February’s Additive Manufacturing Methods (AMS) 2025 was a whirlwind of innovation. A dominant narrative, championed by trade leaders like Stratasys CEO Yoav Zeif, was AM’s have to show its worth by “killer purposes.” These are high-impact use instances the place 3D printing presents indispensable options, demonstrated by Scott Dunham’s work on steel printed silencers, Carbon’s focused software growth, and Ryan Roach’s groundbreaking nTopology designs with Cobra Puma Golf.
These examples are thrilling and push AM’s boundaries. Nevertheless, as I absorbed shows like Ryan’s or Stefanie Brickwede’s on AM within the demanding rail trade, an statement emerged. Whereas framed as “killer apps,” the options usually weren’t merchandise of a single, proprietary AM know-how. As a substitute, they had been often a mosaic of additive processes and supplies from varied suppliers.
This range highlights a vital perception: the success of those superior purposes usually hinges much less on one particular “killer” course of and extra on entry to a portfolio of appropriate AM applied sciences. Engineers had been choosing the precise device, or mixture of instruments, from an obtainable technological toolbelt. This actuality subtly challenges the extraordinary give attention to bespoke, high-touch, single-solution “killer apps.” Is the trade overlooking the worth of creating a variety of AM capabilities readily accessible?
Greg Paulsen. Picture courtesy of Greg Paulsen through LinkedIn.
In an period of unpredictable world provide chains, agile, resilient, and localized manufacturing is paramount. Firms are actively looking for to diversify manufacturing and mitigate dangers. Additive manufacturing is ideally fitted to this, providing on-demand manufacturing, distributed networks, and speedy adaptation. Nevertheless, its potential to bolster provide chain resilience is absolutely realized provided that AM is broadly accessible and scalable, not confined to high-cost, specialised tasks.
At Xometry, we see the impression of democratized entry each day. Our market connects over 70,000 prospects—from startups to Fortune 500 corporations—with a complete suite of on-demand manufacturing applied sciences. Inside this, AM is an umbrella of versatile options, together with polymer processes (SLS, MJF, FDM, SLA, DLS) and metals (DMLS, MBJ). Clients leverage these not in isolation, however as built-in choices alongside conventional strategies, akin to machining or molding.
Through the AMS panel “Agile Manufacturing: Decentralized and Clever,” I joined friends like Marleen Vogelaar of Shapeways and Mikkel Kring of Craftcloud. A standard thread was AM’s energy in distributed manufacturing networks. We mentioned how entry, supported by digital instruments for fast quoting, design suggestions, and training, permits companies to scale back reliance on fragile provide strains and reply dynamically to market shifts. It’s about empowering customers to get the components they want, with the best-fit know-how, with out prohibitive obstacles.
Agile Manufacturing panel at AMS with Greg Paulsen (Xometry), Mikkel Kring (Craftcloud), and Marleen Vogelaar (Shapeways), moderated by Matt Kremenetsky (3DPrint.com). Picture courtesy of 3DPrint.com.
Specializing in accessibility doesn’t negate specialization. We actively help AM’s crucial purposes in aerospace, protection, EVs, and medical. Nevertheless, innovation shouldn’t solely stem from intensive, bespoke growth. Agility, velocity, and adaptability are innovation, too. Making AM sensible for on a regular basis engineering, speedy prototyping, bridge tooling, and low- to mid-volume manufacturing is significant. This implies clearly speaking course of strengths and limitations for knowledgeable selections, quite than treating each want as a ground-up analysis undertaking. When AM delivers on velocity, high quality, and value, it’s compelling for a a lot wider software vary.
In at present’s local weather, entry isn’t simply handy; it’s a strategic crucial. The way forward for widespread AM adoption lies in shifting our collective focus. Whereas celebrating “killer apps,” we should equally champion accessibility. This requires a concerted trade effort in:
- Schooling and Confidence Constructing: Offering clear, sensible data on supplies, processes, DfAM, and real looking prices.
- Highlighting Complementation: Emphasizing how AM applied sciences work collectively and increase conventional manufacturing in highly effective hybrid workflows.
- Accessible Coaching: Growing scalable coaching sources for varied talent ranges and wishes.
Additive manufacturing’s final promise isn’t solely about attaining the technically unimaginable. It’s about reliably making what’s wanted, when and the place it’s wanted, strengthening provide chains and fostering innovation from the bottom up. By shifting past the singular pursuit of the subsequent “killer app” to totally embrace the transformative energy of broad entry, we will unlock AM’s true, widespread potential for all.
Concerning the Writer:
Greg Paulsen is the Director of Purposes Engineering at Xometry, the place he’s been a key a part of the crew since 2017. On this position, he leads design-for-manufacturing efforts and consults on customized manufacturing tasks throughout CNC machining, 3D printing, injection molding, and different associated applied sciences. A well known advocate for additive manufacturing, Greg brings hands-on engineering expertise and deep trade information to assist corporations navigate superior manufacturing at scale.
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