Shaping the Future of Design – from digital concept to industrial impact. Designing for Additive Manufacturing (AM) means more than simply learning how to use a new technology. It requires a fundamental rethinking of design. In this two-part course offering, consisting of workshops held throughout the semester followed by a Design Challenge Week, students explore how complexity, customizability, and digital workflows are redefining the possibilities of product development and manufacturing.

The course combines a semester long workshop series comprising eight sessions with an intensive Design Challenge Week, which can be taken independently of one another. Methodological design training is combined with real world challenges from industry, for example, in the fields of sports engineering, aerospace, medical technology, or energy management. Students learn to use CAD and simulation tools, apply advanced design methods such as topology optimization, and critically evaluate the manufacturability and economic feasibility of their concepts. The focus is on purpose driven design, which means developing solutions that are not only functional, but also visionary and feasible for additive manufacturing.

Design Challenge Week

In interdisciplinary teams, students work on a specific use case provided by an industry partner. Supported by project-based learning, coaching, and peer feedback, they develop and present innovative, sustainable AM solutions. Throughout the course, students have access to MEX 3D printers in the laboratory to prototype their ideas and iteratively develop them further.

The most convincing concept is selected and realized. The winning team receives hands-on training to manufacture their component themselves using AM powder bed technology (with either a laser or electron beam).

Semester-long Workshops

The semester-long university practical course provides a practical and theoretical foundation in CAD and AM through eight workshops, covers key digital design concepts, and addresses the complete AM process chain. Students become familiar with various AM technologies, apply advanced design methods such as topology optimization, lattice structures, and field-driven design, and evaluate technical and economic aspects of production. Through a combination of internal and external experts, students additionally learn design-thinking methods and cost calculation in the field of additive manufacturing.

Registration & Further Information

The complete course offering comprises 8 ECTS: 4 ECTS for the semester-long university practical course and 4 ECTS for the Design Challenge Week.
Contact: Claudia Geitner (MAT) and Benedikt Burchard (LBAM)
For: Bachelor’s and Master’s students from all disciplines and Schools
TUMonline module number: ED170021 (semester-long university practical course) and ED160058 (Design Challenge Week)
Registration:

• Semester-long university practical course: Please send an email to the responsible contact persons and attach your current transcript of records as well as an up-to-date CV.

• Design Challenge Week: Registration for the Design Challenge Week is possible in two ways and depends on whether you have already successfully participated in the semester-long workshop “Fundamentals in Advanced Design Methods for Additive Manufacturing”:

  • If you have already successfully participated in the workshop, you may participate directly in the Design Challenge Week if you wish. No further application is required.

  • If you have not participated in the workshop, please send an email to the responsible contact persons and attach your current transcript of records as well as an up-to-date CV. Following a successful application (you will receive feedback from the contact persons by mid-October), you will be added to the Moodle course for the semester-long workshop. As proof of your proficiency in the nTop software, please complete the three assignments Advanced Design Methods 1, 2, and 3 there by 17.11.2026. Detailed instructions on the next steps will be provided following your application.