Application
3D-printed prototyping, in 24-72 hours.
Skip the wait for CNC time and the risk of building tooling before you know the design is right. Upload CAD, we print your prototype in the process and material closest to your end use, and ship it to your engineering team so they can test — not guess.
Typical turnaround
- 1Upload STL / STEP
- 2Engineering review + quote in <24h
- 3Print in FDM, SLA, SLS, MJF or metal
- 4QC + ship worldwide
Quick answer
To get a 3D-printed prototype for your company, upload an STL or STEP file to 3DadditHub. Our engineers review manufacturability, propose the best process (FDM, SLA, SLS, MJF or metal) and material for your use case, and send a technical quote within 24 hours. Standard polymer prototypes ship in 24-72 hours; metal in 5-10 business days. NDAs on request.
What we make
Prototypes we print every week
Concrete examples of parts B2B teams send us — from concept models to pre-production validation.
- Form and fit models of enclosures, housings and covers before injection mould tooling
- Ergonomic mock-ups for handles, grips and consumer product bodies
- Functional prototypes of brackets, mounts and clips for load and vibration testing
- Fluid-flow test parts (manifolds, ducting) printed in SLA clear for visual inspection
- Snap-fit and living-hinge prototypes in PA12 (SLS/MJF) that survive repeated cycling
- Pre-tooling parts for design review with clients and internal stakeholders
- Wind-tunnel and CFD validation models with smooth SLA finishes
- Metal prototype brackets in aluminium AlSi10Mg or stainless 316L for weight and stress checks
- Master patterns for silicone moulding and low-volume urethane casting
How it works
From CAD to prototype in four steps
Upload
Drop your STL or STEP file (plus a drawing if tolerances matter). Add target quantity, material or process notes.
Review + quote
An engineer checks manufacturability, wall thickness, orientation and support strategy. Technical quote back in under 24 hours.
Produce
Print in the process you approve. Standard QC includes dimensional check on critical features and visual inspection.
Ship
Packed and shipped worldwide via DHL / UPS / FedEx. Tracking sent the same day.
Materials & processes
What we would suggest for a prototype
Process choice is driven by the question the prototype has to answer: form, fit, function, or all three.
- Form + concept models: FDM PLA/PETG or SLA standard resin — see /technologies/fdm and /technologies/sla
- Visual master parts, transparent or highly detailed: SLA / DLP resin — /technologies/sla
- Snap-fits, ducts, hinges, complex geometry with no supports: SLS or MJF PA12 — /technologies/sls, /technologies/mjf
- High-temperature or chemically resistant prototypes: MJF PA12, PC, PA12-CF or PEEK (industrial FDM)
- Elastomeric grips, gaskets and seals: TPU 95A on SLS/MJF or SLA elastomer resin
- Load-bearing metal prototypes: SLM/DMLS in aluminium, stainless or titanium — /technologies/metal-printing
- Rubber-like final parts: silicone moulding from a 3D-printed master
Typical case
Enclosure prototype, 4 iterations, 12 business days
An electronics OEM sent us a STEP file for a 180 x 120 x 40 mm sensor enclosure. Requirement: check PCB fit, verify the M3 boss geometry, and hand-carry a working sample to a customer demo in 10 days.
We printed v1 in MJF PA12 (48-hour turnaround, €145 per part) and shipped two units. Engineering flagged three fixes on the PCB standoffs and one on the lid gasket channel. v2 landed 3 days later (€132), v3 followed with a colour-matched finish (dyed black, €168), and v4 was approved for the demo. Total elapsed time: 12 business days. Total spend: €1,240 across 8 shipped parts — vs an estimated €6,500 and 4 weeks in aluminium prototyping.
Vs alternative approaches
When 3D printing beats CNC, SLA rapid, or simulation-only
vs CNC machining
CNC gives production-grade material properties, but a one-off prototype typically costs €400-1,500 and takes 5-15 business days. 3D printing lands a comparable functional prototype for €50-260 in 1-3 days. Use CNC when the material (7075 aluminium, hardened steel) or surface finish (Ra < 0.8) are non-negotiable.
vs desktop SLA / in-house printer
Desktop SLA is great for weekly concept models. It falls short on engineering-grade materials, build size > 200 mm, tight tolerances across multiple parts and post-processing (dyeing, media blasting, hydrophobic coating). Outsource when the prototype has to survive a real test rig or a customer meeting.
vs simulation only
FEA and CFD catch a lot, but they do not catch assembly tolerance stack-up, wire routing, thermal expansion vs a real enclosure or how a technician handles the part on the line. A €150 print regularly saves the €30k tooling revision that a missed detail would have triggered.
vs waiting for tooling
Injection mould tooling is €8k-40k and 4-8 weeks. Cutting steel before the geometry is validated is the single most expensive mistake we see. 3D-printed prototypes de-risk the design so tooling is cut once, not twice.
FAQ
What engineering and procurement buyers ask us
Send a watertight STL or STEP file (STEP is preferred if you may need edits or reference for CNC follow-ups). Include a PDF drawing when tolerances, threads or critical dimensions matter. If you have several parts, a ZIP with a simple parts list (qty, material target, notes) speeds up the quote. If you only have a 2D drawing, sketch or a reference photo, that is fine too — we can build the CAD as a paid engineering step before printing.
Upload CAD, get a technical quote in under 24 hours.
Send an STL or STEP file. An engineer reviews it, suggests the right process and material, and comes back with a firm price and lead time.