For those who’ve ever peeked behind the scenes of a 3D printing lab, you might need caught a glimpse of the post-processing room; possibly it’s messy, possibly hidden behind a mysterious door. In response to Jeff Mize, CEO of PostProcess Applied sciences, that hidden step is likely one of the greatest bottlenecks in additive manufacturing (AM). And the PostProcess staff has made it their mission to automate and clear it up.
“Design, print, and post-print,” Mize says. “These are the three large steps of AM. The primary two get all of the love—and all the cash. Put up-printing? That’s the soiled little secret of the trade.”
However PostProcess is altering that narrative. The Buffalo-based firm affords a full-stack resolution that features software program, {hardware}, and chemistry, designed particularly for AM, automating assist elimination and floor ending for each polymers and metals. Most of its clients at the moment are utilizing the platform for polymers, particularly in prototyping workflows, however manufacturing use is rising quick in verticals like dental, aerospace, and automotive.
It’s not nearly comfort, it’s about scaling. As Mize places it, “You’ll be able to’t scale additive if the final step remains to be finished with a toothbrush and a bathtub of isopropyl alcohol (IPA).”
PostProcess CEO Jeff Mize.
Mize, who joined PostProcess as its fourth worker, has a background in taking analog industries and digitizing them. He did it within the transportation trade with NAVTEQ, and in agriculture with The Local weather Company.
“This is similar playbook. You’re taking a guide course of—on this case, post-printing—and digitize it. Make it safer, sooner, and scalable.” And security is a significant theme says Mize: “A few of the chemical compounds utilized in post-processing, like IPA, are nasty. We’re centered on eliminating these. Once I go to labs, I see makeshift setups with sturdy fumes, insufficient air flow, and inconsistent outcomes. That’s simply not sustainable.”
PostProcess affords IPA-free workflows, and lots of of their clients (together with System One groups and high aerospace producers) are leaning in exhausting on sustainability and security. Though Mize couldn’t title names as a consequence of NDAs in place, he hinted at large logos and multi-site installations.
The way in which Mize describes it, PostProcess is not only cleansing up the workflow; it’s fixing a core industrial drawback that’s stopping AM from scaling into manufacturing: “Guide labor is our important competitor. Not one other machine. Not one other firm. Simply the previous method of doing issues.”
Dental labs, particularly in Europe, are a standout market. The brand new DEMI X 200 Plus is a compact, all-in-one machine that cleans, rinses, dries, and cures, and is designed for small dental labs that don’t have time or house for classy workflows. The machine is plug-and-play, permitting customers to easily load the half, stroll away, and return to a completed product.
And it’s no small market. Germany alone has hundreds of unbiased dental labs, and the U.S. has much more. “The dental house is in manufacturing. It’s not like prototyping, you’re speaking about actual day by day output. And so they’re dropping skilled technicians so automation helps fill that hole.”
Engineer utilizing the DEMI submit course of machine.
On the greater finish, PostProcess can also be powering resin elimination for large-format techniques, such because the Stratasys Neo800+. Turnaround time issues, particularly in industries like System One, the place race-to-race cycles are quick, says Mize.
“Seven to 10 minutes. That’s what we goal for in resin elimination purposes. Consistency, security, ROI, these are the explanations our clients standardize on our techniques,” Mize notes. “And that ROI? We’ve seen clients make again their funding in as little as six weeks. Sometimes, it’s round 20 to 40 weeks. However as soon as they run the numbers, it’s not a tough promote.”
The corporate can also be investing closely in software program and AI. One engineer reportedly reduce his bill-of-materials (BOM) evaluate time by 90% simply through the use of ChatGPT. He used to spend eight hours on a BOM. Now it takes lower than an hour, which frees up a whole lot of hours per yr for extra significant work, Mize explains.
Productiveness beneficial properties aren’t restricted to the workplace. With software program that may observe vitality use, motor pressure, and cycle efficiency, PostProcess is transferring towards predictive upkeep and even smarter recipes. Ultimately, Mize says, the system will optimize itself.
“We’re not simply making the elements cleaner. We’re making the method smarter, and the final word objective is lights-out automation. We’re working with robotics firms to bodily hyperlink our machines with printers,” Mize says. “You’ll have a robotic pull the construct plate from the printer, place it into the post-processing resolution, and transfer it down the road, all with out a human. That’s what end-to-end actually seems to be like.”
All of PostProcess Applied sciences’ machines.
Whereas the corporate at present focuses on 4 core techniques, it’s actively engaged on gross depowdering for powder mattress processes and expects a broader rollout in 2026.
“We have now determined to double down on what’s working now—FDM, PolyJet, resins, waxes—however powder is subsequent. We’ve received take a look at models out within the area to gather buyer enter and optimize the manufacturing design.”
PostProcess isn’t new to this sport both. They’re about to hit a significant milestone: 900 options offered, and their buyer retention price is 98.6%. Mize means that these numbers point out the corporate is not only promoting {hardware}, however slightly “fixing issues,” and that when clients scale, they have a tendency to stay loyal to PostProcess.
So, why don’t extra firms speak about post-processing? Mize factors out that “It’s company tradition, it’s sticking with the established order, it’s that folks don’t wish to present the mess behind the scenes. However we’re attempting to alter that. You’ll be able to’t scale additive with out fixing the final step. And that final step is us.”
It helps that PostProcess has constructed sturdy relationships with printer OEMs, together with Farsoon and Stratasys, which have partnered to qualify their techniques with a post-process unit. This implies clients can depend on a examined workflow, from print to post-print, with none surprises.
The DEMI 4100.
As AM continues to increase into crucial sectors, post-processing is now not optionally available. It’s what Mize describes as “core infrastructure” to the 3D printing trade.
“We’ve come a great distance,” he concludes. “However there’s nonetheless this notion that post-processing is an afterthought. We’re right here to show it’s really the important thing to unlocking additive at scale.”
For now, Mize and his staff are centered on attaining profitability for the corporate by the top of 2025. Additional enlargement into Asia is probably going subsequent, with India and South Korea on the radar.
However the firm’s imaginative and prescient is evident: “We’re constructing the spine for manufacturing additive. And we’re now seeing momentum rising for these purposes in different key markets past dental.”
Photos courtesy of PostProcess Applied sciences.
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