Additive Academy®

Additive Manufacturing (AM) complements traditional manufacturing – from conceiving ideas to delivery, from workbench to factory equipment. To leverage the advantages of the technology, AM requires a different way of thinking about production. This is precisely what product designers, executives, and other decision-makers learn at the Additive Academy® from Fraunhofer IAPT.

Training Designed for Professionals

The Additive Academy® has trained over 1,500 professionals from the aviation, automotive, mechanical engineering, and service sectors. Based on this experience, we have continually enhanced our training program.

Today, we offer four educational pathways tailored to distinct roles within the industry. The Additive Academy® serves research and development teams, product designers, production line personnel, and management. Each pathway is designed to equip participants with the specific knowledge and skills needed to excel in their roles and drive innovation within their current product portfolio or explore new markets.

Depending on their individual prior knowledge, participants in our courses start at their own level of understanding and build the level of AM expertise required for their current challenges. Our proximity to and understanding of industrial needs ensure the applicability of our courses for the benefit of individual roles as well as the organization as a whole.

• Hands-on experience, enhancing practical skills.
• Immediate feedback for instant clarification and guidance.
• Team building and networking through collaboration
• With a guided tour of the production facilities of Fraunhofer IAPT.

All first and second level training sessions are available either onsite at the Fraunhofer IAPT Additive Academy® or as e-learning. Third-level training consists of bespoke sessions tailored to the specific tasks of participants. We align training details in advance, and customer-specific data can be shared prior to the training. On this basis we develop efficient and effective solutions. Onsite training requires a minimum of 5 participants and is limited to a maximum of 10, with a maximum of 8 participants for consulting courses.

The R&D path is directed at the development departments of companies or research organizations that want to engage in research or development of:

• new alloys, powders, processes, or other aspects directly related to the manufacturing process, including the further development of existing alloys, powders, and processes.
• new process steps before or after the printing process, such as automated design, simulation, data preparation for printing, or automated post-processing.
• new hardware systems and software methods.

The Design path targets mechanical engineers, designers, product engineers, and business developers seeking innovative and highly efficient solutions in new product development. By utilizing additive manufacturing, participants can establish unique selling propositions in the market.

The Production path addresses production managers, shift leaders, shift planners, data processors, logisticians, quality engineers, and safety professionals. Parts of the learning path can also assist machine operators and can be booked accordingly. This training facilitates the establishment of new additive production or its integration into existing processes (e.g., milling).

The Management path equips shareholders, managing directors, directors, and production and design leaders with the knowledge to evaluate additive manufacturing for their company or organization and prepare for its implementation. The focus is on the economic and organizational aspects that ensure an efficient and effective start to additive production.

Training details and dates in 2025 can be found on the specific course pages.