The Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V. (Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research Dresden e..V.) (IPF) will try to transfer knowledge in its new application laboratory from basic research into practical industrial application scenarios in the future along with cooperation partners from production and industry. Participating companies thus have the opportunity to find and test equipment and processes that are optimal for their specific projects even before acquiring their own production capacities. Polymer structures can be printed in the laboratory as small as 10.4 microns and bigger. Methods used include stereolithography, FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) and the inkjet process. The latter is primarily utilized in the biomedical field.

The aim of the cooperation is to answer fundamental questions such as component strength or surface properties, the creation of material libraries, and the development of new synthetic resins. This will provide companies with a solid, scientific information base on issues related to the choice of printing method and materials used. Especially with regard to component strength and quality, there is often room for improvement in additive manufacturing processes compared to conventional production.