Ten small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been named winners of the EU-funded PULSATE project’s first Technology Transfer Experiments. PULSATE’s open call for consortia sought companies and their proposals that could demonstrate an effective adoption of laser solutions by end users in relation to laser-based advanced additive manufacturing (LBAAM) technologies.

The winners were selected from 35 proposals, will receive up to €150,000 ($175,170) in funding, and will join a three-month program that includes support from PULSATE’s technical partners, business mentoring, media exposure, and access to additional private and public funding.

The main objectives of the experiments were to lower entry barriers for SMEs that wished to participate in LBAAM by developing innovative laser-based equipment, processes, ancillary equipment, and software; find solutions particularly adapted to flexible production environments, typical in SMEs; and develop digital tools to improve productivity, flexibility, and traceability.

The winners and their experiments are:

1. Proposal partners: Lumos Laser Anonim Sirketi and VSY Biyoteknoloji ve Ilaç Sanayi A.S. (Turkey).

Experiment: Intraocular lens cutting with GHz Burst fs Lasers.

Aims: To develop a polymer cutting process with fs lasers on intraocular lenses to eliminate labor-intensive operational steps with high energy consumption and lower the defect rate.

2. Proposal partners: Euro-Multitel SA, Lasea SA (Belgium), and RESCOLL (France).

Experiment: Titanium implants surface structuration by new gigahertz ultrashort lasers efficient process.

Aims: To demonstrate the potentiality of this technology for the fabrication and texturization of titanium implants and other potential applications and materials.

3. Proposal partners: AMiquam SA (Switzerland) and Mizar Additive Manufacturing SLU (Spain).

Experiment: Digital in-process NDT for laser-based powder additive manufacturing.

Aims: To prove a disruptive additive inspection tech strategy that allows the “in process” controlled layer-by-layer nondestructive testing (NDT) of molten metal during the powder bed fusion by laser.

4. Proposal partners: Innovative Materials Ltd. and Laser Optical Engineering Ltd. (U.K.).

Experiment: Laser additive manufacturing for novel, large-scale thermoelectric device.

Aims: To develop a pilot-scale selective laser melting process to self-encapsulate uniaxially pressed bismuth telluride thermoelectrics to deliver cost-effective fully densified thermoelectric legs with superior microstructure and properties.

5. Proposal partners: BBW Lasertechnik GmbH (Germany) and Civan Advanced Technologies Ltd. (Israel).

Experiment: Laser welding of hard to weld aluminum alloys.

Aims: To develop machine build-up of new coherent beam combining technology and experiments of aluminum welding with new beam shaping possibilities.

6. Proposal partners: Biomimetic (Greece) and Optimal Optik Kft. (Hungary).

Experiment: Scale-up of biomimetic antireflective surface laser structuring.

Aims: Biomimetic will provide Optimal with AR glass optical components to validate the added image quality value for specific microscopy applications such as bioimaging and surface analysis.

7. Proposal partners: Laser Cladding Venture NV (Belgium) and New Infrared Technologies SL (Spain).

Experiment: Laser cladding of large twin barrels.

Aims: To implement a cost-efficient process with ensured quality and first-time-right automated production flow including a monitor and control system to coat the inside of twin barrels with laser cladding technology.

8. Proposal partners: PRES-X srl (Italy) and Cailabs SAS (France).

Experiment: Additive manufacturing with laser beam shaping.

Aims: Beam shape optimization for increasing productivity and material processability of laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing process.

9. Proposal partners: Electronic and Opto-Mechanic Engineering EXOM SL and DELASER Global Solutions (Spain).

Experiment: Cost-effective sensor fusion for AM/LMD quality control.

Aims: To develop a cost-effective monitoring and control system to be integrated in the LMD (laser metal deposition) process for quality improvement and manufacturing cost reduction.

10. Proposal partners: Imagine Optic and Europe Technologies (France).

Experiment: Fibered laser shock peening.

Aims: Fatigue life improvement of critical components by focusing on fibered laser shock peening that permits more flexibility and versatility than standard LSP because of the deporting of the laser beam thanks to an optical fiber.

PULSATE, announced in 2020, is a PAN-European network that aims to connect digital innovation hubs in Europe with expertise in laser-based manufacturing technologies. It has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.