Manufacturing Source, a London-based on-demand manufacturing company, has received a £500,000 investment to develop software supporting its 3D printing, CNC machining, injection molding, and sheet metal services.
Funding was provided by early stage venture capital specialist Fuel Ventures, also based in London.
Will Hoyer Millar, co-founder of Manufacturing Source, comments, “Our aim is to be the go-to platform that fast-moving design and engineering teams turn to when looking to make the world’s most innovative products, and we’re delighted to have the backing of Fuel Ventures to build our team and further develop our intelligent software.”
On-demand manufacturing
Founded in 2017, Manufacturing Source brings together a range of manufacturing technologies with an instant quotation platform to deliver prototyping and end-use parts. Its goal as a service is to counter supply chain obstacles such as part obsolescence and spare parts storage expenses.
Hoyer Millar explains, “Despite recent technological advancements in line with the 4th industrial revolution, the process of collecting quotes for and ordering custom manufactured parts can still be an extremely painful process […] that’s how Manufacturingsource.com came about,”
“We’ve set out to solve the problem of how difficult it is to manufacture high-quality custom parts, quickly and at a fair price.”
The company’s instant quotation platform lets users upload CAM and CAD files and get a manufacturing quote within twenty-four hours. For 3D printing in particular, the site offers over forty materials, suitable respectively for SLA, FDM, SLS, or Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS).
According to Manufacturing Source, its digital platform has been used to quote over 800k parts, and accommodates users from over 400 companies.
Boosting early stage startups
For many, on-demand manufacturing services are proving a lucrative niche for maximizing the potential of 3D printing and other more traditional technologies.
In 2018 3DCompare, also based in London, launched its platform for costing small batch 3D printing jobs and, through its partners, now enables the comparison of more than 11,000 3D printing materials.
In the U.S., Xometry has enjoyed a string of successful funding rounds. And, more recently, the World Economic Forum (WEF) and McKinsey & Company named Chicago-based service bureau Fast Radius one of its “Fourth Industrial Revolution production lighthouses.”
According to Mark Pearson, Founder and Managing Partner of Fuel Ventures, “This is an exciting time for Fuel Ventures and its start-ups, and Manufacturingsource.com is a great business that has so much growth potential in a very lucrative industry,”
“They have achieved a fantastic level of growth since launching last year and are making plans for further expansion following this investment.”
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Featured image shows metal parts made by Manufacturing Source. Image via Manufacturing Source.
