Industrial 3D printing with plastic granulate (SEAM)Large parts. Standard pellets. One extruder.
Print load-bearing components, tools and fixtures up to metre scale, from the same granulate used in injection moulding.
German Innovation Award 2022, winnerProven in machine building, vehicles and tooling.
Ideal for large structures in small series: tool-free, with moderate material and process cost, and machinable to tight tolerances.
Printed machine feet carry a 6-tonne machine
Stackable feet for a METROM PM800 in a mobile container factory: 2 × 26 kg printed PA6-CF40 modules replace a 150 kg steel foot, with twice the bearing area. Printed and machined on a METROM P1410 hybrid machine, fully recyclable.
Camper cabins and loading systems
50 % lighter loading system, 9 parts in 12 h. First place, SPE Automotive Awards 2025.
Forming tool for facade panels
1,600 × 1,600 × 120 mm from recycled PP-CF30, printed in 3 segments and machined.
Lightweight machine frame
Two-part printed frame: total machine weight 45 kg instead of 90 kg, carried to the repair site by two people.
Grease cap: 7 kg instead of 40 kg
Printed from PA6-CF40 in four hours, replacing a 40 kg casting. Local spare-part reproduction.
What makes the difference.
Patented bypass nozzle
Flow control from 0 to 100 % and pressure held to ±1 bar, with no melt pump on the axis.
High output
0.25 to 18 kg/h for large structural parts, with continuous pellet feed.
Standard granulate
PP, PA6, PET, ABS, TPU, PEI, PESU, PAEK and recyclates – unreinforced or glass/carbon-fibre-reinforced – up to 400 °C, without changing the screw.
True 5-axis printing
Forced feed keeps conveying constant, even in tilted positions.
Gentle on fibres
Short dwell times protect long fibres and natural-fibre compounds.
Fits your machine
Compact unit for CNC machines, hexapods, gantries and robots. Bead widths up to 20 mm.
Faster to build. Cheaper to feed.
EUR per kg, excl. VAT. Carbon-fibre-reinforced polyamide.
9×cheaper than filament
20×cheaper than SLS powder
Sources: Polymaker (Fiberon), Formlabs, Akro-Plastic list prices, May 2026.
Maximum build rate in kg/h, logarithmic scale. Indicative ranges.
Granulate-based extrusion is one to two orders of magnitude faster than filament and powder processes.
SEAM 1K or SEAM 2K.
| SEAM 1K | SEAM 2K | |
|---|---|---|
| Bypass system | Patented 1K bypass | Patented 2K bypass |
| Control | Combined pressure and discharge control | Rapid pressure and discharge control |
| Machine interface | Minimal interface, or adaptive control with LookAhead | Adaptive control with LookAhead feedforward |
| Heating zones | 5 | 5 |
| Pressure sensors | 2 | 2 |
| Drive | Gear motor, constant speed | Gear motor, constant speed |
Four platforms, one process.
SEAMHex
High-speed printing on a hexapod table, 5-axis without supports.
1,100 × 800 × 600 mm
PentaSEAM
Print and mill in one METROM 5-axis machine.
1,600 × 1,200 × 800 mm
SEAMPortal
Gantry for large-format parts, lowest entry investment.
2,200 × 1,700 × 600 mm (travel)
RoboSEAM
6-axis robot with Siemens Sinumerik One control.
1,200 × 1,200 × 1,000 mmProgramming for additive and subtractive steps: HY5CAM CAD-CAM software
Developed with Fraunhofer IWU. Tested in a closed material loop.
Printed tools are shredded and re-compounded into new granulate, with only minor loss of properties.
Send us your part.
We check feasibility, print time and cost, and can produce a sample at the SEAM research centre.
