5000 printers factory
The Atomic Layers: 00309
Atomic Layer of the Week:
As I once told you, just two years ago I owned a 3D printer farm consisting of 70 units. Three or four years ago, that number would impress people.
Today, 3D printer farms with hundreds of machines are as ordinary as AMS systems.
I’ve seen them in various configurations, in different countries, and under different business models.
But five thousand printers under one roof - with plans to double that number by the end of the year - is still a scale that makes an impression…
Shenzhen Huafast Industry Co., Ltd. operates, as its name suggests, in a city that for the 3D printing industry is what Detroit once was for automotive manufacturing. This is where the top manufacturers come from - Bambu Lab, Creality, Elegoo, and Anycubic. And right there, on racks stretching across production halls, five thousand FFF printers are working today, continuously turning filament into finished products.
The company’s profile was described by the China.org portal.
To visualize it: imagine racks of printers stacked four units high, with every meter of width holding another machine. Such a line of racks would stretch for over a kilometer. Walking from one end of the hall to the other would take about ten minutes - and the entire time you would pass more working print heads, more layers of material being laid down, more finished parts dropping onto build plates.
Technicians like Yang Shengwu move between these machines every day. They wipe build plates, load filament spools, and launch new print jobs. When Yang started working at the company, he handled five hundred machines. Today there are ten times as many. After this year’s Chinese New Year, the number of printers is expected to rise to ten thousand.
Now let’s return to the numbers, because they are really crucial here.
Let’s assume conservatively that each machine prints a full build plate of four parts in three hours. With five thousand printers running around the clock, the facility can produce one hundred sixty thousand parts per day. Every day. Without tooling, without injection molds, without warming up production lines.
When the factory grows to ten thousand machines, the weekly output will exceed two million parts. From a single location. Without any technological changes - simply more of the same machines.
In the article, an order for forty thousand decorative figurines featuring a horse and the Chinese character “fu,” symbolizing good fortune, was described. It was completed within one week. No other technology would have been able to deliver it within the same time frame.
What we are observing in Shenzhen, however, is not just a story about holiday trinkets and figurines. In Laixi, local craftsmen already use 3D-printed molds to produce traditional flower-shaped buns. In Jingdezhen, the former capital of Chinese porcelain, artists combine AI modeling and 3D printing with traditional glazing techniques.
And data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that in 2025, China’s production of 3D printing equipment increased by more than fifty percent year over year.
This is not a prototype shop or a “low-volume production” facility - it is a full-fledged factory capable of fulfilling orders of hundreds of thousands of units per day, without molds, without assembly lines, without weeks of ramp-up.
A “factory of everything,” as someone aptly called it - scalable almost linearly with each additional machine connected.
And this will keep developing. Only the pace will accelerate…
Atomic Layer from the Past:
5 years ago the heated chamber in FDM 3D printing was finally freed. Stratasys’ long-standing patent (US6722872B1) expired - it was the last major legal barrier protecting its industrial FDM technology.
Filed in June 2000, it covered heating the build chamber while isolating electronics from the heat. For two decades, this forced competitors into inefficient workarounds like relying solely on the build plate.
At the time, everyone expected a flood of industrial printers challenging Stratasys directly. Instead, the market surprised us - the real revolution wasn’t industrial, but desktop. Sometimes freedom arrives, and we choose a different path entirely.
Read all:
News & Gossip:
#1
And since we are here, this week Stratasys announced two things:
a new dental anatomy preset for its PolyJet 3D printers, enabling realistic models replicating bone, teeth, and tissue; by using CBCT scan data, educators can create patient-specific cases for surgical training
announced a +22% reliability improvement for its F900 industrial 3D printer, based on 2025 production changes guided by an Industrial Customer Advisory Board; that includes GM, Toyota, and Boeing; the large-format FDM system now offers better process reproducibility and stable cost-per-part performance; for 2026, Stratasys will focus on validated production data, digital twins, and AI-supported monitoring for scalable manufacturing.
No. No new printers announcement.
#2
Filamentive launched rPA12, a nylon filament made entirely from recovered PA12 powder waste from MJF industrial 3D printing. Developed with 3devo’s extrusion technology, the material transforms manufacturing residues into feedstock for FFF printers. According to manufacturer, rPA12 offers strength, chemical resistance, and lower moisture absorption than standard nylons.
More on: www.3druck.com
#3
Xometry reported strong full-year 2025 results, with total revenue reaching approximately $687 million. Marketplace revenue - connecting buyers with manufacturing services including 3D printing - grew +30% to $630 million, while services revenue declined -4% to $57 million. The company achieved adjusted EBITDA of $18.5 million, a $28.2 million improvement from 2024.
In additive manufacturing, Xometry expanded its material offerings with eight new 3D printing options for FDM and SLA, targeting aerospace, defense, medical, and automotive applications. The supplier network grew +17% to nearly 5,000 active partners, emphasizing quality-certified providers.
The company ended 2025 with $219 million in cash and completed a $250 million refinancing.
Separately, Xometry announced a leadership transition: current President Sanjeev Singh Sahni will become CEO effective July 1, 2026, with co-founder Randy Altschuler moving to Executive Chairman. Sahni, who joined in January 2025, will also join the board of directors.
More on: www.voxelmatters.com
#4
Freeform secured $67 million in Series B funding to scale its software-controlled metal 3D printing platform for high-volume production. Backed by Founders Fund and Nvidia NVentures, the company is transitioning from its 18-laser “GoldenEye” system to “Skyfall” - featuring hundreds of lasers capable of producing thousands of kilograms of metal parts daily. CEO Erik Palitsch, a SpaceX veteran, emphasizes real-time physics simulations and data-driven control. Freeform plans 100 new hires.
More on: www.3druck.com
#5
6K Additive and Siemens Energy announce long-term deal for circular metal AM production. 6K will process Siemens Energy's nickel-based revert scrap - already nearly 20 tons - into new alloy powders using its UniMelt technology.
More on: www.3dprint.com
#6
Finally, I encourage you to read my latest article on the Bambu Lab blog featuring Matthew, who quickly became one of the top designers on MakerWorld. What is most fascinating, is that he began his 3D printing career just a year and a half ago!
He's the man behind "rotating marble run tower", a "remote water turret", a life-size "LED Minecraft sword". Or the unbelievable "Relic Rush board game" - which you have to print for two weeks straight (but it’s absolutely worth it).
More on: www.bambulab.com