Evolve Launches Production Assessment Program for Its Unique Plastic 3D Printing Tech

Evolve Additive Solutions (EAS), an additive manufacturing (AM) company specializing in applications for amorphous thermoplastics, announced the launch of what it’s calling the ‘Production Assessment Program’. The Production Assessment Program will allow customers to work directly with EAS engineers so they can brainstorm and troubleshoot the business case for producing end-use components with EAS’s flagship Scaled Volume Production (SVP) 3D printing platform.

To support the new business initiative, EAS has expanded both its headquarters, in Minnetonka, MN, and its Material Technology Center, in Rochester, NY. The company added an 11,500 square foot Production Acceleration Center to its Minnetonka facility, while the Material Technology Center — which EAS says is constantly in the process of R&D into new materials — now has an additional 6,000 square feet of workspace.

In an EAS press release about the Production Assessment Program, the company’s CEO, Joe Allison, commented, “This is an exciting time in the growth of Evolve. This expansion will allow us to continue on our path to be the industry leader for higher volume of production thermoplastic applications within the [AM] space. In addition, it provides us the opportunity to show the entire process from discover to delivery.”

Along with working with the EAS team, customers who choose the Production Assessment Program route will also receive the parts printed during the analysis phase, and a written summary report including production validation data. The Production Assessment Program is likely the direct brainchild of EAS’s CEO. It is exactly the sort of thing Allison has experience with from his time as the founder and CEO of AM service bureau Solid Concepts, as well as the time he spent, after selling Solid Concepts to Stratasys, as the CEO of Stratasys Direct Manufacturing.

Moreover, this is precisely the sort of offering that an increasing number of companies will either add to the mix or expand upon, as they attempt to grow their customer bases beyond the usual gamut of businesses/sectors that have longstanding familiarity with AM. In particular, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that supply large manufacturing conglomerates will be ideal prospects for companies offering services like EAS’s Production Assessment Program.

Further, simply having the brick-and-mortar space and capital allowing for the Production Assessment Program should open up new possibilities for EAS in areas aside from the program, itself. For instance, the ability to train workers in the Production Acceleration Center, a capability that EAS mentions in the press release, gives the company a leg-up in any potential efforts to draw federal funding grants. This move reiterates that one of the key themes involved in broad-sweeping plans to bolster America’s advanced manufacturing is the necessity of creating entire geographic/economic clusters, not just standalone companies.

Images courtesy of Evolve Additive Solutions