Fathom CEO: Additive Manufacturing Now Focused on Real-World Performance

The additive manufacturing (AM) industry, once promising a complete production overhaul, is now maturing to focus on consistent, reliable industrial applications. Fathom, a company with a background in prototyping and digital manufacturing services, has shifted its strategy over the past few years to become a manufacturing partner for sectors like aerospace, medical, and industrial, where quality and consistency are paramount.

According to Fathom CEO Rush LaSelle, the industry's focus has moved from simply printing parts to achieving specific manufacturing outcomes. He noted that while AM has been around for 30 years, the last five have been particularly significant for industrial applications. Customers are now more concerned with a part's performance in the field than with the novelty of its printing process. This represents a departure from earlier expectations where 3D printing was anticipated to rapidly transform industries like automotive and aerospace.

LaSelle acknowledged that early promises of AM transforming production overnight proved premature. He explained that qualifying and producing repeatable industrial parts was a more complex challenge than initially suggested. Years of work have been dedicated to qualification, process development, and post-processing refinement. It is only recently that AM has reached a level of maturity allowing for the reliable production of repeatable outcomes required by demanding industries.

This evolution has reshaped Fathom's operational focus. The company now emphasizes engineering support, manufacturing strategy, post-processing, machining, heat-treatment coordination, and qualification workflows, viewing the printing process as just one component of a larger manufacturing challenge. LaSelle believes the term 'service bureau' is becoming outdated, as Fathom's current operations extend far beyond simply printing parts to encompass the entire production lifecycle and ensuring dimensional accuracy.