Back
Additive manufacturing
Produce industrial-grade 3D-printed parts with a suite of cutting-edge additive manufacturing technologies
Scroll for more
What is additive manufacturing?
Additive manufacturing involves the creation of 3D-printed parts in a series of resin or plastic layers. The first modern additive manufacturing technologies were developed in the 1980s when scientists used resin layering processes cured by UV light to create simple 3D objects.
Today, additive manufacturing solutions offer unprecedented design freedom. Capable of achieving complex geometries and excellent surface detail in a variety of materials, additive manufacturing technology is versatile, cost-effective, and suitable for a spectrum of industrial applications.
Additive manufacturing with Fast Radius
Built on smart technology and decades of industry expertise, our additive manufacturing solutions serve businesses across the industrial landscape. From medical implants and sports equipment, to aerospace and automotive parts, we work in partnership with you to optimize your design, select the right manufacturing technology, and make your project possible.
Whether you’re making a single prototype part, or heading into a full production run, our additive manufacturing technologies are backed by a world-class digital manufacturing infrastructure built to scale with your business needs. Iterate on your design and project plans in the cloud, store your parts in our Virtual Warehouse, and then take advantage of our network of factories to ensure the fastest possible delivery times.
A global network of production partners and logistics hubs ensures the fastest possible shipping times. Our partnership with UPS gives us the power to move products around the world with ease.
Get in touch with us today to implement your additive manufacturing project: upload your CAD file to our Cloud Manufacturing Platform™, optimize your design and choose the right additive materials, and then move to production at the click of a button. Our additive manufacturing and 3D printing capabilities serve enterprise and small business customers around the world: learn more about our full range of 3D printing services.
Making your project possible
We bring decades of engineering expertise to our additive manufacturing solutions and we’ll work closely with you to realize your vision. Our Cloud Manufacturing Platform is designed to deliver advantages that other manufacturers cannot, enabling you to unlock the potential of your project, and move from prototype to production as quickly as possible.
Studio
Use our Studio tool to apply automated design for additive manufacturing (DFAM) insight to your project and ensure your parts are optimized for quality and cost throughout the printing process.
On-demand
Optimize your additive manufactured parts digitally in the cloud, and then manufacture them for delivery on demand when you’re ready to begin production.
Virtual Warehouse™
Our Virtual Warehouse removes the need for costly physical storage. Order your parts on-demand while taking advantage of our networked factories and world-class supply chain.
Our additive manufacturing capabilities
Carbon® Digital Light Synthesis™ (DLS)
The Carbon DLS™ Process is a resin-based additive manufacturing technology, ideal for creating smaller, high fidelity parts with complex geometries, isotropic properties, and excellent surface finishes.
HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF)
HP MJF technology is a powder-bed additive manufacturing technology capable of delivering strong, durable parts for a variety of industrial end-uses.
Stratasys fused deposition modeling (FDM)
A popular additive technology, FDM is capable of producing relatively low-cost parts with a variety of materials and finishing options.
Additive manufacturing advantages
Explore the key benefits and challenges of the additive manufacturing process:
Benefits
Speed: Additive manufactured parts can be created quickly, sometimes in a matter of hours.
Cost: At low quantities, the cost of additive manufactured parts is often less than that of injection molding.
On-demand: Additive manufactured parts can be created on demand – reducing the cost of and need for physical storage.
Complexity geometry: Additive manufacturing is capable of producing highly complex geometries and surface detailing that can’t be achieved with other manufacturing technologies.
Strength: Plastic additive parts offer strength-to-weight benefits, and, in some cases, rival injection molding plastics for strength and durability.
Sustainability: Additive manufacturing minimizes waste by using only the material needed to produce the part.
Challenges
Part size: The size of additive manufactured parts is restricted to the capacity of the build area.
Production volume: Depending on order requirements, additive manufacturing may be less cost effective per part when scaled-up for large production runs.
Material availability: Only certain materials are suitable for the additive manufacturing process which may restrict possibilities for some manufacturing projects.
Post-processing work: Depending on the process, additively manufactured parts often need support structures that have to be removed after production. Parts may also need to be cured, cleaned, sanded, or rinsed.
Get an instant quote for your additive manufacturing project
Use our quoting platform for quick quotes on additive manufactured parts.
Additive manufacturing applications
Additive manufacturing solutions serve businesses across the industrial landscape:
Medical devices
3D printing prototypes can be manufactured rapidly to shave months off development timelines, and to produce biocompatible parts such as surgical guides and instruments.
Aerospace
Our 3D prototyping technologies serve the diverse manufacturing needs of the aerospace industry and enable you to prototype your parts on-demand,.
Automotive
Create automotive prototypes with speed and versatility for a diversity of applications: work with us to determine the best 3D printing technology and to optimize your parts for safety and functionality.
Consumer goods
Prototype customer-facing products with 3D printing technology: achieve complex geometries and dimensions, and tailor your design for commercial contexts with finishing and post-processing options.
Why choose additive manufacturing for your parts?
Functional prototyping
Additive manufacturing technology allows for the production of prototypes in the same materials as end-products, for testing in real world conditions.
Precision and accuracy
The dimensional accuracy and precision of additive manufacturing make it an ideal manufacturing option for creating custom parts or highly specialized parts with intricate shapes and angles.
Scalability
Additive manufacturing technology is highly versatile and can scale up to meet shifting market demands quickly and cost-effectively.
Complex assemblies
Additive manufacturing is an effective way to manufacture smaller, high detail parts for consolidation with other components in complex, multi-part assemblies.
Trusted by engineers across the globe
With this project, speed was key. Fast Radius went above and beyond to hit our deadlines and deliver the high-quality, consistent parts our athletes expect.
ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
Airlines rely on us when it comes to on-time delivery of urgently needed parts, and to keep this promise we have to constantly challenge our supply chain and logistics setup.
ADDITIVE
Fast Radius enabled Bastian Solutions to make a truly innovative, advanced materials-handling robot unlike any on the market.
ADDITIVE
Fast Radius and Carbon enabled us to additively manufacture Ford’s trailer-tow connector cap, greatly improving our time to market over traditional injection molding and paving the way for future innovations in our lower-volume part production.
Explore additive manufacturing news and industry updates
Find additive manufacturing insight on the Fast Radius blog:
3D Printing
Understanding 3D printed lattices: Properties, performance, and design considerations
Read More
Fast Radius manufacturing capabilities
Fast Radius manufacturing solutions serve the needs of businesses across the industrial landscape. Explore our capabilities:
3D printing
Fast, scalable, and cost-effective 3D printing technology for a variety of industrial applications.
CNC machining
Automated CNC turning and 3-axis and 5-axis milling, using rotating drills, end mills, and lathes.
