A London 3D printing and low-volume manufacturing company, founded in 2011, that makes nylon and flexible parts for customers in sectors from aerospace to medical and cycling.
3DPRINTUK makes parts by 3D printing for other companies. It offers selective laser sintering (SLS), HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) and Stratasys SAF printing in nylon and flexible materials such as TPU, along with design help and finishing. These are processes where a laser or heat fuses fine powder layer by layer into a solid part. The company says it covers prototypes, one-off parts, small batches and larger production runs, and it serves industries including aerospace, defence, marine, cycling, creative and medical. Its machines include EOS Formiga SLS printers, an HP MJF system and a Stratasys H350.
Nick Allen founded 3DPRINTUK in September 2011 as a rapid prototyping service, naming it after the technology he expected to become a major manufacturing method. The company's own timeline says it printed its 100,000th part in September 2014 and its millionth in November 2016. It says it printed more than a million parts in 2021 alone. In February 2021 it merged with another London service provider, Additive (formerly Digits2Widgets), and it is part of the TriMech Group. Its stated aim is to bridge "the gap between prototyping and injection moulding". Its values are quality, affordability, sustainability and a friendly, local approach.
The company is based in London. Since November 2019 its site has been Unit D9, Leyton Industrial Village, Argall Avenue, London E10, after earlier homes in Brick Lane, Bermondsey and Bow. It says it runs a certified carbon-neutral facility and holds ISO 9001:2015 quality certification. In 2020 it invested £1 million in new equipment including MJF machines, a wider range of colours and shot peening, a surface finishing process. In 2023 the Financial Times placed it among Europe's fastest growing companies, with an absolute growth rate of 171.6% and a ranking as the third fastest-growing UK manufacturer.
On culture, the company's team page says it was founded by designers for designers, to bring a fun and approachable presence to the UK 3D printing scene. It describes Mr Allen as a sceptic of his own field who will recommend a competitor if he thinks they can do the job better. Those are the company's own words. A headline on its news pages says Mr Allen won an Inspiring Leader award at The Manufacturer Top 100 ceremony, though we did not read the details. Customer reviews quoted by the company describe staff as responsive.
The people in a print bureau include machine operators and technicians who prepare, run and clean the printers, design engineers who check customer files and suggest improvements, finishing and quality staff, and customer service, sales and logistics teams. Product design, engineering and materials subjects fit well. Because the company checks every customer file before printing, there is a real mix of design and practical skills in the work.
Website: www.3dprint-uk.co.uk
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