Mastering Micro Metals: MetShape’s Expertise
From Research to Real-World Impact: Leadership and Innovation at MetShape GmbH
MetShape GmbH operates on a global scale at the intersection of cutting-edge research and industrial metal additive manufacturing. The company’s foundation and continued growth are closely connected to the development of Lithography-Based Metal Manufacturing (LMM), a technology that originated at Pforzheim University’s Institute for Strategic and Precious Metals (STI) under the guidance of Prof. Carlo Burkhardt and has since evolved into a powerful industrial solution used worldwide.
A key milestone in the advancement of LMM was the completion of the world’s first doctoral research dedicated entirely to this manufacturing technology. This research, supervised by Carlo Burkhardt, systematically addressed material behavior, process stability, and sintering mechanisms, helping to establish LMM as a reliable, high-precision metal AM process for industrial applications.
Following this achievement, Dr. Lucas Vogel, who initially served as Head of R&D at MetShape, completed his PhD on LMM and subsequently transitioned into the role of CEO. His path from researcher to company leader exemplifies how scientific innovation can translate directly into entrepreneurial and industrial success.
From Academic Innovation to Industrial Application
The origins of this journey reach back to early research in sinter-based additive manufacturing technologies, including metal binder jetting. While these methods were still emerging, LMM demonstrated a unique capability: enabling the production of highly complex, dense metal parts with exceptional precision and surface quality.
Years of research and development at STI, supported by the mentorship and scientific vision of Carlo Burkhardt, allowed LMM to mature into a technology capable of meeting real-world industrial demands. This transition reflects the essential components of successful technology transfer: deep scientific understanding, long-term persistence, and a clear route to industrial relevance.
MetShape as the Global Competence Center for LMM
Building on this scientific foundation, MetShape has grown into the global competence center for LMM. The company combines its profound PhD-level material knowledge with complete mastery of the LMM printing process, enabling breakthrough solutions for customers around the world. This is particularly true in advanced alloys such as Nitinol, where MetShape’s unique expertise in material behavior, sintering interactions, and microstructure control allows the company to deliver precision components that conventional processes simply cannot achieve.
This integrated know-how unlocks both dramatically lower-cost production of existing applications and the creation of entirely new applications that were previously impossible due to geometric, material, or economic limitations. By tightly coupling material development with process optimization, MetShape transforms feasibility studies into industrially scalable reality.
Strengthening Global Manufacturing Competitiveness
MetShape demonstrates how research institutions and spin-offs can create international impact. By transforming advanced materials science into scalable, manufacturable solutions, the company contributes to global competitiveness in precision engineering and advanced manufacturing.
With a strong technical foundation, a growing interdisciplinary team, and a clear focus on industrialization, MetShape continues to push the boundaries of metal additive manufacturing, bridging the gap between academic research and commercial production.
As LMM technology advances and new applications emerge, MetShape remains committed to innovation, quality, and the successful transfer of scientific breakthroughs into sustainable industrial solutions, supported by the pioneering research and mentorship provided by Carlo Burkhardt.
Prof. Carlo Burkhardt and Dr. Lucas Vogel following the successful doctoral defense.
