RapidMade on the role of additive manufacturing in today’s production – Interview with Micah Chaban

RapidMade was founded in 2011 during the early rise of 3D printing, identifying the potential in industrial and commercial applications rather than the consumer desktop market. The company anticipated an increasing demand for localized manufacturing, particularly for low-volume and custom parts, and positioned itself to serve high-value B2B customers. From the outset, RapidMade prioritized customer service and streamlined online ordering processes to simplify access to advanced manufacturing solutions. In an interview with 3Druck.com, co-founder Micah Chaban talks about the advancements in additive manufacturing and how RapidMade integrates 3D printing with other manufacturing methods to offer flexible and efficient production solutions.

Recognizing that commodity 3D printing alone was not sufficient, RapidMade expanded its capabilities to include CNC machining, thermoforming, and other molding techniques. This strategic shift allowed the company to address a broader range of manufacturing needs while maintaining additive manufacturing as a core competency. By integrating 3D printing into traditional production workflows, RapidMade optimizes tooling and mold creation, reducing lead times and improving cost efficiency.

The company employs technologies such as SLS, SLA, and MJF to produce end-use parts, functional prototypes, and customized tooling. Innovations in materials, such as advanced photopolymer resins and binder jet metals, have further enhanced its ability to deliver high-performance components that meet industrial standards. Serving industries including aerospace, robotics, healthcare, and semiconductor manufacturing, RapidMade continues to evolve, combining additive and conventional manufacturing techniques to provide tailored, scalable production solutions.

Interview mit Micah Chaban

In his interview with 3Druck.com, Micah Chaban, co-founder and VP of Sales and Marketing, discusses the evolution of additive manufacturing, highlighting advancements in materials and technology that have made 3D printing more viable for production. He explains how RapidMade has adapted by integrating various manufacturing techniques to offer flexible, on-demand solutions while emphasizing the importance of engineering expertise, quality control, and localized production to meet industry demands efficiently.

From your perspective, how has additive manufacturing influenced production processes, and which industries have gained the most from its advancements so far?

In some ways, additive manufacturing has become a complete replacement for production processes in low volumes, like injection molding. When we started, only SLS had viable production quality at scale. FDM makes production parts but is uneconomical for anything more than very low volumes. SLA had very poor mechanical properties and required too much labor. Even SLS has porosity and finish issues but at least had print speeds that allowed for reasonable unit economics. Laser metal parts were extremely niche due to extreme production costs—the machines print slowly and cost a literal fortune.

Since then, there have been huge advancements in materials and technology that have significantly reduced costs. New resins enable photopolymers to function more like real thermoplastics, making SLA and DLP much more effective for end-use production parts. HP’s MJF has significantly reduced the cost of producing plastic thermoplastics thanks to its speed and improved surface finish to a more acceptable level—now we are making end-use consumer and commercial parts with this machine. Binder jet metal technologies have made printed stainless steel actually economical and competitive with machining in many applications. There is a lot we can do now to serve customers who need 1,000–10,000 parts, something that was not feasible 10–15 years ago when 1–100 parts were the norm.

Beyond that, it is still incredibly valuable for tooling. We built an entire vacuum forming business around using 3D-printed parts to make molds and CNC trim tooling in days, not weeks. We have industry-leading cycle times on parts at much lower tooling costs, and that is a value many customers truly appreciate.

Our customer base has included many Fortune 500 companies (even some from the “Mag7”). I can’t discuss specific customers due to NDAs, but our biggest industries include Big Tech, Semiconductors, Aviation & Aerospace, UAVs & Robotics, Healthcare, Automotive & EV, Energy & Battery Production, and Industrial OEMs. If a company does prototyping or low-volume production, chances are we have worked with them.

Additive manufacturing has advanced significantly in recent years. Which innovations or technological breakthroughs do you consider particularly transformative?

As I mentioned above, huge leaps have been made in materials and technologies. I think HP really changed the game eight years ago with its heavyweight entrance into the market. Many players were very complacent at that time, and HP’s entry really forced a lot of legacy companies to evolve. SLA/DLP now offers very versatile materials with easy switchover and fast production speeds, so the availability of production-grade materials for these technologies is a major breakthrough. Many companies advancing binder jet technologies with metal are also extremely innovative. If we combine post-machining to address the tolerance issues of these technologies, they could start to gain significant traction in the metal market.

We have recently begun working with some DLP resins for low-volume injection molds—including dissolvable molds for parts that are otherwise impossible to mold. This provides significant value to customers by effectively allowing them to 3D print any resin that can be molded, greatly expanding the range of materials available in the 3D printing space. I could probably go on for hours discussing these advancements.

How does RapidMade help companies overcome the challenges of integrating additive manufacturing into their production workflow?

You need specialized engineers. Every manufacturing process requires specialty engineering. General mechanical engineers are just that—generalists. They need guidance. You wouldn’t reach out to someone with 20 years of experience in sheet metal to design an injection mold for you—the same applies to additive manufacturing. We provide guidance on tolerances and how to optimize parts for AM, ensuring part consistency, cost efficiency, and minimal warpage. While AM offers greater design freedom, that doesn’t mean there are no rules.

We work closely with customers on inspection and orientation now that we are an ISO 9001-certified company. We offer CMM inspection to ensure that all engineered parts meet customer specifications. When a customer orders 1,000 units from us, they need to know that every part will be within spec. We aim to provide plug-and-play parts that our customers never have to worry about, with extremely quick lead times. It has taken a long time to reach this point—when we started, many of these standards for additive manufacturing didn’t even exist.

Looking ahead, what impact do you foresee additive manufacturing having on various industries, and possibly on society as a whole?

I think the idea that AM will be in every kitchen printing replacement door knobs and forks is a little far-fetched—at least for the next 20 or 30 years. However, given economic and international uncertainties, I do see a continued shift towards hyper-localized supply chains and flexible manufacturing options, with 3D printing being one of the biggest beneficiaries. Many of our customers want to avoid shipping and customs issues and reduce their inventories. Shipping parts in one week or less with no tooling is a huge advantage for them, even if they have to pay a premium for it. Not having to maintain or build tooling allows companies to operate more efficiently, making it easier for them to modify or update a part at any time.

It’s amazing to see our customers scale from $1 million to $10 million to $50 million in sales while continuing to use 3D printing as a fundamental technology for many components in their BOMs—never transitioning to other manufacturing methods. Simplifying the design process for engineers allows one of the most valuable resources in a company to focus on innovation rather than design-for-manufacture constraints.

Here you can find more information on RapidMade.