A very quiet breakthrough
3DP War Journal #75
Last week, Deutsche Bahn celebrated ten years of using 3D printing in its operations.
I felt that this particular anniversary was a perfect opportunity to look not only at the numbers of parts produced by the company over that time, but also more broadly at the deeper meaning of the technological change we are witnessing.
Deutsche Bahn boasts the additive manufacturing of more than 200,000 parts with more than 1,000 different applications. And although from the perspective of traditional industrial manufacturing this figure seems very, very modest (to say the least...), just a dozen or so years ago it would have sounded like an ambitious marketing declaration lifted straight from the investment prospectus of a 3D printing company seeking a funding round.
Today, however, it is a hard fact. And one that perfectly illustrates how 3D printing - without great fanfare or spectacular revolutions - has become a real element of everyday industrial reality.
Railways are among the most demanding sectors of industry. Parts must be reliable, certified, resistant to material fatigue, and designed for decades of operation under harsh conditions.
For a long time, it seemed that 3D printing could at best support prototyping or the production of simple auxiliary components.
Meanwhile, Deutsche Bahn uses additive manufacturing as a fully fledged tool for producing end-use parts that are directly deployed in trains and railway infrastructure.
The beginnings were modest. In 2015, Deutsche Bahn started with simple plastic components such as coat hooks or small covers. These were parts that raised no controversy and did not require complex approval procedures.
However, over the years, the range of applications has steadily expanded. Today, printed components include headrests for IC train seats, fan impellers, lamp holders, protective housings for signal boxes, and even massive metal components operating under high loads.
What is particularly important is the fact that 3D printing at Deutsche Bahn is not a technological curiosity, but part of the standard maintenance toolkit.
At several locations, including Nuremberg and Neumünster, additive manufacturing takes place directly in maintenance facilities. Where justified, DB also relies on external suppliers, creating a flexible production model tailored to specific cases.
One of the key problems that 3D printing has helped to solve is the availability of spare parts.
In railway fleets that have been in operation for several decades, many components are no longer produced, and the original tools and supply chains simply disappear. Traditional methods of reproducing such parts involve long lead times or very high costs.
Thanks to additive manufacturing, Deutsche Bahn can now produce components that would otherwise be available only after many months - or not at all.
The digitization of geometries plays a crucial role here. Damaged or no longer available components are 3D scanned and reconstructed as CAD models.
These prepared datasets are then transferred to a digital spare parts warehouse, which forms the foundation of the entire system. From this repository, print data can be generated at any time or negative molds can be created for use in casting processes.
Maintaining physical inventories of rarely needed parts is no longer necessary, and responses to failures become significantly faster.
Over time, Deutsche Bahn has also embraced metal 3D printing technologies. Initially, polymer processes dominated, but with growing experience came the ability to produce highly stressed components. One example is a gearbox housing for shunting locomotives, weighing more than half a ton, manufactured as a casting using a mold created with binder jetting.
The standard lead time for such a component would normally be around ten months, whereas 3D printing has made it possible to reduce this to approximately two months.
Every part undergoes standardized testing programs before being approved for operation. These include fatigue tests as well as functional tests under normal operating conditions. The goal is not experimentation on an active fleet, but the integration of components with known and repeatable mechanical properties into existing maintenance and certification processes.
This approach demonstrates just how mature industrial 3D printing has become today.
Using DB as an example, it is worth looking at this development in a broader industry context. Just 10-15 years ago, 3D printing was presented as a technology that would revolutionize industry in a short time.
Companies such as Desktop Metal built their narratives around the vision of mass additive manufacturing and the creation of entirely new industrial powerhouses. Expectations were enormous, and stock market valuations reached billions of dollars. Reality, however, turned out to be less spectacular.
The revolution did indeed arrive - but quietly.
Not in the form of a sudden replacement of traditional manufacturing methods, but as a gradual, pragmatic integration of 3D printing where it makes real business and technical sense.
The scale is too small to justify the gigantic valuations of companies based solely on big promises, yet large enough to bring about a lasting and meaningful change in industry.
Deutsche Bahn is one of the best examples of this. Over the course of a decade, the company has already saved more than 20 million euros by reducing downtime, lowering storage costs, and decreasing reliance on external suppliers.
3D printing also contributes to greater sustainability by reducing transport, inventories, and waste, as well as by using only as much material as is actually required to produce a given part.
This shows that the true strength of the technology does not lie in individual spectacular deployments, but in cooperation, standardization, and the gradual scaling of proven solutions.
3D printing does not need to be mass production to be groundbreaking. It only needs to be useful, reliable, and well integrated into real industrial processes.
#7. Another 3D-printed home project cancelled, revealing industry hurdles
A planned affordable 3D-printed home in Santa Barbara, California, has been cancelled, underscoring logistical and cost challenges in the industry. The Housing Trust Fund blamed its partner, startup Apis Cor, citing a broken printer unavailable until 2027. However, Apis Cor stated negotiations failed due to prohibitively high costs of transporting equipment from Florida to California, making the project financially unviable. The incident highlights the difficulties of scaling 3D concrete printing, including regional logistics, startup fragility, and unpredictable expenses.
READ MORE: www.fabbaloo.com
#6. AMT3D to distribute BLT 3D printers in South Africa
BLT Europe has appointed AMT3D as its distributor for South Africa, expanding the Chinese manufacturer’s reach into Sub-Saharan Africa. The partnership will provide local customers with selected BLT industrial 3D printing systems. AMT3D will offer regional pre-sales guidance, application support, and coordinated after-sales service backed by BLT Europe’s technical expertise.
READ MORE: www.voxelmatters.com
#5. DNV updated 3D printing standard for energy and maritime sectors
DNV has revised its flagship additive manufacturing standard, DNV-ST-B203. This critical update, developed via a joint industry project, now includes qualification frameworks for polymer parts and introduces major enhancements. Key additions are practical design guidelines to optimize parts, a new methodology for reporting a component’s CO₂ footprint to aid sustainability goals, and a streamlined qualification process to group parts and reduce testing costs.
READ MORE: www.voxelmatters.com
#4. Stratasys expanded radiopaque 3D printing material across US
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READ MORE: www.3printr.com
#3. Velo3D reported Q3 2025 revenue growth
Velo3D announced Q3 2025 revenue of $13.6 million, a significant increase from $8.2 million year-over-year. Growth was driven by Sapphire printer sales and its Rapid Production Services (RPS) business. The company reduced its operating expenses by half and narrowed its net loss to $11.8 million. With a strengthened cash position of $11.8 million following a public offering, Velo3D reaffirmed its full-year revenue guidance of $50-$60 million.
READ MORE: www.voxelmatters.com
#2. 6K Additive went public on ASX on Australian Stock Exchange
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READ MORE: www.3dprint.com
#1. MakeGood launched Open-Source 3D-printed Mobility Trainer for Toddlers
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READ MORE: www.bambulab.com