Formnext: Service Provider Network to Focus in 2026 on Knowledge Transfer and Powder-Bed Processes

During Formnext in Frankfurt, more than 20 3D printing service providers from Germany once again came together this year for a network meeting. The focus was less on the trade show spectacle and more on the practical question of how service capacities, know-how, and projects can be organized among one another so that customers can be served faster and more reliably. This exchange is not new, but it is gaining importance in view of fluctuating utilization and rising material and energy costs.

For several years, 3D Industrie GmbH has been inviting participants to this format because cooperation between service providers is increasingly acting as an operational lever. When partners coordinate on machine fleets, post-processing, and design, bottlenecks related to build volume, delivery dates, or qualified surface processes can be mitigated.

Johannes Lutz, 3D Industrie GmbH, said: “Looking at the starting situations of the participants who joined the network a year ago, a large part of success in the 3D printing services business depends on good partners and experts. Never before have so many orders been distributed internally, expertise expanded, and business friendships formed as this year.”

In terms of content, the discussions revolved around technical follow-up questions on specialized applications, trade-show innovations, and the shared use of capacity. Post-processing steps, suitable equipment, and design services were mentioned especially often—topics that, in practice, determine part costs and repeatability.

Torsten Wolschendorf of Prototec GmbH & Co. KG said: “This year, it became particularly clear who was well prepared for the current developments in the 3D printing industry and who was not. We had already had many topics on our radar in the network months ago and were therefore able to act more cleverly and, despite the crisis situation, maintain or increase revenue.”

For 2026, the network is setting a clear focus: customers who already print prototypes in-house are to be deliberately developed further. This means guidance on material-appropriate design, qualifiable process chains, and the move to more demanding technologies—such as powder-bed processes. The service provider network now includes more than 150 companies from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and aims to accelerate the transition from prototyping to robust applications in operations.