Internship at Mat3D

Internship at Mat3D – R&D Polymeric composite development

From July to November 2024, I worked as a research intern at Mat3D Innovative Materials, a startup based in Turin focusing on UV-curable resins for 3D printing. It was a fast-paced, hands-on experience that helped bridge the gap between academic knowledge and industrial needs.

My main task was to develop and test a series of photopolymer resins suitable for high-resolution SLA 3D printing. The work started with careful selection of base monomers and oligomers and continued with iterative blending, adjustment of photoinitiators, and additive integration.

Early resin blending test

One of the most valuable lessons I took from this internship was understanding how material design is never isolated — it must meet technical specs, safety requirements, and user expectations. Beyond formulating, I ran extensive testing using techniques such as DSC, TGA, and OCA to assess thermal and surface behavior.

DSC curve TGA thermal analysis

I also conducted FT-IR and SEM analysis to understand structural integrity and morphology. Tensile testing and visual inspection helped compare formulations in terms of brittleness, elongation, and finish. Below is one of the SEM views captured for a graphite-filled blend:

SEM image of graphite dispersion FT-IR spectrum

I paid close attention to each step — from mixing and curing to real-world print testing. The butterfly part you see below was used to assess how each resin performed in dimensional accuracy and print resolution.

Butterfly resin print

Working with Mat3D was more than just a project — it was a six-month deep dive into how science meets real-world constraints. I learned how to document properly, troubleshoot unexpected material behavior, and communicate findings with the engineering team.

I’m currently turning this project into a research article — but the industrial value was clear from the start. It gave me new perspective on scaling ideas, validating them through real testing, and working toward production-level outcomes.

Note: If you’d like access to the full technical report or explore collaboration opportunities, feel free to reach out. Please reference this work properly if using any parts of it.