ValCUN Webinar Puts Aluminum 3D Printing Inside Any Research Lab

ValCUN Webinar Puts Aluminum 3D Printing Inside Any Research Lab

Metal additive manufacturing has always been a hard sell for university labs. Laser powder bed fusion needs a safety enclosure, inert gas, powder handling protocols, and three-phase power. Binder jetting adds a debinding and sintering chain that most departments cannot support.

ValCUN thinks there is another path. The company's Minerva printer uses Molten Metal Deposition, or MMD, which melts standard aluminum wire and deposits it in a single step. No powder. No laser. No special air handling. On September 24, 2026, ValCUN and 3Dnatives are hosting a free webinar with researchers from the University of Manchester and the University of Twente to show what that looks like in practice.

What Makes MMD Different

The Minerva system runs on a standard 110 V or 230 V outlet. It weighs 1.1 tonnes and fits through a regular doorway. There is no ATEX certification, no clean room, and no inert gas infrastructure required. Process parameters, data capture, nozzle configuration, and material selection are all left open to the user.

That openness matters for research. In a typical LPBF system, the manufacturer locks down many parameters. With MMD, the researcher controls the entire process. Full raw data capture means experiments are reproducible and publishable.

What the Researchers Found

Dr. Wajira Mirihanage at the University of Manchester studied how nozzle and substrate temperature affect melt-pool behavior, microstructure, defect formation, and mechanical performance in aluminum alloy 4043. The team found that MMD delivers consistent results when temperature is controlled precisely, and the open architecture let them adjust parameters on the fly.

Prof. Ian Gibson at the University of Twente shared early findings from the Dutch ADD-reAM program, which is exploring how additive manufacturing fits into circular economy and remanufacturing workflows. The program needs a process that is flexible enough for small production runs and different alloys. MMD fits that requirement because switching materials is a matter of changing wire spools rather than purging and qualifying a new powder batch.

Who Should Attend

The webinar runs from 10 to 11 AM EDT or 4 to 5 PM CEST on September 24, and includes a live Q&A. It is aimed at lab managers, researchers, and engineers who have been blocked by the infrastructure cost of traditional aluminum AM. If your metal program stalled on safety approval or power supply rather than on science, this session is worth an hour.

Register for the webinar