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Selected project · Exafuse

Duisburg Bridge Components: large-part LMD from CAD adaptation to evidence planning

A public infrastructure project needed large structural nodes and handrail components to move from a sculptural design intent to a manufacturable, inspectable LMD route.

My responsibility. In 2024, I led process monitoring and control work that enabled unattended builds for Exafuse's Duisburg bridge-component project, and coordinated delivery scheduling within my scope. Testing was outside my role.

Read my role and scope View the Exafuse source
Large LMD-manufactured bridge node component from the Duisburg project
Exafuse — Duisburg bridge components Large structural LMD proof component from the Duisburg bridge story. View the Exafuse source

Exafuse owns the company case and commercial route. The project results below come from Exafuse's published record. My personal contribution is described separately.

Personal contribution · 2024

Monitoring, control and delivery scheduling

In 2024, I led process monitoring and control work that enabled unattended builds for Exafuse's Duisburg bridge-component project, and coordinated delivery scheduling within my scope. Testing was outside my role.

Personal professional account, reviewed 2026-10-07. Personal account of monitoring, process control and delivery scheduling within Manish's scope. Company and partner results, production figures and external testing remain separately attributed.

View my professional background

Public route

The physical context and decision route

Industrial context

Large structural metal components for a pedestrian bridge in Duisburg.

Public process route

CAD adaptation, deposition-path development, long-duration LMD production, monitoring, finishing planning, and project-specific validation support.

Material context

The public case is about scale and route development; it does not publish a transferable material-acceptance basis.

Verified public facts

Facts with source and limit attached

These figures are public case context. They are not transferable commitments, acceptance criteria, or proof of another component’s feasibility.

Documented components
750+ kg

Project scale context only; it is not a quality approval or a transferable feasibility claim.

Exafuse source
Structural nodes
6 nodes

A project count, not a claim that another structural component is approved.

Exafuse source
Knoten 10 build
219 h

Build duration for Knoten 10 only. It is not an unattended-duration claim or a future scheduling commitment.

Exafuse source
Six-node robot path
38 km

Path-length context only; it is not a transferable process-capability claim.

Exafuse source
Monitoring context
1M+ melt-pool images

Monitoring data supports process understanding; it does not prove final part quality by itself.

Exafuse source

Evidence and validation

What the evidence needs to resolve

The public record describes independent project-specific validation support and makes clear that another structural application needs its own engineering, inspection, and acceptance route.

The public case connects long-build monitoring and process analysis to production evidence without presenting monitoring as final approval.

What this public case demonstrates

Useful public context—without stretching the claim

  • A public large-part LMD project can be described as a connected CAD-to-production route.
  • Public monitoring context can support an evidence discussion when its inspection boundary remains explicit.
  • Complex, high-value components need a planned validation path rather than confidence from deposition alone.

What it does not demonstrate

  • It is not a blanket approval for another bridge or safety-critical component.
  • It does not replace structural engineering, inspection, certification, or customer acceptance.
  • It does not make the public production figures a commitment for another geometry or material.

Manish Sharma Lab interpretation

Use the case to improve the next question

This project connected process monitoring and control with the practical demands of long-duration manufacturing. The engineering lesson is to design the control system around the build, the available measurements and a clear response to process changes, while keeping physical testing and acceptance separate.