3D printing – Additive manufacturing in Berlin

Berlin has substantial potential to become a driver of innovation within additive manufacturing. The providers of 3D printers, scanners, software and materials are predominantly creative startups like Botspot with its whole-body 3D scanner or Local Motors, which catches the eye with its innovative vehicles produced by 3D printers. Olli, the self-driving bus, is currently doing the rounds on the EUREF Campus in Schöneberg as part of a pilot project.

Many Berlin companies in the manufacturing sector use 3D printing technology to improve their productiveness and flexibility. Pioneers in the wholesale roll-out of 3D printing technology include DB with its proprietary network ‘Mobility goes Additive’, which is intended to grow additive manufacturing in Berlin’s mobility and logistics sectors.

Universities and research institutes are actively involved as providers of innovation. The Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology (IPK) cooperates closely with industrial companies in Berlin. The services extend from materials consulting to engineering and prototype production. TU Berlin helps startup teams in its Centre for Entrepreneurship, including Cellbricks, a manufacturer of bio-printers used to create miniature organs and living tissue.

Initiated by Berlin Partner and 3YourMind, the Berlin 3D printing network (3D-Druck Netzwerk Berlin) brings together highly innovative local players in areas from applied research to industrial application. They use the collaboration to build their strengths and expertise in the area of additive manufacturing and therefore to lay an ideal foundation for cross-industry projects.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF) has recognized the potential of this cross-industry technology and now funds projects in the area of "Additive Manufacturing – Personalized products, complex mass products, innovative materials" (PDF in German only).

Scientific Institutions

• Fraunhofer Institute Golm (Plastics)
• Fraunhofer IPK
• Fraunhofer IZM (Start a Factory)
• BAM (Ceramics)
• Beuth (Mechatronics)
• bbw-University of Applied Sciences
• Technische Universität Berlin (3D Printing Lab)
• Design (UDK, Weißensee Academy of Art Berlin, International Design Center