Research. Development. Innovation. Additive manufacturing has been gaining ground in university laboratories and research centres around the world for years. Not as yet another technological novelty, but as a real tool that is transforming the way researchers work with advanced materials.
In this context, pellet 3D printing has proven to offer something that other systems cannot: the possibility of working directly with any material in granule format, without the need for prior filament production, whilst keeping its original properties fully intact. An advantage that has not gone unnoticed by the international scientific community.
In recent years, research groups from different continents have published their results in high-impact journals using Tumaker pellet 3D printers as their manufacturing tool. From all of these, we have selected five projects with very different objectives to illustrate the versatility of the technology — and we will continue to expand this selection with new real-world cases.
Customised starch tablets with controlled release
Universidad del País Vasco / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (Spain)
The Materials+Technologies (GMT) research group at UPV/EHU used a Tumaker printer equipped with a syringe head to manufacture starch-based pharmaceutical tablets. The machine’s ability to work with pastes and hydrogels — materials incompatible with conventional filament extrusion — was key to allowing the team to print directly from liquid starch formulations without intermediate processing steps.
Using three different types of starch (standard maize, waxy maize, and potato) and varying the geometry of each tablet, they demonstrated that the printer allows precise adjustment of the drug release profile by changing only the material or the shape of the piece. The most notable result was the manufacture of dual-release tablets: an initial immediate phase and a second sustained phase over time, opening the door to personalised combination treatments. The results were published in the International Journal of Pharmaceutics (2022).
More information: 3D printing of customized all-starch tablets with combined release kinetics
PLA and hazelnut shell powder biocomposites for design applications
Università di Pisa (Italy)
Sustainability and design come together in this research carried out at the University of Pisa. The project explored the formulation of biocomposites consisting of a polylactic acid (PLA) matrix combined with hazelnut shell powder (HSP), an agro-industrial by-product, for processing via pellet 3D printing.
The process included compounding by extrusion, pelletising, and subsequent fused deposition modelling (FDM) printing with a Tumaker pellet 3D printer, yielding pieces for decorative and design applications such as jewellery, plant pots, and interior furnishings.
The commitment to natural-based materials and industrial waste as raw materials demonstrates how pellet technology facilitates the integration of unconventional materials into additive manufacturing processes, contributing to a more circular and responsible industry.
More information: Sustainable 3D printed poly (lactic acid) (PLA)/Hazelnut shell powder bio composites for design applications
Sustainable elastomeric nanocomposites for flexible sensors and wearable electronics
University of Akron (United States)
This research focuses on the development of 3D-printable soft nanocomposites from sustainable thermoplastic elastomers (SFS TPE) and carbon nanomaterials. The objective: to manufacture soft sensors for soft robotics, wearable electronics, and environmental monitoring.
The Tumaker pellet 3D printer was the reference piece of equipment in the manufacturing process of the study’s test specimens and parts, demonstrating the system’s versatility for working with highly specialised technical materials. A clear example of how our technology adapts to the demands of the most advanced research in smart materials.
More information: Sustainable thermoplastic elastomer-based nanocomposites and their 3D printing for flexible and stretchable sensors
Carbon supercapacitor electrodes via 3D printing
Universität Ulm (Germany)
This work from the University of Ulm investigated the use of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as a carbon precursor material for the manufacture of supercapacitor electrodes via 3D printing.
The process begins with polymer extrusion and pelletising, followed by pellet-based FDM printing using the Tumaker printer, and concludes with pre-stabilisation, stabilisation, carbonisation, and KOH activation stages. The result: carbon electrodes with high capacitance, suitable for use in fuel cells, batteries, and supercapacitors.
This project is a paradigmatic example of how pellet 3D printing allows high-value engineering materials to be integrated into advanced manufacturing workflows.
More information: Switchable Polyacrylonitrile-Copolymer for Melt-Processing and Thermal Carbonization — 3D Printing of Carbon Supercapacitor Electrodes with High Capacitance
High-density magnets with material extrusion and integrated compression moulding
Oak Ridge National Laboratory – U.S. Department of Energy (United States)
One of the most notable works is that developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), a facility of the United States Department of Energy.
The research used the Tumaker NX Pro Pellets, a small desktop-format machine, alongside ORNL’s large-scale system to evaluate material extrusion with integrated compression moulding (AM-CM) of NdFeB/SmFeN nylon-bonded magnets.
The results are striking: the integrated AM-CM process reduced porosity from approximately 5.5% in standard additive manufacturing down to just 0.14%, significantly increasing tensile mechanical strength, which rose from 17.88 MPa to 25.09 MPa. With a 93% mass fraction of NdFeB/SmFeN in PA12 granules, the study concludes that AM-CM integration is highly effective for producing high-density bonded magnets with superior mechanical properties.
This project represents one of the most significant milestones in the use of desktop pellet 3D printers in world-class research environments.
More information: Material extrusion with integrated compression molding of NdFeB/SmFeN nylon bonded magnets using small- and large-scale pellet-based 3D-printers
One technology, multiple applications
What unites all of these research projects is a shared conviction: pellet 3D printing offers a flexibility and capacity to adapt to advanced materials that no other additive manufacturing technology can currently match.
From personalised pharmaceuticals to high-density magnets, flexible electronics to sustainable biocomposites, Tumaker technology has proven equal to the most demanding challenges in contemporary science and industry.
At Tumaker, we remain committed to research, development, and innovation. If you would like to learn more about how our pellet 3D printers can be integrated into your R&D projects, please get in touch. We would be delighted to help.
