Imagine you need a nozzle with a special internal channel. Small, precise, functional. Traditional manufacturing will tell you: two weeks—stock the material, tools, fixtures. 3D printing will tell you: tomorrow morning.
This isn’t sci-fi. This is the everyday reality for companies that have understood additive manufacturing and deployed it where it makes sense. And that’s exactly what Petr Štěpánek – a mechanical engineer, designer, and co-founder of STEPANEK3D talks about—a company that in just a few years has helped more than 350 companies deliver over 3,000 unique projects.
What additive manufacturing actually is—and what it isn’t
3D printing, professionally known as additive manufacturing, is a process in which a part is built layer by layer directly from a digital model—without sawing, milling, or pressing. The first patent for SLA technology was filed 42 years ago. In that time, it has gone from a laboratory curiosity to a fully-fledged manufacturing method.
“From my perspective, it’s something between a revolution and an add-on,” says Štěpánek. “It’s clearly the newest technological direction that has matured to a level capable of producing complex, functional parts at low cost.”
But be careful—it’s not a universal tool. The key word is when. Deploying additive manufacturing where it won’t help is an unnecessary cost. Deploying it where other technologies fail—that’s a competitive advantage.
Where does 3D printing really save time and money?
The greatest added value of additive manufacturing lies in parts that are either extremely expensive with other technologies, or simply impossible to make.
Concrete real-world examples:
- Molds with conformal cooling channels – the cooling channels follow the shape of the cavity, reducing cycle time and improving product quality. You can’t do this with traditional manufacturing.
- Nozzles with minimized dimensions – in automotive, they developed application nozzles specifically for a robotic arm. A narrow channel, minimal dimensions, maximum freedom of movement for the robot.
- Flexible feeding and stop elements – different spring characteristics within the same volume. Without 3D printing, this would require several separate parts.
- Generatively designed components – organic design, minimal weight, maximum strength. A result a milling cutter simply can’t mill.
And then there’s speed. “We typically produce parts within hours of order confirmation,” Štěpánek emphasizes. With traditional custom manufacturing, you need to stock semi-finished material, tools, fixtures. Lead time increases. With 3D printing, the printer responds immediately.
Where do Slovak companies stand today?
After ten years of practice and hundreds of company visits, Štěpánek has a clear picture of the state of Slovak industry. The conclusion? Progress is visible, but gaps remain.
Many companies already have so-called entry-level technologies – FDM (printing with plastic filament) or resin technologies. That’s a good start. The problem is that industrial technologies such as SLS (selective laser sintering), Multi Jet Fusion or metal printing (SLM/DMLS) are still missing.
These technologies make it possible to produce parts from engineering plastics and metals with mechanical properties comparable to milled or pressed parts. Without them, companies remain limited to prototypes and simple auxiliary fixtures.
Where to start? Practical recommendations
If you’re considering introducing additive manufacturing into your company, Štěpánek recommends a gradual approach:
Start with entry level – FDM or UV LCD/SLA technologies are accessible, easy to understand, and allow you to build know-how that later transfers to industrial technologies as well.
Design for additive – it’s not enough to take an existing part and print it. The real value comes when the designer plans from the start with 3D printing capabilities in mind.
Find where it makes sense – additive manufacturing isn’t for everything. It’s strongest in one-off and small-batch production of geometrically complex parts, where speed and flexibility are decisive.
Invest in materials – the technologies are at a good level, but material development is still moving forward. Higher dimensional stability, mechanical strength, and impact resistance—these are areas with room to grow.
The younger generation feels it; schools don’t always keep up
An interesting signal is coming from young people. Štěpánek regularly visits secondary schools and universities, gives lectures, and organizes tours. And what does he see?
“A certain group of students is genuinely enthusiastic. They’re willing to invest in technology from their own savings, take part-time jobs, do internships. They’re building experience for future growth,” says.
Schools may have 3D printers, but there isn’t always enough capacity for teachers to devote themselves to them fully. The result? Students educate themselves in parallel—at home, with friends, in maker spaces. A hobby becomes a profession.
One part out of 500. For now.
Today, additive manufacturing accounts for only a fraction of global production—one product out of five hundred. But the American Wohlers Report suggests that in twenty to forty years, every second part could be made with 3D printing.
“Additive manufacturing shouldn’t be underestimated. It really creates huge opportunities—in companies, in art, in industry, in sports. It’s a universal and powerful tool,” Štěpánek concludes.
So the question isn’t whether 3D printing will become part of manufacturing. The question is: will you be among those who understand it sooner?
TEXT: Natália Stašíková
PHOTO: STEPANEK 3D, INOVATO
