La additive manufacturing is going through a period of maturity in Spain, with advances that encompass hospitals, companies and universities. Maxillofacial surgery University Hospital Gregorio Marañón already works with custom models and guides; the company BCN3D begins a new business phase with Quantum; and the Public University of Navarra (UPNA) receives an award for thermal simulation of metal printing processes.
These news draw a landscape in which 3D printing goes from being a punctual support to becoming a strategic resource: improves patient safety and efficiency in the operating room, strengthens industrial capabilities within the country and accelerates the transfer of knowledge from the R+D to actual production.
Maxillofacial surgery with custom models at Gregorio Marañón Hospital
At Gregorio Marañón, the 3D Planning Unit (UPAM3D) has integrated digitalization, design and manufacturing within the hospital environment, resulting in safer, less uncertain and more efficient procedures. shorter surgical timesWorking with the patient's own biomodels and customized guides allows for each intervention to be prepared with a level of detail that is difficult to match using traditional methods.
Applications range from anatomical replicas for planning facial fractures to cutting guides and prostheses designed for complex mandibular or maxillary reconstructions. Interventions that used to take considerably longer are now performed in more contained intervals, and in less complex surgeries, a significant improvement has already been observed. substantial reduction of time in the operating room thanks to biomodels.
The shorter duration of operations also decreases the anesthetic risk and the potential for complications, which results in shorter hospital stays and faster recoveries for patients.
This approach requires close coordination between specialties: oral and maxillofacial surgeons collaborate with neurosurgeons and engineers from the additive manufacturing unit to design guides and templates that ensure the ideal position of the bone segments.
Technology is also transforming the MIR training: Residents participate in case planning and are involved in interventions. In parallel, they explore new materials for implants and fixations—including resorbable or controlled drug-release compounds—with the aim of improving medium- and long-term results.
The drive is supported by a demanding regulatory framework: the center has authorization to manufacture custom devices under quality systems aligned with ISO 13485 and with protocols that prioritize patient safety.
Industry: BCN3D opens a new era after its acquisition by Quantum
Quantum, a Lleida-based company with support from private investors such as Sorigué, Banasegur (Sabseg Group), Terberfer and Inversions Vall, has acquired the assets and operations of BCN3D, ensuring the continuity of the project after the bankruptcy process and maintaining the entire team.
The head offices and the production center in Lleida remain fully operational. The new structure will retain products, technologies, and brands, leveraging the accumulated infrastructure and investment to strengthen BCN3D's presence in the additive manufacturing of light industry.
Among its solutions are the Omega I60, aimed at making the leap from prototypes to consistent series, and the Epsilon Series, designed for those who need flexibility with technical materials, easily integrating into printing farms and demanding workflows.
BCN3D's installed base includes reference clients such as Nissan, BMW, NASA, Camper, Louis Vuitton or MIT, a support that the new stage will seek to consolidate. The company recorded a turnover of 4,4 millones de euros in 2023 and plans to promote innovation and catalog under the Quantum umbrella.
Metal R&D: UPNA awarded for optimizing the WAAM process
A team from the Public University of Navarra has received the Jaume Blasco Award for Innovation for a work that models the thermal behavior of the process WAAM (additive manufacturing by arc and wire), award granted by AEIPRO at the XXIX CIDIP held in A Coruña.
The research uses a finite element model to reproduce how heat is generated, distributed and dissipated during manufacturing, allowing anticipate the outcome without physical testing and adjust the process to gain efficiency and reduce costs.
The model has been validated with laboratory data and makes it easier to fine-tune variables such as temperature, deposition speed or type of material, with a direct impact on sectors such as automotive and aeronautics for improved repeatability and reliability.
The team —linked to the institutes INAMAT² y Smart Cities (ISC)— is made up of Fernando Veiga Suárez (responsible), Pedro José Rivero Fuente, Daniel Salcedo Pérez, Xabier Sandua Fernández, Sergio Ibáñez Losantos y Miguel Ángel Martín AntunesThe project has been funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation (FactorIA initiative) and the Euroregional Innovation programme promoted by the Euroregion New Aquitaine–Basque Country–Navarre.
With these coordinated movements between health, industry and R&D3D printing is consolidating a qualitative leap in Spain: safer and more agile surgeries, companies with future plans, and a scientific foundation that accelerates the arrival of tangible improvements to the productive sector.