I am Javier Diaz Gutierrez, CEO of MADIT METAL, a company specialized in the design and manufacturing of metal 3D printing applications. Before this step, I worked at ITP Aero, a company specialized in the manufacturing of aeronautic engines, also focused on the SLM technology.
In the BRAVA project I am in charge of the technical discussions about the SLM technology possibilities.
What was your original motivation to become a researcher?
From 2011 I have been involved in manufacturing research activities, initially for welding processes and from 2013 with metal additive manufacturing processes.
When we founded the company, back in the 2020, our aim was not only to use the SLM technology to increase the benefits. We also have the aim to increase the use and the possibilities of the technology SLM. This way, it would reach more sectors and more applications, becoming a standardized tool in the industrial ecosystem.
What is your (main) research area today?
Nowadays we are working on improving the capacities of the machine. In order to do this, we develop new laser parameters strategies that can produce more complex geometries with improved quality and productively. There is also an important thing that is to increase the layer thickness parameter for manufacturing. This increase has a strong impact on the manufacturing time. All this always taken into account that the quality of the parts has to be preserved or improved.
What is the main objective of your team in BRAVA?
The main objective of the BRAVA project is to push forward the possibilities and applications of the SLM technology in order to achieve more optimized applications. In this case, the application is the development of novel heat exchanger geometries manufactured in 3D printed aluminum to be capable to remove heat from hydrogen cells.
What expertise and facilities does your team have to meet those objectives?
Our team has a high expertise in the use of the SLM technology from the years in Madit and also from former jobs. More than 8 years of expertise in a technology that is very new.
Apart from that, the facilities of Madit have the larger amount of SLM machines oriented to the industrial sector in Spain. These capacities allow the team to test the process very fast and to work with continuous improvements.
Which aspects of your research at BRAVA do you believe are the most innovative and what unique opportunities offer BRAVA to yourself and/or your organisation?
The manufacturing of heat exchanger with SLM technology is very new. There are a lot of features of the application that need to be developed and tested: the printing of small geometries, the powder management, the production improvement, etc.
BRAVA project let us to develop all these aspects in a very conservative way, using the standards of the aeronautic industry to test all the system.
How do you see the future use of the BRAVA-results and the impact of BRAVA-project in our daily lives?
BRAVA will be the start of a full range of heat exchanger application that will come in the future. These optimized applications will improve the engines by means of a weight reduction and functional improvement. The result of this optimized engines would be a reduction in the cost of transport and also has a strong impact in the sustainability.
