Why 3D printing is not yet realising its full potential – Interview with Torsten Wolschendorf from PROTOTEC

PROTOTEC was founded in 1995 and is one of the pioneers of additive manufacturing in Germany. With nearly 30 years of experience, the company offers comprehensive 3D printing services, ranging from prototype development to series production. A wide range of technologies and materials are utilised to meet the specific needs of customers from various industries. In an interview with 3Druck.com, CEO Torsten Wolschendorf provides insights into the additive manufacturing industry and highlights areas with significant untapped potential for the future.

The company’s unique value lies in its combination of extensive experience, personalised consulting, and the ability to efficiently combine different manufacturing processes. This combination allows for the production of high-quality prototypes and small series with the highest precision and efficiency. The company leverages over 10 different 3D printing technologies and more than 70 materials, offering the flexibility to address both technological challenges and specific customer requirements effectively.

In addition to its technological diversity, the company focuses on close collaboration with its clients. Through personalised consulting, the optimal materials and processes are selected for each project. Particularly during the transition from prototype to series production, the company demonstrates its strengths. Once a prototype meets all requirements, series production can seamlessly commence.

Interview with Torsten Wolschendorf

In the interview with 3Druck.com, CEO Torsten Wolschendorf discusses the role of 3D printing in both prototyping and series production, and explains how the company meets customer requirements through the combination of different 3D printing processes and materials. He also sheds light on the established applications of 3D printing, as well as the untapped potential that could be realised through optimised design for additive manufacturing.

PROTOTEC offers a wide range of 3D printing technologies and materials. Which processes are used more frequently, and which less common or newer technologies do you also use successfully?

The choice of technology depends on the customer’s requirements. Unlike pure printing service providers, who often only offer one technology and a few materials, we can meet customer-specific needs. By selecting the appropriate processes and materials, we can significantly influence the ability to meet the requirements.

What we see is that we are increasingly printing with resins (DLP, DLS, MSLA, etc.), an area we have expanded significantly in recent years. However, the SLS 3D printing process is currently the most commonly used. In the SLS thermoplastics sector, we are also planning to expand our material portfolio further. There is still no “jack of all trades” in 3D printing that can meet all demands. That’s why we rely on a wide portfolio to meet customer requirements as precisely and fully as possible. This approach fosters the trust needed for series applications. When prototypes pass all tests and meet the requirements, the step towards series approval is not far off…

What is your view on the role of additive manufacturing, particularly for the production of single pieces and small series?

3D printing has firmly established itself in the field of prototyping after around 30 years in the market. Nobody questions the technology anymore, and it has become indispensable in this area. For individual parts, 3D printing is also a popular method alongside milling, with decisions typically based on complexity or cost. However, what is currently lacking is the design of parts specifically for additive manufacturing. Often, parts are designed according to conventional and familiar design guides. As a result, the full potential of 3D-printed individual parts is still not fully realised. Currently, it is often a matter of cost when 3D printing is used, but there is still a lot of untapped potential for the future.

The same is true for small series and serial production. Parts are often designed and constructed using other process technologies, but end up being 3D printed because tooling and piece costs make small quantities uneconomical and risky. Even here, the full potential of 3D printing is rarely fully exploited. Especially for these parts, significantly more cost-effective production could be achieved if the design were optimised for 3D printing from the start, rather than being constructed according to the usual design guides for milling, injection moulding, or similar processes.

Additionally, companies are not yet thinking broadly enough about the potential of 3D printing. When prototypes have passed all tests, there are so many points in the product life cycle where you could simply switch back to 3D printing. For example, at the end of a product’s life, when quantities decrease, 3D printing can excel with small production runs and low inventory. If this is well-documented in advance, the switch can be made quickly and easily.

Or during the launch phase of new products, when exact sales figures and quantities are still uncertain, 3D printing is extremely flexible, requires little capital investment, and improves liquidity for companies. Additionally, improvement potentials or optimisations that are identified shortly after market introduction can be quickly and easily implemented. Often, there is no inventory that needs to be used up or scrapped, or tools that must be expensively modified or replaced. In 3D printing, you simply adjust the 3D model, and the new version goes straight into production. No other technology can be as fast.

The additive manufacturing industry has made significant progress in recent years. What innovations or technological breakthroughs do you consider particularly relevant for your applications?

Material development has made great strides in recent years. Materials are increasingly aligned with the various market requirements. However, the current problem is that these materials do not have the same names as the previously known serial production materials. 3D printing still carries the reputation that parts don’t hold up, or at least don’t hold up as well. Yet, printed parts can sometimes be geometrically optimised in ways that allow them to withstand greater loads. These geometric adjustments would be very expensive for conventionally manufactured parts, but in 3D printing, due to its geometric freedom, they are usually easy to achieve.

What I am also seeing is that some 3D printing technologies (e.g., FDM) have become so affordable that companies are now purchasing them without even considering them as an investment. They buy them just to “play around” and see how 3D printing works and what can be done with it. This pushes the market forward, as more and more companies are getting to know 3D printing and finding value in it. Even if this initially occurs only in prototyping or fixture construction, the interest is there and is slowly reaching the masses. This will help the industry grow in the coming years and establish itself as a normal and recognised manufacturing method alongside CNC machining, injection moulding, and other technologies.

In addition, I see that the hype around 3D printing is slowly fading, and a more realistic outlook is emerging. Now, everyone wants to see real applications and real benefits of the technology. During the hype, many experimented with the technology (or even fantasised about it), and many were disappointed by false expectations and promises. Too much was promised, and too much hope was placed on 3D printing, with the belief that this technology would be the future “all-in-one solution”. But that was far from the truth. 3D printing is just one technology among many. Like all others, it has its advantages, but also its disadvantages. 3D printing will simply take its place alongside existing technologies, used in parallel or in symbiosis with others. Each technology has its own advantages for corresponding applications, and 3D printing is just one option among many.

What impact do you think additive manufacturing will have on various industries and potentially on society as a whole in the coming years?

This was more or less already answered in the previous question. I expect that in 5-10 years, 3D printing will be treated just like CNC technology is today. I see many parallels here.

In a few years, many companies will have in-house 3D printers, just as they now own and use CNC machines. At the same time, there will be established 3D printing service providers who will take over overflow production, large orders, or processes or materials that are not available in-house. This is already the case with CNC technology today. Even though many companies in tool manufacturing have CNC machines, they still outsource a large number of orders to external CNC service providers.

I also see that there are currently too many players in the market, all wanting a piece of the pie. If you look at the increasing number of manufacturers, service providers, and resellers entering the market, I can say that not all of them will survive. It will soon be clear which technologies and companies have the greatest potential for the future, while others will most likely disappear or be acquired by other companies. This will consolidate the market, making it clearer and more economical for the remaining companies. Only healthy companies will have the capital to invest in research and development, offering improved products and services to the market and growing in a natural and sustainable way.

And this is how the market will grow in the coming years. As mentioned earlier, 3D printing will position itself alongside established processes, not as a replacement technology, but as a complementary one. All existing processes will continue to have their place, and 3D printing will become one more method within the existing array.

Find more information about PROTOTEC here.