K3D expands metal 3D printing fleet to six systems

K3D’s latest expansion is less about adding another machine and more about proving it can keep metal parts moving at industrial pace. The Dutch service provider added two more Additive Industries MetalFab systems, bringing its total to six production systems across two manufacturing sites in the Netherlands.

That matters because six systems across two sites gives K3D a larger, more resilient quoting and production base than a small one-off AM expansion. The company now runs nine additive manufacturing cores across stainless steel 316L, aluminum AlSi10Mg and titanium Ti6Al4V, with equipment ranging from the single-core MetalFab 300 Flex to the fully automated MetalFab G2 Continuous Production system. For customers that need repeatable outsourced metal parts, that spread is what helps shorten lead times and smooth out turnaround when a line is full.

K3D also says it has crossed a major output milestone: one million metal AM parts produced. That figure points to a service bureau that has spent years building production discipline, not just chasing prototype jobs. K3D was founded in 2014 and became one of the first customers of Additive Industries in 2016, when Kaak Group, now Royal Kaak, bought one of the company’s first MetalFAB1 machines to make stainless-steel and tool-steel parts for bread-baking lines. Additive Industries says that first machine is still producing parts today.

The company’s roots help explain the direction of this expansion. K3D says it is part of Royal Kaak, whose bakery-technology history dates back to 1846, and its own work now spans aerospace, automotive, tooling, energy, oil and gas and defense from eastern Netherlands and the Eindhoven Brainport region. Chief Technology Officer Jaap Bulsink said the fully automated MetalFab systems have reached utilization rates of up to 95% over the past few years, a level that signals the fleet is being run as production infrastructure, not showroom hardware.

K3D also has a track record of phased growth rather than single big bets. In September 2024, it became the international launch customer for the MetalFab 300 Flex by ordering two systems. This latest move follows the same pattern, but at a larger scale: six systems, two sites and a growing capacity base built for dependable series work, not just headline-grabbing installs.