Evolve Additive Solutions: Driving Agile Mass Production in 3D Printing with Breakthrough STEP Technology

Additive manufacturing (AM) stands at the forefront of modern production, celebrated for its inherent advantages, most notably the digitization of the manufacturing process. This innovative approach empowers businesses to achieve rapid, on-site, and on-demand production, utilizing only the precise amount of material required. Consequently, AM is increasingly recognized as a pivotal enabler of Agile Manufacturing – a dynamic methodology that fosters flexibility and adaptability in creation and production, significantly surpassing the capabilities of conventional manufacturing techniques. To truly embrace agile principles, companies must possess the agility to swiftly modify or adapt their production processes to align seamlessly with evolving customer needs and market demands.

It was with this visionary goal in mind that Evolve Additive Solutions emerged in 2017. Initially nurtured within the Stratasys ecosystem, Evolve swiftly transitioned into an autonomous entity, driven by a clear mission. Through its groundbreaking STEP (Selective Thermoplastic Electrophotographic Process) technology and the robust 3D SVP™ (Scaled Volume Production) platform, Evolve aims to dismantle the persistent barriers hindering the widespread adoption of additive manufacturing. The company’s ambition is to elevate AM to an unprecedented level, facilitating genuine mass production with results that rival the precision, quality, and economic efficiency of traditional injection molding. To delve deeper into Evolve’s revolutionary approach and its strategic vision, we had the distinct pleasure of conducting an exclusive interview with Joe Allison, the company’s esteemed CEO. Mr. Allison not only illuminated Evolve’s core mission and technological prowess but also shared insights from his extensive and impactful journey within the additive manufacturing landscape.

3DN: Could you introduce yourself and tell us about your background and your connection to 3D Printing?

Hello, my name is Joe Allison. My academic journey led me to the University of Southern California, where I earned my Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering. Fresh out of college, my career began as a CAD/CAM applications engineer, a role I held for approximately four years. This period coincided with a pivotal moment in technology history: the introduction of the very first 3D printer by 3D Systems. I was immediately captivated and deeply intrigued by this nascent technology, recognizing its immense potential. This fascination spurred me to pursue a role at 3D Systems, where I dedicated myself as an R&D engineer from 1988 to 1991, contributing to the foundational advancements of this transformative field.

Driven by a desire for a more entrepreneurial path and to build a fulfilling career and life for myself and my family, I embarked on a venture that would define much of my professional life. I founded Solid Concepts, which rapidly grew to become one of the earliest and, over time, one of the largest 3D printing service bureaus globally. For more than 23 years, I proudly led Solid Concepts as its CEO, navigating its growth and innovation, before successfully selling the company to Stratasys in 2014. My professional life has been a relentless pursuit of innovation, spanning over 35 years, during which I have passionately championed the practical application and demonstration of cutting-edge software, sophisticated printing and manufacturing processes, and advanced materials. This dedication has consistently aimed at meeting the stringent requirements of new and challenging applications across various industries, pushing the boundaries of what is possible with additive technologies.

3DN: How did Evolve Additive Solutions come about? What is its mission?

The innovative core of what we now proudly refer to as our proprietary STEP technology initially developed and evolved within Stratasys. Recognizing its immense potential and the strategic advantage of allowing it to flourish as an independent entity, Stratasys made the strategic decision in 2017 to spin off this technology into a distinct, new company: Evolve Additive Solutions. Since its establishment, Evolve has rapidly progressed, successfully commercializing both its revolutionary SVP™ (Scaled Volume Production) 3D printer and an equally impactful on-demand parts production service known as STEP Parts Now. Our foundational mission at Evolve is centered around impact – specifically, empowering our customers to engineer and realize breakthrough solutions. We aim to support them comprehensively, from initial prototyping stages all the way through to full-scale production, by offering genuine thermoplastic materials that deliver best-in-class precision, unparalleled quality, and exceptional productivity. By consistently delivering on this ambitious promise every single day, we envision a future where STEP technology firmly establishes itself as the pre-eminent digital manufacturing solution for plastics, transforming industries worldwide.

3DN: When and how did you get connected to Evolve? And What keeps you most excited to lead Evolve as its CEO?

After selling my on-demand parts manufacturing company, Solid Concepts, to Stratasys in 2014, I continued to contribute to Stratasys, serving as the CEO of its combined parts business for nearly four additional years. During this tenure, I had the unique opportunity to witness the development of STEP Technology firsthand, observing its progress while it was still in the incubation phase within Stratasys’s labs. I retired from Stratasys in 2018 and subsequently co-founded 3D Ventures, an informal yet highly impactful collective of seasoned entrepreneurs, investors, managers, and operators. Each member of this group brought decades of invaluable experience from the additive manufacturing sector or closely related fields, coordinating efforts on strategic investments and other significant business opportunities.

By the time 3D Ventures was established, Stratasys had already spun off the technology into its own distinct entity, Evolve Additive Solutions. My continued amazement with Evolve’s technology, coupled with my strong relationships with its founders and leaders, naturally led me to introduce my 3D Ventures partners to STEP and its truly unique capabilities. Our collective efforts culminated in securing two years’ worth of crucial funding for Evolve. Approximately a year after this funding round, in 2022, I enthusiastically accepted the position of CEO for the company, eager to guide its future.

I genuinely believe I have finally discovered a plastics additive manufacturing technology that can fully realize the long-held dream of agile production. Furthermore, we are supported by an incredibly passionate and inspiring team, wholly dedicated to bringing this technology to market and finally delivering on the decade-old promises of additive manufacturing. It is an immense honor to conclude my career by spearheading the launch and widespread adoption of this truly differentiated additive manufacturing solution, poised to transform industries.

3DN: Could you tell us more about STEP Technology and how it works?

Evolve’s STEP Technology represents a paradigm shift in additive manufacturing, having been meticulously developed from the ground up specifically for high-volume production applications. STEP, an acronym for Selective Thermoplastic Electrophotographic Process, ingeniously harnesses the established principles of high-volume 2D printing. This proven methodology is adapted to create intricate 3D parts by progressively fusing material layer by layer, utilizing a precise combination of heat, pressure, and controlled cooling. At the heart of the STEP process lies the Kodak NexPress™ print engine, renowned as the highest deposition 2D print engine in the world. This advanced engine is leveraged to accurately image and deposit each successive layer, forming the foundation of the 3D object.

The application of electrophotography within additive manufacturing is incredibly unique and represents a core differentiator for Evolve. It is precisely this innovative integration that empowers STEP to produce parts of exceptionally high fidelity, characterized by remarkable detail and dimensional accuracy. Beyond mere precision, STEP technology offers an unparalleled capability to deposit particles with extreme exactitude. This precision extends to the ability to simultaneously place two distinct voxels of different materials side-by-side within the very same layer, enabling sophisticated multi-material or integrated support structures within a single build. This groundbreaking feature opens up vast possibilities for complex part geometries and functional integration previously unattainable with other additive processes.

3DN: What advantages does STEP Technology offer? What markets are you targeting?

We firmly believe that STEP Technology stands as the only truly viable additive manufacturing alternative to traditional injection molding available in the market today. Many other additive processes often necessitate significant compromises, forcing manufacturers to choose between factors such as resolution and feature fidelity, robust mechanical properties, or consistent quality and repeatability. With STEP, these difficult trade-offs are eliminated. Our technology delivers exceptional results without compromise, thanks to its unique attributes: ultra-thin layers, the precise deposition of the smallest particles, the utilization of real engineering-grade thermoplastic materials like ABS, Nylon PA-11, and others, and a sophisticated closed-loop printing process. These combined elements work in synergy to produce strong, fully dense parts that boast unmatched fidelity, a near-injection molding surface finish, and mechanical properties that meet the most demanding industrial standards.

Regarding target markets, the opportunities for STEP Technology are virtually limitless. We are currently in an exciting phase of continuous discovery, learning about new and optimal applications daily, largely driven by the invaluable feedback and increasing volume of part production orders we receive through our innovative on-demand service, STEP Parts Now. Customers are increasingly turning to STEP for a diverse range of applications, including high-precision prototype parts, efficient bridge production to scale quickly, and the fabrication of critical end-use components. This trend underscores a growing realization among manufacturers: the significant value and risk mitigation achieved by leveraging a single, consistent manufacturing technology from the initial design concept all the way through to final production. STEP is uniquely positioned to excel in addressing highly challenging applications, such as intricate fluid and airflow components, complex electronic interconnect housings, precision badging, specialized plating applications, and many more, offering solutions where conventional methods fall short.

3DN: You have recently opened up to Europe. What does this step mean for you, and what projects can we expect from Evolve in the future?

The recent launch of our on-demand parts production service, STEP Parts Now, coupled with the strategic introduction of our partnership with alphacam Gmbh to expertly service the European market, represents a crucial phase in Evolve’s global expansion strategy. These initiatives are fundamentally about democratizing access to our relatively new, yet incredibly powerful, technology by significantly lowering the barrier to entry. Our goal is to provide broader and easier access to STEP capabilities across the globe, allowing more companies and innovators to experience its benefits firsthand. By expanding our reach, we anticipate gaining an even deeper understanding of suitable applications for STEP, particularly within higher volume production scenarios, further refining our market strategies and technological development.

Looking ahead, our ongoing projects are primarily focused on the strategic expansion of our materials offering. We remain steadfast in our commitment to developing and introducing a wider array of high-performance materials, including robust polycarbonates, flexible TPEs (Thermoplastic Elastomers), and additional specialized variants of Nylon and ABS, such as fire-retardant grades crucial for specific industrial applications. Furthermore, the SVP platform, equipped with its four advanced print engines, has already demonstrated its exceptional capability to print multi-color and multi-material parts – a process we refer to as co-printing – within a single build. I am confident that as we continue to bring this unique and impressive capability to the market, we will witness an increasing demand for applications that fully leverage the transformative potential of multi-material integration and aesthetic versatility offered by STEP Technology.

3DN: What do you see as the next big opportunities for the 3D printing industry?

My overarching vision for the 3D printing industry, a vision that has guided much of my career, is still far from being fully realized. Early in my journey, I played a significant role in championing some of the very first additive technologies, primarily for simple prototyping purposes. However, I believe the true and greatest value of 3D printing is only achieved when it can seamlessly transition to the production of functional, end-use parts. This value is unlocked when manufacturers can print these parts anywhere in the world, without the cumbersome process of dismantling one production line and establishing another. Imagine a future where you can simply print what you want, precisely where you need it, and exactly when you require it – this is what I term Agile Production. While metal 3D printing technologies are currently pioneering this transformative path, there remains a significant void in the realm of plastic 3D printing. Too few plastic AM technologies possess both the necessary fidelity and the diverse material choices to provide these crucial benefits for true agile production. Evolve Additive Solutions is specifically designed and strategically positioned to address and effectively close this critical gap in the market, making Agile Production a tangible reality for plastic components.

3DN: Any last words for the readers?

At Evolve, we have unwavering confidence in our ability to produce exceptionally tough, highly functional, and aesthetically pleasing plastic additive manufactured parts directly from our SVP printer, often requiring no post-finishing whatsoever. However, we also deeply understand that with any truly innovative technology entering the market, seeing is believing. Therefore, our imperative is to continue getting more STEP-produced parts into the hands of more companies and individuals. This direct experience will enable them to personally realize and appreciate the profound difference and immense value that STEP Technology brings to modern manufacturing. If your curiosity is piqued even slightly, please do not hesitate to reach out and inquire further. We would be absolutely delighted to send you a free sample part, or even better, print a custom part specifically tailored to your needs, allowing you to witness the capabilities of STEP firsthand!

What are your thoughts on Evolve Additive Solutions and its innovative STEP technology? Let us know in a comment below or connect with us on our LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter pages! Don’t forget to sign up for our free weekly newsletter here, to get the latest 3D printing news straight to your inbox! You can also find all our videos on our YouTube channel.

*All Photo Credits: Evolve Additive Solutions