The Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM in Dresden has installed a Wayland Additive Calibur 3 Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion system.
As the organisation builds on its advanced additive manufacturing technology research capability, the Dresden facility becomes Fraunhofer's third dedicated to Electron Beam additive technology.
The new installation enhances the capabilities of Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden's Innovation Center Additive Manufacturing ICAM, which carries out research into powder metallurgy, process design, and materials characterisation. With the addition of the Calibur 3, novel material concepts, resource-efficient fabrication of complex geometries, and the integration of simulation and machine learning to achieve first-time-right production will be the focus of research efforts. These core research directions, Fraunhofer said, will contribute directly to improving sustainability, performance, and digitalisation in additive manufacturing.
In line with the installation of a Calibur 3 system, Wayland Additive and Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden will begin a strategic collaboration with the aim of driving joint research, application development and industrial readiness of NeuBeam-based solutions. NeuBeam, Wayland's proprietary technology, is said to enable charge-neutral processing, allowing for greater process stability, easier surplus powder removal, and broader material compatibility, including highly reactive and high-performance alloys.
“We see Calibur 3 as a major step forward in expanding our research portfolio in next-geeration additive manufacturing,” said Prof. Thomas Weißgärber, Director of Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden. “It enables our teams to work on innovative solutions that span from mate-rials development to intelligent process control.”
“Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden is an ideal partner for advancing the NeuBeam technology plat-form,” added Peter Hansford, Chief Revenue Officer at Wayland Additive. “Their combined expertise in materials science, simulation, and application engineering is essential for scal-ing up this technology.”
The installation is financed by the INNO-EB project and supported by the European Regional Development Fund (EFRE).
