Dyndrite awards $10K Innovation Prize to University of Waterloo researcher
Dyndrite, based in Seattle, Washington, USA, has named Jigar Patel of the University of Waterloo, Canada, as the winner of its inaugural Student Competition and recipient of a $10,000 Innovation Award. The award was presented during the ASTM International Conference on Advanced Manufacturing (ICAM 2026) in Orlando, Florida, USA.
Patel was recognised for his work, ‘Vector-level scan strategies to mitigate subsurface porosity in L-PBF’, conducted with Sagar Patel, Rene Lam and Associate Professor Mihaela Vlasea at the University of Waterloo’s Multi-Scale Additive Manufacturing (MSAM) Lab.
Using Dyndrite LPBF Pro, the researchers investigated the use of vector-level scan strategies to reduce subsurface porosity in Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB). The team reported 75% fewer detected pores and an approximately 40% reduction in maximum pore size.
“From a hardware perspective, metal Additive Manufacturing systems have exceptional capabilities today,” stated Mihaela Vlasea, Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo. “However, we are often bottlenecked by the software tools available to improve build quality, performance, and productivity. It’s the equivalent of having a racecar but never being able to get out of second gear.
“As researchers, we continuously push the boundaries of discovery while working to translate disruptive outcomes into industry-ready, scalable solutions. That led us to use Dyndrite software across multiple LPBF machines to unlock more of the technological potential hidden under the hood.”
Porosity can affect the performance of PBF-LB parts, with the size, location, shape and concentration of pores potentially contributing to stress concentrations and crack-initiation sites. Patel’s research examined whether programmable, vector-level control of scan strategies could be used to reduce the formation of such defects.
“We chose to focus on subsurface porosity because it remains a persistent challenge limiting the reliability and broader adoption of LPBF,” said Jigar Patel. “What excited us was the opportunity to move beyond identifying defects after they occur and instead use vector-level control to influence where and how they form.
“By demonstrating that vector-level scan strategies can significantly reduce both the number and size of pores, we’re showing a path toward greater control of the LPBF process and, ultimately, more predictable, reliable, and scalable manufacturing.”
Sagar Patel, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Multi-Scale Additive Manufacturing Lab, University of Waterloo, added, “While the root causes of longstanding LPBF challenges, including fatigue performance, surface roughness, residual stress, and porosity, are increasingly well understood, the relatively simplistic scanning strategies available in conventional software can make them difficult to address.
“Dyndrite puts many more levers in the hands of LPBF practitioners like us, creating new opportunities to improve mechanical performance while, more importantly, expanding design freedom and challenging the traditional limits of what can be manufactured with LPBF. Dyndrite has already enabled us to translate our wacky ideas for vector-level beam path control into reality across Renishaw, Nikon SLM Solutions, and EOS LPBF systems with ease.”
The Dyndrite Student Competition provides university students and researchers with access to programmable Additive Manufacturing software for research into areas including materials, process development, scan strategies, qualification and production.
Dyndrite LPBF Pro enables users to control how geometry is identified, segmented and processed, including the manipulation of laser parameters and toolpaths at vector level.
“This is exactly the kind of work we hoped to inspire when we created the Dyndrite Student Competition,” explained Harshil Goel, founder and CEO of Dyndrite. “We give students free access to Dyndrite LPBF Pro, our programmable software foundation, and challenge them to rethink what is possible when they have control over the manufacturing process. Jigar and the Waterloo team took that opportunity and demonstrated how software can be used to attack a fundamental LPBF challenge at the process level.”
The award was presented at ICAM 2026 by representatives including Mohsen Seifi of ASTM International, Harshil Goel of Dyndrite and Nima Shamsaei of Auburn University.
