There’s a growing number of contract additive manufacturers that specialize in particular regulated industries where 3D printed parts need to have specific certifications and materials. Often the processes by which the parts are made must also be certified so the manufacturer itself holds certain certifications – Nadcap and ISO / IEC 17025 accredited, AS9100/9110 certified, ISO 14001 certified, ITAR and OASIS registered, etc. – that specifically denote the quality systems for part manufacturing.

Aerospace is one industry requiring that certified materials be used in certified processes to produce parts that are then highly quality checked to achieve more certifications. Contract additive manufacturers in this industry, include:

• Sintavia
• Morf3D
• Beehive3D
• Burloak Technologies
• Incodema3D
• APWorks
• i3DMFG

In medical device and implant additive manufacturing, there are equally stringent certification processes, requiring experienced and certified manufacturers, such as:

• Tangible Solutions
• Paragon 28
• Lima Corp 

Materialise, the Belgian software, engineering, and 3D printing services company, uses its decades of experience in additive manufacturing to offer a range of services for small businesses and large industry.

The company separates its on-demand 3D printing into three offerings. i.Materialise is a 3D printing instant-quote service where you can upload your part model for printing, sell your 3D printed items or parts for white-label manufacturing. One level up, however, is Materialise OnSite for professional rapid prototyping, then the company’s most comprehensive offering is additive manufacturing for businesses and industry called “Materialise Manufacturing”. Here you’ll find expertise in additive manufacturing for mass customization, production tooling, rapid prototypes, and small series production.

The company boasts one of the largest fleets of 3D printers in Europe, encompassing eight technologies and more than 30 materials and 20 finishes. Its large staff of designers and engineers gives you the option to co-create new products and applications, from defining the scope and developing the prototypes, to engineering the part and determining final post-processing and assembly.

Especially useful if you’re new to additive manufacturing is the Materialise Academy Manufacturing training courses, where you can get the in-depth knowledge to make the most of 3D printing.

The company’s US office has a special focus is on additive manufacturing software solutions to help companies in aerospace, automotive, industrial goods, healthcare, and other industries grow their business and streamline their production. They also provide 3D printing production, clinical engineering services, and 3D printing software to medical device companies and hospitals across the continent.

Focusing more on part development than most on our list, Burloak boasts a team of engineers that not only designs for additive manufacturing, but also has expertise in aerospace manufacturing, propulsion, thermal management, tooling, and molding. In fact, Burloak, a division of Samuel, Son & Co., works with Boeing to additively manufacture aluminum alloy components to the Boeing BAC 5673 specification.

The company’s approach is to deliver an engineering team that can work alongside yours, helping you understand the intricacies of AM as it may apply to your specific project and, in some cases, completely manage the product development.

From rapid prototyping in plastic to full-scale production in metal, Burloak Technologies also provides materials development, high precision CNC machining, post-processing, and metrology.

Oerlikon AM is a division of the Swiss technology giant OC Oerlikon with production centers in Europe, the U.S., and China, plus a distribution center in Australia. From these three centers, Oerlikon is able to serve customers on all continents.

Oerlikon says it offers a sustainable, cost-effective additive manufacturing process that challenges traditional solutions. The company is also a leading AM research hub for academic and industrial partnerships in the EU and the US. Design and R&D teams can help turn your concepts into reality.

Although the menu of materials isn’t quite as varied as with some other services, having their own proprietary materials allows Oerlikon to make precise material recommendations for your specific needs. This is why they count among their customers several high-tech aerospace firms.

Fathom is one of the largest 3D printing-focused contract manufacturers in the US with 12 manufacturing centers across the country. When it comes to additive manufacturing technology, Fathom features a full menu, including PolyJet, FDM, SLS, SLA, DMLS and MJF, plus practically all materials from polymers to metals.

The engineering and design team at Fathom is a group of experts with a wide range of digital manufacturing experience. You can contract these engineers to to support your in-house design team throughout the product development process from prototyping to production.

Fathom provides extensive know-how on designing for additive manufacturing with an affinity for applying additive in unique ways that address cost, time and geometry constraints of traditional processes, according to the company.

Sculpteo (now a part of the BASF group) originated in France and has an additional manufacturing plant in San Francisco. They also have various offices in other European countries. Although they primarily focus on Europe and the U.S., Sculpteo does provide worldwide shipping.

Sculpteo also has extensive design and consulting services, along with a learning and education library. It provides useful, up-to-date information for both beginners and 3D printing experts.

Their services include an online 3D printing service, production additive manufacturing, laser engraving, and an in-house software platform called Fabpilot, which they offer on a subscription-based model. Sculpteo serves a wide range of industries, but they particularly cater to automotive, medical, and eyewear sectors.

Their material selection is quite large, and available technologies include all major methods. Each material is accompanied by plenty of information regarding the technical limitations, the appropriate uses, and design guidelines to help you optimize your parts.

Quickparts, as the name implies, is a global contract manufacturer with a focus on speed. The company’s new express service promises to have your parts same-day or next day. This speed only comes from 3D printing and the company’s 20-year experience in additive manufacturing.

Quickparts offers complete on-demand manufacturing services, from 3D printing to traditional manufacturing processes. They offer five 3D printing technologies on a wide range of printer brands to cover everything from prototypes to low-volume production. The service is a combination of in-house production and global manufacturing partners.

The staff of engineers at Quickparts can help you with selecting materials and even determining if additive or traditional methods are best for your project. The company is rapidly expanding, having acquired Xcentric Mold & Engineering (Xcentric), another on-demand digital manufacturer earlier this year.

Quickparts’ U.S. facilities are ISO 9001:2015 certified and ITAR registered.

Stratasys is one of the largest 3D printer manufacturers in the world so it makes sense that they would also offer contract additive manufacturing, which they call Stratasys Direct Manufacturing. Their factory locations and international partners, however, don’t just offer parts and products printed on Stratasys machines. They offer various technologies, materials, post-processing, and quality control, alongside traditional manufacturing, such as CNC machining.

Their website offers mountains of resources on additive manufacturing (for free, no login), including case studies, design guidelines, and interactive material wizard to help you select the right plastics or metals for your application, and a “contact an engineer” button for more in-depth help.

Stratasys can print anything, but is especially known for its ability to make full-color anatomical models, investment casting patterns, and jigs and fixtures. The company has seven manufacturing locations throughout the US and one in China, in addition to a global manufacturing network with partners in Europe, Asia, South America, and the Middle East.

FIT is a German additive manufacturer that’s been delivering custom metal parts and components globally for more than 20 years. They have facilities in the US, Japan, Russia, and Europe.

When it comes to metals, FIT offers a wide range of materials and technologies and several conventional production technologies as well. Together with their development expertise for 3D printed components and their extensive post-processing possibilities, they offer metal additive manufacturing for everything from medical implants and aerospace parts to spare auto parts and sculpture.

FIT boasts that they make the entire value chain of 3D printing available to customers – from product design through to engineering, production, and post-processing. As a development and implementation partner, they’re more like a guide for additive manufacturing who can show you the best path to reach your project goal.

However, because they know additive manufacturing is not always the best solution in every case, they also have conventional technologies, such as CNC milling, injection molding, vacuum casting, or elastomer manufacturing.

Chinese manufacturer BLT (Bright Laser Technology) serves the metal additive manufacturing market primarily in Asia, but they deliver for international clients as well. BLM has established itself particularly in the aerospace industry, working with Airbus in 2021. All in all, the company has clients in Asia, Europe, and the U.S.

They’re not just about airplanes, though. BLT serves a wide variety of other industries, including automotive, medical, dental, and artistic segments.

With its proprietary printers, BLT is able to harness several technologies for various applications, including selective laser melting, laser solid forming, and wire arc additive manufacturing. They also have a perfectly adequate list of available materials and are the only company on this list printing with tungsten.

On top of metal 3D printing, BLT offers a slew of additional services, including design consultation, testing, and quality assurance. BLT is even able to provide their customers with customized process parameters and software solutions that are tailored to the customer’s specific needs.

For those active in Chinese or wider Asian markets, or the aerospace industry, BLT offers a comprehensive service package.

Prototal ­Industries, a leading company for polymer additive manufacturing in the Nordics, recently expanded into Austria, Switzerland, and Germany by purchasing rival 1zu1 and added Italy to its market with the purchase of Prosilas.

Capabilities range from resin, SLS, and multi-jet fusion, to polyjet and FDM.

The company says it not only has skillful model makers to guide you through part development and design, but it has the largest resin printer capacity in Northern Europe and can produce series involving several thousand parts at short notice.

Prototal also boasts an extensive menu of post-processing options from sanding, barrel polishing and dying, along with assembly, labeling and packaging.

Swedish engineering group Sandvik has more than 150 years of metallurgy experience, so they know metal. They brought this expertise to additive manufacturing with the 2013 launch of Sandvik AM. So, if you’re looking for seasoned metal veterans to produce your parts for you, Sandvik’s the company to go for. In 2019, Sandvik acquired a significant stake in BeamIT, the Italian 3D printing company.

However, BeamIT still operates independently with nearly 60 dedicated additive manufacturing systems distributed across six facilities between Italy and UK. The facilities hold several relevant quality certifications, including AS/EN9100 and IATF Automotive, and NADCAP accreditation.

Both Sandvik and BeamIT offer design services in addition to extensive advanced post-processing and testing options. In 2020, BeamIT acquired a significant stake in Pres-X, a start-up in post-production processes for 3D printing. In the same year BEAMIT acquired AM service bureau ZARE and in 2021 acquired 3T Additive Manufacturing.

BeamIT engineers guide you through the AM process from design and material selection through production and post-processing.

3D Metalforge and their engineering teams are based in Singapore with a US office and manufacturing facility in Houston and another base in Australia. Specializing in selective laser melting through the Renishaw suite of metal printers, the company’s full range of additive manufacturing services includes a strong focus on consultancy. 3D Metalforge engineers will even visit your location to identify parts in your facility that could be made better with a material upgrade or re-design for additive manufacturing.

In addition to engineering services, the company offers computer-aided design, generative design work, simulation services, 3d scanning, and post-production services (eg. surface polishing and heat treatment). 3D Metalforge is an ISO 9001:2015 certified company.

3D Metalforge has a growing blue-chip client base that includes companies in oil & gas and defense.

Perhaps best known for their hassle-free ordering systems, GKN Additive, which purchased the on-demand manufacturer Forecast 3D in 2019, also offers a design service to walk you through product development and design for 3D printing, which saves time, money, and materials.

The company operates more than 45 industrial 3D printers in-house at three facilities, offering a diverse range of additive manufacturing technologies. Forecast 3D owns one of the largest fleets of HP multi-jet fusion 3D printers, and also offers resin and metal technology along with urethane casting and CNC machining services.

As a branch of GKN Powder Metallurgy the company has a specialty in metal additive manufacturing. The company’s aerospace branch, GKN Aerospace, plans to open a 10,000-square-foot facility for metal 3D printing in Texas in 2024.

GoProto offers an end-to-end solution for product development and production needs: turning your ideas into reality. The US-based company specializes in quick-turnaround, on-demand, custom manufacturing of metal and plastic parts, using 3D printing and other manufacturing methods.

GoProto’s services include industrial design model making, rapid prototyping, cast urethane, CNC machining, rapid sheet metal, and rapid injection tooling. One of their strengths is helping you determine what process best meets your design, lead time, and budget goals.

Working within medical, aerospace, industrial, automotive, and many other industries, GoProto says it’s a rapid manufacturing company with customer service at its core.

GoProto is another large provider of HP multi-jet fusion 3D printing and, in 2020, GoProto acquired 3D Systems’ Australian on-demand manufacturing facility, the largest 3D digital manufacturer in that region.

Replique is a start-up and new to our list, but since its founding in 2020, the company is amassing an impressive client list and customer case stories that reflect its core focus, distributed manufacturing of spare parts.

Although many on our list have their own manufacturing facilities, Replique relies on a network of partners worldwide that it says are vetted for quality and consistency. This is the cornerstone to distributed manufacturing, which enables on-demand production anywhere, reducing costs in logistics, enabling higher flexibility, and eliminating spare part warehousing.

The Replique online platform boasts end-to-end encryption to secure your intellectual property, plus the digital warehouse software enables access to your spare part library from anywhere but parts can only be produced in the requested quantity.

If you’re not sure which of your spare parts can be 3D printed, Replique engineers can help you analyze your inventory. Because the company is an off-shoot of chemical giant BASF, they boast that their engineers have design knowledge as well as 3D printing technology and material expertise. Engineering services include 3D spare part design and simulation, reverse engineering, as well as design optimization for additive manufacturing.

The company new RSure technology is a quality tracking module that enables OEMs to track each of their 3D printed parts directly and ensure that final parts meet necessary quality requirements.

ProtoCAM provides what it calls “value-added” additive manufacturing because it lends its expertise in design and product engineering. Each project is assigned to a project engineer to help you choose a material, technology, process, and post-processing method.

The company offers engineer-assisted quoting as well as an instant quoting platform for customers who know exactly what they’re looking for.

More recently, ProtoCAM has expanded to rapid manufacturing services as consumers look for production alternatives to traditional manufacturing. Rapid manufacturing takes 3D printing beyond prototypes by producing the finished item that will be used by the end user. Typically, this process is used for a short production run from a single piece, to a few dozen pieces, to a few hundred items.

Although it’s a start-up and new to our list, Berlin-based MakerVerse has an impressive pedigree as a joint venture of Siemens Energy and Zeiss. They aim to become the “leading platform for additive manufacturing services and accelerate the adoption of 3D printing by facilitating access to reliable, industrial grade, and custom manufacturing.”

Clearly, there’s a lot of competition (see above), but one ace up their sleeve may be the AI-based pricing algorithm, which they say provides quotes spanning a range of additive manufacturing technologies, materials, and post-processing methods. This can be handy when you’re unsure which material or technology to use.

They do not manufacture in-house but rather depend on a network of producers across Europe, now scaled to 700+ printers.

To make this list, you have to offer design services. At MakerVerse, after you upload your part file, it goes through a printability check and if it fails, an engineer will reach out to you on how to fix it. If you want more personalized service, the company says it works directly with some customers from the start to develop and supervise the entire manufacturing plan – including the design, but this is usually reserved for complex or sophisticated orders.

MakerVerse says its engineering services are not apparent from the website yet, but a rollout is scheduled for 2023.