Carfulan grows with metrology and 3D printing: dental printing and automation drive demand

The UK-based Carfulan Group reports its strongest financial year to date over the past twelve months. The Derbyshire company, operating from an Advanced Innovation Centre that cost around £3 million, increased revenue by 17% to £22.3 million. Carfulan cites as drivers many industrial customers’ push for greater precision, process control, and automation, as well as increased demand from the defense environment. To relieve capacity pressure, eight positions were created, bringing the workforce to 59 employees.

Carfulan positions itself as a systems and solutions partner for manufacturing and quality management, bundling several areas that often have to be considered together in additive manufacturing. In addition to 3D printing solutions via SYS Systems, its portfolio includes multi-sensor metrology from OGP UK, optical measurement systems from Metrios UK, and solutions for measuring turned parts from VICIVISION UK. The offering is complemented by ZOLLER UK for tool presetting, inspection, and storage; in this area the company says it recorded the strongest growth, up 81% year over year.

Managing Director Chris Fulton describes the investment backdrop pragmatically: “There is a renewed willingness to invest in advanced manufacturing to combat rising costs, optimize processes, and produce complex components.” Demand is coming not only from large OEMs, but “from all parts of the supply chain” and from new users as well—relevant to the spread of data-driven manufacturing processes. The focus is on repeatable measurement and release routines that safeguard additive and conventional steps.

For 3D printing, Fulton highlights the dental sector in particular. SYS Systems is gaining traction there with the Stratasys J5 DentaJet and the patented, CE-marked TrueDent resin. The combination targets typical dental-lab requirements such as reproducible material properties, defined surface quality, and a workflow that remains fully documentable end-to-end—from CAD design through post-curing. This continues to shift 3D printing in the segment away from prototyping and toward predictable small-series production.

Carfulan was founded in 1991 and uses the Innovation Centre as a demonstration and training environment to tailor system configurations to end applications. For 2026, the company has announced a renewed presence at the MACH 26 manufacturing exhibition, where it should become clear how strongly metrology and additive manufacturing are being demanded as an integrated process chain.