Picture: 3D Druck München
In industrial environments, a power outage can quickly become a safety hazard. One approach that may seem inconspicuous at first glance is gaining importance: components made from glow-in-the-dark PLA. The 3D printing service provider 3D Druck München offers such parts as precisely manufactured one-offs or small series. Without additional electronics or sensors, they can provide orientation in dark environments and mark safety-critical points.
The basis is a modified polylactide (PLA) enriched with photoluminescent pigments. These pigments store incident light and release it later as a greenish glow. Production is carried out using the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) process with tight dimensional tolerances. This enables the realization of complex geometries and functional prototypes without the need to modify existing machines or production lines.
Possible applications range from marking escape routes and maintenance points on equipment to labeling areas where electrical lighting is prohibited for safety or hygiene reasons. The material can also be advantageous in prototype construction, for example, during visual inspections of moving parts under changing lighting conditions. In logistics, glowing clips or spacers could help organize poorly lit areas more efficiently.
The ordering process is fully digitized: companies upload their 3D models in STL format, select the “Green Glow” material option, and receive the finished parts without having their own production capacity. This reduces investment costs, accelerates spare part and prototype manufacturing, and enables quick integration into existing workflows.
By combining additive manufacturing and photoluminescence, this approach offers a practical contribution to operational safety. The components require neither complex installation nor a power supply, making them a simple yet technically sound solution for orientation-related applications.