People of 3D Printing: Romain Reiner

Who is Roman Reiner?

Roman Reiner is an independent Design Engineer with a focus on Design for Additive Manufacturing.

Roman, can you tell us more about your background and how you got to 3D printing?

I was lucky to find my passion for industrial 3D printing early on in my professional career. While writing my bachelor’s thesis and working as a student for the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg I was developing titanium printing on the SLM 280HL machine. As a young student being able to work with such a futuristic machine was incredible.

I loved the engineering side of researching and testing 4kW lasers but especially the possibility of realizing my design ideas.

I quickly knew I wanted to specialize in this field and therefore wrote my Master’s thesis in mechanical engineering on the laser of the EOS Formiga P110 with PA12. Towards the end of my studies, I was hired as an Application Engineer for EOS and had the honor of learning from experts with 30 years of experience in AM.

Later I noticed a lack of great AM designs in the industry, and that is why I founded my design agency Roman Reiner GmbH.

Can you tell us more about 3D printing applied to luxury?

AM and luxury are a perfect match. With this technology we can roam almost completely freely with our creativity and create very unique and striking designs for our customers.

What types of applications can it have?

We can create designs from very complex objects, otherwise impossible to create to customize applications adapted to an individual’s body shape.

How is it an advantage?

One of my favorite advantages is the speed of testing. I had this idea of printing 3D printed bow ties, and within two days, they were a reality.

With fast iterations, you can test and innovate faster and serve the client with their desired product in a shorter period.

What are the technologies and materials you are working with most of the time, and why?

My recent art project was the elephant lamp printed with DMLS in steel and 18k gold. But usually I like to use each software and technology to its advantage, FDM for economical prototyping, the speed and accuracy of SLS, the details of SLA, and MJF for color printing. That’s also why I appreciate service providers being technologically and locally independent.

What is your point of view on the future of 3D printing?

I am very excited about the future of AM. I see more and more designers, architects, and hobbyists coming to the field and more and more serious applications of AM every year. I am especially looking forward to the impact of consumer 3D scanning, recycled and biodegradable materials, AI-based designs and blockchain for IP protection.

We invite you to check Roman Reiner’s work on his website.