BIND 4.0 Accelerates Advancements in Additive Manufacturing across Verticals – Interview with Leyre Madariaga

The BIND 4.0 Open Innovation Platform, backed by the Basque government, is a free initiative that propels Smart Industry, Energy, Food, and Health ventures. It stands out for fostering Startup-Corporate partnerships, having catalysed over numerous Open Innovation projects and accelerated startups, including Additive Manufacturing businesses Optimus3D, SamyLabs and Madit Metal. In an interview with 3Druck.com Leyre Madariaga, Director of Digital Transformation and Entrepreneurship for the Basque Government, shares her insight into the industry.

The BIND 4.0 Open Innovation Platform facilitates the development of transformative Smart Industry, Energy, Food and Health projects while providing unparalleled business support to startups and companies due to the region’s strategic long-term commitment to Industry and Innovation. This free initiative, funded by the Basque government, connects innovative startups worldwide with industry-leading companies and helps implement mutually beneficial Startup-Corporate collaborations. With 8 years of success stories, more than 300 Open Innovation projects developed and 200 startups accelerated, BIND 4.0 is the largest open innovation catalyst in Europe.

Additive Manufacturing Success Stories

Among the many success stories of the BIND 4.0 program, we will feature 3 Additive Manufacturing startup alumni. Optimus3D, collaborated with aerospace and locomotive giants Aernnova and CAF, SamyLabs worked with health industry leaders BTI and Egile and Madit Metal just finished a project in 2023 with glass industry leader Vidrala. Startups who participate in the acceleration program are selected by corporate partners to develop a real use case project and each year we see exciting developments in a variety of technologies such as AI, Cybersecurity, Robotics and Additive Manufacturing. 

The use case project between Madit Metal and Vidrala consisted of creating cooling designs to reduce compressed air use in the manufacturing of glass. Madit Metal used 3D printing to design and create one-of-a-kind metal pieces that reduce energy consumption up to 50% and deliver better results than the previous pieces made using traditional methods. As far as how their field is affecting the market, Javier Díaz says  “Additive technologies represent a paradigm shift in the industrial sector and also in society as it brings many improvements in terms of production (time and cost), logistics (eliminates delocalization) and environment (they are considered more sustainable technologies).” 

SamyLabs designs, customizes and builds printers for 3D printing with metal and is currently working on manufacturing with recovered materials and on algorithms and functions to reduce thermal stress. “The advancements in design are allowing us to realize productions that would have been unimaginable before. We can reach optimum configurations with the least possible material”, observes Jon Martínez, Market Intelligence and New Products Director for SamyLabs. 

Optimus 3D designs and produces unique pieces for the aeronautical, health and manufacturing industries. Among their projects are patient-customized devices for cardiology, spinal implants, projects for the elimination of polymers in the sea and nitinol research, where they are currently at the forefront. Bringing 3D printing into more facets of society represents a step in the right direction. “One of the most significant costs in manufacturing is machine time. Additive manufacturing is working to make those times shorter, while achieving more versatile and environmentally friendly results” explains Fernando Oharriz, CEO and Co-Founder. 

These startups focused on 3D printing are part of a larger ecosystem developing groundbreaking technologies like AI, cybersecurity, IoT, robotics, electronics and much more. By putting real solutions into place, startups participating in BIND 4.0 help bring remarkable advancements to the market across sectors. Find out more about the latest projects the startup-corporate success stories here.

Interview with Leyre Madariaga, Director of Digital Transformation and Entrepreneurship

In an interview with 3Druck.com, Leyre Madariaga, Director of Digital Transformation and Entrepreneurship for the Basque Government, gives an insight into the industry and details the areas in which she believes the potential of additive manufacturing technology lie.

In your opinion, what significance does additive manufacturing have for the Basque Region?

Additive manufacturing with a variety of materials is widely significant to the industrial companies based in the Basque Country. Historically, the Basque region has been committed to industry and promotes activities that improve processes and enhance competitiveness. The BIND 4.0 Open Innovation Platform offers leading corporate companies and SMEs across verticals the possibility to test and implement new additive manufacturing solutions and new materials developed by the best startups to achieve their objective. Additive Manufacturing is a strategic discipline for us because it enables our industry to be more efficient, sustainable and competitive regarding lead times and production quality. The cost and production time of parts applied to various sectors such as industry, energy, food  and healthcare are increasingly optimized, making our companies and economies stronger.

Additive manufacturing has continuously developed in recent years, which innovations or technological breakthroughs do you consider to be particularly important for the industry sector? 

The development and implementation of AM technology enables industry to save material, reduce waste generation and reduce energy usage, which is key to making industries more efficient, sustainable and, hence, competitive. New materials and designs are being tested, which entail endless possibilities. We have seen the development of new materials for use in healthcare like customized prostheses. BIND 4.0 has empowered many innovative startups with disruptive projects in additive manufacturing. We have seen solutions that reduce the cost of production while delivering lighter results which also decrease thermal stress. We are excited to see additive manufacturing becoming faster, optimized and more versatile than ever.

First Corona and the now high inflation pose major challenges for the entire industry. In your opinion, how do the multiple crises affect the additive manufacturing industry? 

These crises affect all industries, what we have found is the current conditions pose new opportunities for significant development and innovation. We have to find time-efficient and cost-effective solutions to existing challenges. That’s why we connect disruptive startups with established corporations, so those innovations can happen quickly and we can accelerate our industry with really groundbreaking projects. 

Additive Manufacturing has proven to be able to meet these challenges: It is a more energy-efficient technology and allows for the recovery and reuse of waste materials. It even makes possible some designs that would have been impossible until now. Overall, It makes our industry versatile and forward-looking. 

What impact do you think additive manufacturing will have on various industries and possibly society as a whole in the coming years? 

Additive Manufacturing is accelerating and optimizing production while making it energy-efficient and generating less waste. The expected result is for companies, consumers and society as a whole to benefit from these improvements. The benefits multiply as we apply refined and sustainable production solutions across the industry, energy, food and health sectors.