3D Printing Service Providers
The world of additive manufacturing is highly dependent on 3D printing service providers. These firms are the first adopters of AM technologies and the primary drivers of AM industry growth. In the early days, 3D printing service providers were mainly rapid prototyping services, that could offer design and printing capabilities to help firms with product development. As AM technologies evolved a new “breed” of service providers, AM factories, are emerging to focus on customized final parts production (either tools or actual product parts and even complete end-use products), for both businesses and consumers.
As the leading global 3D printing services build larger 3D printer fleets, more and more firms are entering the industry offering rapid prototyping and small-batch production services, creating a global network of firms that are thus starting to enable one of AM’s ultimate goals: distributed manufacturing. At the same time, the larger AM service firms are now evolving into actual AM factories, introducing higher degrees of automation and streamlined digital end-to-end workflows for digital additive mass production.
Now, with AM becoming more ubiquitous throughout global manufacturing, AM service providers will continue to be one of the key access points to on-demand, additive digital production, by allowing access to their technologies on-demand, without requiring high initial CapEx. In doing so they continue to enable firms to familiarize themselves with the needs and benefits of AM technology, as they build the necessary know-how to internalize them, at least to some extent.
In 3dpbm‘s definition, AM service providers generally fit into two main categories: application-agnostic AM service providers and application-specific AM service providers. The first are firms that possess deep know-how in a variety of different AM technology types. As such they are able to provide AM services to a variety of adopting industries.
There are firms that possess deep know-how of a particular vertical of manufacturing and begin to introduce additive manufacturing to either offer specialized AM services for other firms operating in the same segment, or even directly 3D printed parts. There are also several sub-categories: all these are presented in the dedicated section of 3dpbm’s 3D Printing Business Directory, where we list more than 1,200 verified service bureaus, divided into 12 key subcategories, including AM factories.
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FIT establishes FIT.technology GmbH for all AM services
Germany-based FIT Additive Manufacturing Group, one of the largest AM service providers in the world, has established the new subsidiary FIT.technology GmbH. As part of a company reorganization, the new…
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Anisoprint opens new office in Shanghai, China
Anisoprint, a provider of composite 3D printing solutions, has opened a new office in Shanghai, China, situated in the Additive Manufacturing Technology Centre (AMTC) – a state-of-the-art facility that offers…
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3DPRINTUK ranked as third fastest-growing manufacturer in UK
UK-based 3D printing bureau, 3DPRINTUK, has made it onto the 2023 Financial Times (FT) 1000 ranking of the fastest-growing companies in Europe. The company was placed as the third fastest-growing manufacturer…
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Endeavor 3D promoted to HP Digital Manufacturing Partner
Endeavor 3D, a leading additive contract manufacturer, has been promoted to HP Digital Manufacturing Partner. The company is committed to providing innovative solutions that improve efficiency, reduce costs, and open…
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Essentium launches Essentium Parts On-Demand (EPOD) service
Essentium, Inc. has launched Essentium Parts On-Demand (EPOD) – an in-house production service grounded in its High-Speed Extrusion (HSE) 3D printing technology. The service offers manufacturers access to Essentium’s engineering…
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Blueprint launches to offer custom part solutions via AM
Blueprint Advanced Manufacturing GmbH recently opened its doors for business and will make its official debut at the upcoming Hannover Messe. By combining the use of state-of-the-art production technologies and…
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Rapid custom rubber 3D printing service launched by Chromatic
Chromatic 3D Materials, an additive manufacturing technology provider, has launched a new custom manufacturing service for durable polyurethane parts – with fast delivery and simplified pricing. The company is offering…
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Xometry enters Turkey with the acquisition of Tridi
Xometry, a global online marketplace connecting enterprise buyers with suppliers of manufacturing services, has acquired Istanbul-based Tridi, and has launched a localized marketplace for Turkish customers. With the acquisition of Tridi,…
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Stefan Thundal appointed as new CEO of AIM Sweden
Stefan Thundal, a well-known figure in the additive manufacturing industry and in the company, has been appointed as the new CEO of metal AM service provider AIM Sweden, effective February…