By Melissa Donovan
Part 2 of 2
Today’s additive manufacturing (AM) technologies offer some form of production scalability, but it depends on the volume levels and applications in question.
Take for example transportation—aerospace, automotive, rail—scalability is critical. “OEMs and tier suppliers need repeatable quality from prototype through low‑ and mid‑volume production and robust spare parts supply over many years,” explains the Rapid Shape marketing team.
“Scalability is essential in transportation industries like automotive that requires tens of thousands of parts, aviation that requires globally distributed MRO, and EV platforms that need repeatable thermal and structural components across multiple sites,” assets Patrick Boyd, marketing director, EOS North America.
Sébastian Recke, senior key account manager, GEFERTEC GmbH, concurring that production scalability is critical in the transportation sector, points to WAAM technology as one of the few metal AM processes that inherently supports scalability. It is already used by Siemens Energy, for example, to manufacture turbine blades for multi-shift serial production.
“Today’s additive technologies scale particularly well for low to medium volumes and highly variant parts, for example through printer fleets and automated post processing, but they are not yet a universal replacement for high‑volume stamping, casting, or molding,” admits the Rapid Shape marketing team.
Kailey Harvey, sales and marketing operations coordinator, MELD Manufacturing Corporation agrees. “3D printing enables scalability while allowing for flexibility in its production, but it is not intended to replace high-volume manufacturing in every application.”
“AM performs well for rapid prototyping and low‑volume production, but it still faces challenges when applied to high‑volume manufacturing.” The main obstacles include limited printer speed and throughput, build volumes that may not support large or numerous parts efficiently, material availability and consistency challenges, and higher machine and operating costs compared to traditional subtractive manufacturing,” shares Tobias Dornai, senior AM engineer, NIDEC Machine Tool America.
According to Matthew Stark, 3D segment manager, Mimaki USA, Inc., production scalability—while important in transportation—does not always mean high-volume mass production. “In many cases, scalability refers to the ability to produce consistent parts across multiple locations, support distributed manufacturing models, and scale from one-off to hundreds or thousands of units efficiently.”
“Hardware has to be scalable by implementing smart and resilient software, allowing for example to interconnect several printers, ideally geographically independent from each other. Only this basic ingredient makes the often-cited localization work in reality. Absolute precision in reproducibility is directly connected to this synchronization, as the same part should come out of several printers in exactly the same build quality and shape, respecting even the tightest of tolerance,” notes Norbert Gall, head of marketing, Lithoz.
Sébastien Jacoberger, marketing manager, Prodways Printers, cautions that “scalability in transportation is often about producing the right quantity at the right time, rather than mass production. AM supports this model by enabling flexible, low- to medium-volume production with consistent quality and minimal upfront tooling investment.”
Jason Tzintzun, head of marketing, Americas, BigRep suggests users consider reliability and repeatability beyond the machine itself. “I would advise companies researching an industrial 3D printer to ask about the accessibility of materials—is the machine a closed or open system? Do they only have one source, or can they expand their supply chain?”
Scalable production is possible, attests Daniele Grosso, marketing manager, AltForm, formerly Prima Additive by Sodick, but only when it is engineered as a system, not as a standalone machine. “This is exactly the approach we take in applications like rapid brake disc coating. In these projects, we design fully automated production lines, integrating laser deposition, material handling, robotics, quality monitoring, and digital traceability. The additive process is adapted to cycle time targets, cost constraints, and quality requirements defined by OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. This demonstrates that AM can scale in transportation—not as a generic solution, but when processes, automation, and monitoring are designed together to meet industrial production standards.”
Apr2026, Industrial Print Magazine
