manufacturing processes, the design of advanced lattice architectures, the development of new metal powders and the validation of solutions aimed at electric mobility, energy and capital goods sectors.
The incorporation of these capabilities will also strengthen research into the relationship between microstructure, manufacturing process and the functional behaviour of materials, integrating metal powder development, optimisation of L-PBF processes and the experimental validation of components within the same R&D environment.
The new metal additive manufacturing capabilities complement AZTERLAN’s advanced infrastructures and expertise in material development, process simulation and prediction, microstructural characterisation, destructive and non-destructive testing, and advanced manufacturing technologies.
