Outsourcing or In-House? Interview with CADXpert on AM Strategy and Market Trends

Founded in 2013 in Poland, CADXpert is both a systems integrator and a contract manufacturer in additive manufacturing and 3D scanning. The company supplies equipment from Stratasys, Formlabs, and UltiMaker and complements hardware sales with contract printing and application support. CADXpert also advises customers, helping them choose a process and set it up from first tests to full production. Metal AM was added to the portfolio after the pandemic in cooperation with Bright Laser Technologies.

The company works across established additive workflows for polymers and metals. Rather than emphasizing a single platform, it maps process families such as extrusion, vat photopolymerization, and powder bed production to the use case. Materials range from general purpose and filled polymers to elastomers and common metal grades. Engineering focus remains on predictable outcomes: tolerance control, mechanical performance, repeatability, and throughput, supported by careful build preparation and targeted post processing.

3D scanning, typically with Shining 3D systems, anchors the upstream data flow. Meshes move into CAD, where parts are parametrically updated for reverse engineering, redesigned for performance targets, or checked against nominal geometry for inspection. The output feeds functional prototypes, jigs and fixtures, spare parts, and short production runs across dental and medical work, transportation components, architectural models, and select UAV parts. Many programs start as contract builds and transition to in house operation, once volume and process know how justify the shift.

Interview with CADXpert

In this conversation with 3Druck.com, founders and co-CEOs Piotr Gurga and Maciej Dukat reflect on CADXpert’s evolution and how additive manufacturing is shifting from prototyping to production, alongside the role of scanning and reverse engineering. They outline how customers navigate between outsourcing and in-house systems and share where they see the market heading—offering context that sets up the interview’s deeper discussion.

Since you founded CADXpert, how has the industrial 3D printing and 3D scanning market evolved, and how have those changes shaped your strategy?

We founded CADXpert in 2013 and started as a company focused on small FDM printers (MakerBot). As times—and a growing Polish economy—required, we quickly noticed the demand for larger, industrial systems. We moved toward world-renowned brands—Stratasys, Formlabs, and UltiMaker (sales of systems)—and broadened our offering to 3D printing services. We were glad to be involved in powder-bed technologies and refocused on a typically industrial demand: prototyping, spare parts, tooling, low-series production. However, to stay diversified we also invested in our knowledge of other industries: dentistry (Formlabs), medicine (PolyJet), transport (Stratasys and large format). We always wanted to offer industry-specific knowledge to our clients and followed where AM could be of value (e.g., mock-ups and architectural models). After the pandemic, we added metal AM to our portfolio (as we definitely see this as a present and future trend, perfect for industrial needs) by cooperating with Bright Laser Technologies. We proudly uphold our brand promise and walk along the paths that AM sets for us: “By additive technologies, we hasten and simplify production.” This involves both services and machines.

When a customer is deciding between outsourcing parts and investing in a system, how do you guide that decision, and what criteria matter most?

We try not to influence our clients too heavily (we listen)—the usual path is to start by using our part-production outsourcing services (low levels of knowledge at the beginning) and then progress to owning AM systems as the knowledge and throughput stabilize across the client’s organization. Some of them choose to share part of their production with us, while keeping some of it on systems sold by us. A huge boost to our business is the link to reverse engineering and design (we have designers on our team)—we can offer the full path from concept to production. Our own machine park can be of service for an introduction to low-series production, but then in-house systems such as the SAF H350 come into play (with service support). So, among the criteria, I would say: end-to-end offering, creativity in thinking about models, quick lead times, a broad portfolio of technologies (FDM, SLS, SAF, SLA, PolyJet, SLM), and clear communication about what’s really needed. We are “AM consultants,” after all.

How do 3D scanning and reverse engineering complement your additive manufacturing services, and where do they deliver the most value for customers?

Scanning and reverse engineering are an integral part of our offer. Very often our clients don’t have documentation for 3D elements on hand—just a few drawings or an example part. We can develop this into full documentation and drive it straight to production. We also optimize parts through generative design procedures—we can redesign almost anything to suit specific purposes (weight, shape, resistance). For the automotive industry, we serve custom body kits; for tooling—we design tools to suit personal needs. The most value comes from our individual approach to design and production, from our good communication skills, and from a broad scanner/printer machine park (each case is different, and we are there to adjust). Scanning with quality equipment from Shining 3D comes very much in line with our service offering, as we reconstruct parts, create mock-ups, or prepare the client for metrology. We also try to educate, as this brings new clients and nurtures the market—just have a look at our Knowledge Base section on the website or participate in one of our webinars (these often make “marketing use” of combined demand for scanning, software, and printing).

Beyond specific technologies, what broader market and adoption trends do you expect to shape the AM landscape—and CADXpert’s roadmap—over the next few years?

We foresee additive manufacturing maturing into a full-blown production technology alongside CNC machining and injection molding; our aim is to complement those methods and, where it makes sense, replace them. We also expect industry leaders to continue recognizing the value of powder-bed technologies for R&D and low-series production, which is why we plan to expand with entry-level SLS systems and metal AM. Military demand is likely to grow, so we are investing in support for UAV technologies and cooperating with the country’s defense sector. At the same time, providers will need deeper specialization; we’re prioritizing education and knowledge-sharing across Maintenance, Prototyping, Production, Dental, Medicine, and Military. After a flood of low-cost imports, we anticipate a return to high-quality systems focused on application-specific and reinforced materials and on maximizing uptime. A customer-first approach will continue to win the market, so we are strengthening personal relationships and staying close to after-sales questions around material use. Finally, we expect outsourcing to keep rising, and we’re expanding our AM services so they become one of our most important investments and growth drivers.

You can find more information on CADXpert on the company’s website.