Nowadays, additive manufacturing of metallic and ceramic materials requires the sintering of the 3D printed piece before being used in its intended application, mainly to attain its final mechanical and thermal working characteristics. However such a sintering process induces differential deformations and residual stresses within the piece that could possibly compromise its performance and even its feasibility. On the other hand, the sintering process is significantly time-consuming, and costly, rendering useless the trial and error approach when prototyping. This makes numerical simulation a very attractive strategy in order to assist the prototyping of pieces whose mechanical performance is crucial [1, 2]. The main goals of the presented research are (i) to develop a numerical tool, in the context of the finite element method, able to precisely describe the sintering process and (ii) to exploit it when prototyping and producing pieces of industrial and practical interest. For the pursuit of these objectives, the test and validation of the algorithmic implementation have been completed with data from bibliographical sources and especially with data obtained experimentally. This validation makes it possible to conclude that the numerical implementation is reliable and that it is ready to be used for cases of industrial interest. It is the main intention of this communication to present the results and main conclusions of this research project for which the interaction between the (i) numerical modelling and (ii) the experimental approaches has been of key importance for its conclusion and success.