In additive manufacturing, the printing step often gets the spotlight, but it’s the quieter, final stage of post-processing that can make or break efficiency. For many organizations, this step remains manual, slowing throughput, introducing safety risks, and creating bottlenecks that stand in the way of scalable production.
More and more, companies are turning to automated solutions from PostProcess Technologies to solve this problem, and the gains are measurable.
Highlighted below are a couple of real-world customer stories demonstrating the same point: automating post-processing with PostProcess Technologies is not just about convenience. It is about enabling additive manufacturing to function as a truly scalable production technology. Regardless of the efficiency gains from faster 3D printers or better materials, one can only go so far before post-processing becomes the limiting factor.
Breaking the bottleneck
In Wisconsin, LED lighting manufacturer J.W. Speaker discovered just how much time and labor manual FDM support removal could consume. Operators spent hours handling delicate geometries, and parts often required overnight drying before they could move on.
Larger builds sometimes had to be split into multiple sections simply to fit the process, slowing delivery even further. By introducing the PostProcess BASE solution alongside a Stratasys F3300 3D printer, the company reduced turnaround from 1 week to just 9 hours and saved an estimated $60K–$75K each year.
“With our old machine, we would have to put the parts in an oven overnight to dry out. Now, we have the parts cleaned and ready to be delivered in just a couple of hours,” said Michael Speaker, Lead Additive Manufacturing Specialist.
The same kind of bottleneck appeared at Stratasys Direct Manufacturing’s Tucson SLA and P3 facility, though here the issue was resin cleaning. Their reliance on isopropyl alcohol (IPA) baths and hand tools made cleaning inconsistent, hazardous, and slow.
IPA quickly saturated, leaving tacky surfaces that led to rework or rejected parts, while constant operator attention delayed machine turnaround. By adopting PostProcess DEMI 4100 and DEMI 830 systems, Stratasys Direct cut overall processing time by about 60%, with cleaning cycles now averaging just 10 minutes.
As Director of Operations, Sean Schoonmaker put it, “We’ve been able to reduce total post-processing time.” The Director explained, “For example, a job that took us 120 minutes to post-process now only takes 45 minutes.”
In France, dental production center Ninety! faced a different but equally pressing challenge. With Stratasys J5 DentaJet 3D printers capable of producing hundreds of models a day, manual PolyJet support removal had become unsustainable. Operators struggled with fragile geometries, batch sizes remained small, and meeting 24-48 hour delivery expectations grew increasingly difficult.
The PostProcess DEMI X 520 solution transformed this workflow, scaling capacity to 200 parts in a single cycle and making it possible to reveal 100% of the printing quality provided by Stratasys, compared to just 70-80% with manual cleaning.
Co-Director Olivier Mangot explained, “I am no longer dependent on an operator. With this solution, I can clean 20 times more parts than before and get incredibly high-quality results.” He added, “When I calculate my ROI at the end of the year, I have increased my productivity and saved money. And, I reduced my ecological impact while improving my employees’ working conditions.”
Want to help map the future?
To capture where the industry stands today, PostProcess notes, “we are launching our post-printing survey to capture the evolving landscape and better understand industry needs.” Responses will inform the 2025 Post-Processing Trends Report, providing a data-driven view of how organizations are addressing this critical step and where the industry is headed.
If you work with additive manufacturing, your input is essential. Fill out the survey today and help shape the future of post-processing.
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Featured image shows operator using the PostProcess DEMI X 520 system. Photo via PostProcess Technologies.
