A machine that is unique worldwide was officially inaugurated at the University of Kassel on March 12, 2026: it can 3D print a huge range of materials, use AI to analyze their properties and predict their behavior. The world's brightest laboratory X-ray source helps with this. The aim is to develop new alloys for a more sustainable industry. Some could also replace the use of the coveted rare earth elements in certain applications. The Hesse's Minister for Science and Research, Arts and Culture, Timon Gremmels, expressed his enthusiasm in Kassel.

3D printing, known in specialist circles as additive manufacturing, is becoming increasingly important in both research and industry. With this technology, products can be manufactured layer by layer based on a digital template. This makes it possible to manufacture many products faster and more cost-effectively or to implement significantly more complex geometries. This technology is already being used to produce components for aerospace, medical technology and mechanical engineering, for example. However, the potential of 3D printing is far from exhausted. A new, globally unique research facility at the University of Kassel is set to accelerate the development of new materials immensely. It was presented and officially put into operation today in the presence of the Hesse's Minister for Science and Research, Arts and Culture, Timon Gremmels.

"The University of Kassel is setting new standards with this device," explained Minister Gremmels. "The researchers are analyzing microstructure formation, process stability and material properties directly during production. This fundamentally changes how we understand and optimize manufacturing processes and how we can use them industrially in the future. This is where excellent basic research and applied research, which focuses on transfer to application, industry and society, come together. I would like to thank the German Research Foundation for funding this project and all those involved at the University of Kassel who conceived, applied for and implemented this complex project. I wish them every success with research and transfer."

Dr. Oliver Fromm, Chancellor of the University of Kassel, added: "We have often heard in recent months how important the supply of rare earth elements and other materials is for the European economies. If research from Kassel can contribute to finding a replacement here, then that makes us proud. Materials science is one of the main areas of research at the University of Kassel, and it is impressive to see the infrastructure that has been created for this in recent times."

The new system can process both metal and plastic. Metal powder or wires can be applied layer by layer using a laser beam. The chemical composition can be changed sample by sample or layer by layer, so that entire material libraries can be produced in a very short time. The system is supplemented by state-of-the-art measurement technology that enables researchers to identify promising alloys during the production process. Among other things, the world's brightest laboratory X-ray source is used for this purpose, which allows the structural composition of the samples to be tracked at the atomic level in real time, thus providing previously unthinkable insights into the material behavior during additive manufacturing. With the rapid, comprehensive generation of material libraries and their AI-supported evaluation, the scientists are looking for new alloys that have comparable properties to alloys with rare earth elements or other materials that have become scarce and expensive due to disrupted supply chains. Areas of application for this include electromobility, for example.

"Detectors and sensors will provide us with unprecedented amounts of data. Artificial intelligence, a network of self-learning algorithms, will help us to automatically evaluate this mass of data and optimize new alloys for 3D printing. The data will also be used to create a "digital twin" of the workpiece. This will help us to predict the subsequent material behavior," explained Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Niendorf, Head of the Department of Metallic Materials at the Institute of Materials Engineering (IfW). "We will be working at the limits of what is scientifically possible. I am sure that this will accelerate the development of new materials immensely," added Prof. Dr.-Ing. Prof. h.c. Stefan Böhm, Head of the Department of Cutting and Joining Manufacturing Processes.