The Role of 3DCRIAR in Expanding Industrial Additive Manufacturing in Brazil – Interview with Daniel Huamani

3DCRIAR is a Brazil-based provider of professional additive manufacturing services for industrial users. The company focuses on integrating 3D printing into existing production and maintenance workflows, particularly in energy, oil and gas, automotive, and consumer-goods environments.

Technically, 3DCRIAR works with FFF, SLA and SLS processes, combined with engineering-grade and high-performance polymers. Typical use cases range from tooling, fixtures and jigs to functional spare parts exposed to mechanical loads, chemicals and extended operating cycles. The company emphasizes process stability, material traceability and documentation to meet industrial qualification and compliance requirements.

A central element of the portfolio is 3DaaS® (3D as a Service). In this model, complete additive manufacturing cells — including printers, materials, software and on-site specialists — are installed directly at customer facilities. Instead of building their own AM teams, clients offload operation, parameter control and validation to 3DCRIAR, while keeping production close to the point of use. This approach targets reduced lead times, lower inventory risk and increased flexibility for critical components, for example in Petrobras’ maintenance operations.

Interview with Daniel Huamani

In an interview with 3Druck.com, CTO Daniel Huamani explains how industrial demand for additive manufacturing in Brazil is shifting from prototyping to strategic, production-related applications and what this means for companies facing supply-chain and maintenance pressures. He also discusses technological advances and service-based models like 3DaaS®, outlining how they are reshaping the way manufacturers adopt, scale, and operate industrial 3D printing.

From your perspective at 3DCRIAR, how has demand for 3D-printed parts evolved in Brazil in recent years, especially among industrial customers?

In Brazil, demand for additive manufacturing has evolved from prototype-driven interest to consistent industrial adoption. In the early years, most applications focused on product development and experimentation. Today, the focus has shifted to maintenance, operational continuity, tooling, and production support. This transition was accelerated by the Brazilian context, where long import lead times, high logistics costs, customs complexity, and dependence on international suppliers represent real operational risk. In many cases (if not all), the cost of equipment downtime significantly exceeds the cost of the part itself. As a result, industries such as oil and gas, food and beverage, automotive, and consumer goods now approach additive manufacturing as a strategic resource that directly contributes to uptime, supply chain resilience, and agility. The technology is no longer treated as exploratory; it is becoming a validated industrial capability aligned with digital inventory, performance engineering, and asset-reliability strategies.

In your day-to-day work as an additive manufacturing outsourcing and solutions provider, what are the main challenges you face, and what typical problems or misconceptions do you encounter from customers and users?

The main challenges are less about the technology and more about maturity, engineering alignment, and expectation management. A large portion of the parts companies initially submit for 3D printing were designed for conventional processes such as machining or molding and not optimized for additive manufacturing principles. This can affect cost, performance, and feasibility. There is also a recurring misconception that industrial 3D printing is immediate and universally applicable. In reality, it requires controlled parameters, material traceability, qualification processes, post-processing, and adherence to industry standards — especially in regulated sectors. Another challenge is organizational readiness: many companies are still adjusting workflows, engineering documentation, and approval structures to fully integrate additive manufacturing. To support this evolution, 3DCRIAR operates with a multidisciplinary team of more than 35 engineers and technical specialists dedicated to application engineering, validation, and implementation. This consultative approach transforms interest into sustainable industrial performance.

Looking back over the past few years, which technological advances in additive manufacturing – whether in hardware, materials, or workflow/software – have been most transformative in your view, and why?

Two areas have driven the most significant transformation in recent years: industrial materials and hardware maturity. The development and availability of advanced polymers have enabled additive manufacturing to move beyond prototyping and reliably support applications exposed to mechanical loads, chemical exposure, and long operating cycles. In parallel, hardware has advanced substantially in speed, repeatability, accuracy, and process stability. High-speed SLA platforms now deliver precision and productivity suitable for production environments, while the popularization of benchtop SLS systems has made functional part production more accessible and scalable. These improvements reduced cost barriers, increased design freedom, and strengthened confidence in digital manufacturing workflows. Together, these developments repositioned additive manufacturing not as a lab capability, but as a robust industrial process aligned with production goals, supply chain continuity, and engineering performance.

How do you expect additive manufacturing to evolve over the next five to ten years – both technologically and in terms of applications and business models, particularly for models like 3D as a Service (3DaaS®)?

The next phase of additive manufacturing is not only about technological innovation — it is also about scalable execution and organizational adoption. Many companies already recognize the strategic value of digital inventories, reduced lead times, and distributed manufacturing. However, most are not yet prepared to internalize the technology due to skill gaps, validation requirements, integration complexity, and the multidisciplinary knowledge required. At the same time, the need is accelerating: import dependency, obsolescence of components, shorter maintenance windows, and cost pressures demand new approaches. This context drives the growth of advanced service-based models. 3DCRIAR’s 3DaaS® stands out as a pioneering solution: the only business model where additive manufacturing cells are installed and fully operated inside the customer’s facility by dedicated specialists. Already proven in major industrial operations — like Petrobras, the largest company in Brazil — the model enables rapid adoption, predictable results, and lower entry risk. As the industry evolves, service-driven adoption will play a decisive role in scaling additive manufacturing with measurable impact.

You can find out more about 3DCRIAR and its services on the company’s website.