3D Printing Challenge 2025

• Compete against other 3D printing enthusiasts in an exciting contest.
• Gain valuable experience.
• Receive valuable feedback from experienced 3D printing professionals.
• Win attractive prizes and cash awards.

• Test your idea and find out whether you should pursue it further.
• Receive valuable feedback from a professional jury.
• Gather interesting contacts and valuable experience that will advance your career.
• Secure attractive prizes and cash awards.

• Discover and expand your perspectives in the 3D printing industry.
• Gain access to the 3D printing community.
• Find out whether your idea can be turned into a business or start-up.
• Receive valuable feedback from a professional jury.
• Improve your resume and demonstrate your commitment.
• Win attractive prizes and cash awards.

• Find out whether your idea can be turned into a business or start-up.
• Receive professional feedback from established companies.
• Make valuable contacts and become part of the 3D printing community.
• Benefit from expert coaching by 3D printing professionals.
• Win attractive prizes and cash awards.

Who we are
The 3D Printing Academy offers comprehensive video courses for beginners and advanced users who want to get the most out of their 3D printer. With an active community and weekly live calls with experts, the academy helps its members print more efficiently and gain practical experience. Participants also benefit from exclusive discounts and lively exchanges with like-minded people.

What we find exciting about 3D printing
With other manufacturing processes, you usually need a lot of expertise, experience, money, time, and space to produce a component. With the help of 3D printing, hobbyists and tinkerers no longer need a workshop to turn their ideas into reality.

How we support you in the challenge
When implementing your own 3D printing idea, there are always obstacles and mental blocks that prevent you from reaching the next level. We support a selected winner with consultations, our network, and clear guidance to help them successfully implement their idea. Winners also receive the 3D Printing Professional Knowledge book.

Who we are
At 3D Industrie, we advise 3D printing service providers as well as medium-sized industrial and manufacturing companies on all aspects of additive manufacturing. We particularly help 3D printing service providers to attract more premium customers, good projects, and small-batch orders, as well as with strategic issues relating to their own business model. We support machine and plant manufacturers by finding the right 3D printing applications, building knowledge, and successfully implementing solutions to save money and time with 3D printing and strengthen the company's innovative power. With over 130 3D printing service providers advised and more than 50 potential analyses carried out, 3D Industrie is the consulting firm with the best and most sustainable results in collaboration. We also publish a new episode of the 3D printing podcast every Tuesday.

What we find exciting about 3D printing
Every day, we find new applications in companies that can be implemented faster, better, and more easily with 3D printing. In addition, this has been proven to reduce the workload on employees, improve processes, and make customers happier. A new manufacturing technology such as 3D printing requires a new interaction between people, machines, locations, and processes. The successful use of an industrial 3D printer requires a different way of thinking and approaching things than is the case with familiar traditional manufacturing processes. You can only benefit from using 3D printing if you let go of mental rigidity and become flexible again.

Wo we are
We, EvoBus GmbH, are the largest European subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG. With the Mercedes-Benz, Setra, OMNIplus and BusStore brands, we are now the leading full-line provider both in the European bus market and around the world. With our consulting unit "AMS - Additive Manufacturing Solutions" we have focused on constant adjustments to our dynamic market environment. Through the use of additive manufacturing, we have succeeded in creating long-term and sustainable added value and solutions for our company. In recent years we have dealt with all topics relating to materials, manufacturing processes, quality guidelines and the digital transformation in industrial 3D printing along the entire value chain.

It is our main task as a service provider to  jointly solve current problems in your company with our unique skills. We support you in setting up your business successfully and sustainably for the future with the help of additive manufacturing.

What we find exciting about 3D printing
Additive manufacturing offers a multitude of potentials from both an economic and an ecological point of view. In addition to savings potential, added value for customers, this also includes the positive effects on sustainability and, last but not least, the opportunity for completely new business models. This inspires us about this exciting future technology. In recent years we have had many positive experiences with industrial 3D printing and have built up a lot of knowledge - which we would like to pass on.

How we support you in the challenge
The finalists of the 3DDC will receive exclusive pitch and business coaching in the run-up to the final, organized by Olivier Kress, specialist consultant for 3D printing at the Digitalization Center Ulm | Alb-Donau | Biberach | Neu-Ulm. The voluntary coaching will be conducted by start-up expert Sebastian Almer and 3D printing expert Ralf Anderhofstadt. In a joint online meeting, the finalists will receive initial tips on how to present at the pitch event. They will then have the opportunity to take part in a 30-minute individual coaching session. There, they will receive valuable feedback on their business canvas and trial pitch to help them prepare for the final in the best possible way.

Who we are
The Digitalization Center Ulm | Alb-Donau | Biberach | Neu-Ulm supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), start-ups, and founders in various areas of digitalization. We offer free consultations, organize workshops and networking events, and provide experimentation rooms with various 3D printers and materials. This enables companies to experience new technologies first-hand and identify individual 3D printing use cases.

What excites us about 3D printing
We are fascinated by the flexibility and versatility of 3D printing—especially the opportunities it offers small and medium-sized businesses. Whether it's rapid prototyping, customized spare parts and tools, or even completely new business models, 3D printing enables efficient, independent, and innovative production. This technology can be used to implement solutions that would often be uneconomical or even impossible to implement using conventional methods.

How we support you along the challenge
You have questions regarding filaments and printing materials? 
We are ready to be at your side. Having more than 10 years of concentration in the 3D printing materials,  we are absolutely the experts for you wenn you are confronted with material choosing troubles. Please let us know info@filamentworld.de.

Who we are
As a specialist for 3D printing materials and accessories we have made it our business to offer the perfect material for every application. Our customers come from the industry, but also architecture offices, universities or passionate hobbyists are among our customers. They appreciate the quality of our products, because the right printing material is at least as important as the 3D printer and the print file itself.

Offering these at a fair price and delivering them quickly and without complications is our claim.

What we find exciting about 3D printing
We have experienced the rapid development at first hand. Started in 2013, we are now one of the largest filament dealers in Europe.

Meanwhile our customers can choose between several hundred filaments. Some filaments convince by their appearance: e.g. glossy, matt or colour-changing, others have unique technical properties: e.g. electroconductive, heat-resistant or particularly dimensionally stable. Also DLP and LCD printers based on resin are becoming more and more popular. Here we offer technical resins in addition to our own brand. This variety and the resulting possibilities fascinate us. Therefore we are constantly looking for new, innovative materials for innovative applications.

In this way we want to continue to play our part in this industrial revolution and support the maker community.

How we support you along the challenge
The Formnext team will support you with an event where you can meet all the big names in the AM world, make contacts and find your future partners and customers. We would be happy to provide you with the key (in the form of entry tickets) to this unique world. Be part of the family!

Who we are
As a hub for additive manufacturing, Formnext is an international meeting point for experts in industrial 3D printing and production professionals from a variety of application sectors. With the trade fair in Frankfurt and content throughout the year, Formnext bundles expertise and creates a unique experience focused on intensive, professional exchange and access to the latest AM solutions. This combination enables the community to actively shape the next generation of intelligent industrial production.

What we find exciting about 3D printing
fAMIly is a very special community that is dedicated to the ever-growing use of AM in an industrial context.

We find it particularly exciting how additive manufacturing can help to meet some of the current challenges of industrial production and thus also support society in overcoming the problems of our time. That's why we're particularly fascinated by clever, innovative and sustainable application examples.

How we support you along the Challenge
With more than 13 different 3D printing and rapid prototyping technologies and a huge portfolio of materials, we always find a suitable solution for your requirements!
We can provide you with professional advice on all common 3D printing processes. We are not looking for reasons why you absolutely have to use 3D printing, but will show you materials, processes and technologies that are suitable for your task.
Furthermore, we not only support you as a 3D printing service provider, but also in the area of engineering and product development. If you wish, we can take over the complete development of your product. You have the idea, we make it a reality.

Who we are
As a TOP 100 innovator 2023 and 3D printing service provider, we offer our customers a comprehensive portfolio of solutions. This includes over 50 different materials, 13 different manufacturing technologies and very extensive rework options.
• 3D printing service
• Development and engineering (DfAM, topology optimization)
• Advice and support for projects
• Expert knowledge on demand, e.g. in web meetings, video conferences or by telephone
• Offers & orders 24/7: Online 3D printing service

What we find exciting about 3D printing
3D printing is still a new technology whose limits and possibilities are far from exhausted. We face new challenges and questions almost every day. The arch spans all sectors. New technology and material developments drive the possibilities of production forward and at the same time require knowledge transfer.
It's always fun to help designers/developers with their problems and even to break new ground. Bringing 3D printing further into the market and as an established production process in series production is what drives us constantly.

Who we are
Since its founding in 1947, the Seifert Logistics Group (SLG), based in Ulm, has developed from a regional market leader into an internationally operating transport and contract logistics service provider. The logistics company offers intelligent and innovative service concepts for procurement, production, and distribution. The family-owned company employs 3,500 people at over 45 locations. As a transport and contract logistics service provider operating throughout Europe, SLG manages more than 1,000,000 m² of warehouse space and dispatches more than 300,000 kilometers of partial and full loads every day for the automotive, chemical, building materials, paper, consumer goods, and pharmaceutical industries.

What we find exciting about 3D printing
3D printing offers real advantages, especially in logistics: spare parts, small series production, or prototype manufacturing. It becomes even more exciting when physical goods transport is replaced. Instead of shipping finished products, digital construction plans are sent to print the parts directly on site. This also revolutionizes warehousing—with digital twins, physical inventories can be reduced and managed virtually instead. 3D printing helps us make processes leaner and more efficient. A real game changer for our industry!

Who we are
Siemens Mobility is an independently managed company of Siemens AG. Siemens Mobility has been a leading provider of intelligent transportation solutions for over 175 years and is constantly developing its portfolio through innovation. Its core business includes rail vehicles, rail automation and electrification solutions, a comprehensive software portfolio, turnkey rail systems, and related services. With digital products and solutions, Siemens Mobility enables mobility operators around the world to make their infrastructure intelligent, ensure sustainable value enhancement over the entire life cycle, improve passenger comfort, and guarantee availability. In fiscal 2024, which ended on September 30, 2024, Siemens Mobility reported revenue of €11.4 billion and employed around 41,900 people worldwide. For more information, visit: www.siemens.com/mobility

What we find exciting about 3D printing
Additive manufacturing now allows Siemens Mobility to use 3D printing to produce spare parts, keep original parts for railway systems available for decades, and even improve their design – all based on 3D data and without the need for tools. The solutions offered by Siemens Mobility open up completely new possibilities for replacing and modernizing components and upgrading vehicles with improved components. Customers receive, for example

The challenge is open to anyone interested in 3D printing who would like to participate as an individual or as a team of up to three people. Timely registration is required to participate in the 3D printing challenge.

Individuell fighters and teams with a maximum size of 3 persons may participate.

To participate in the challenge, participants must create the following three deliverables:

For the first round: A poster created by the participants explaining the idea and concept of the participating group (a template for this poster will be provided).

For the second round (only for qualified teams): A business canvas or a cost-benefit calculation (template provided).

For the final (only for qualified teams): A pitch presentation (slides) and a sample of the 3D-printed product.

Challenge registration start date: March 17, 2025
Deadline for submissions for round 1: May 31, 2025
Deadline for submissions for round 2: July 31, 2025
Final: October 16, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. at HNU

The best concepts from the second round will be selected and invited to the final. There, you will present your results in the form of a pitch to a jury consisting of representatives from business, research, and technology. The pitch should include the following points:

• Presentation of the product/story
• Presentation of the 3D-printed part(s) including benefits/unique selling points (USP)/product benefits/possible applications
• Presentation of the business canvas/cost and benefit calculation (only the figures you want to publish)
• Answering questions from the jury

Good news: In the run-up to the pitch event, we invite all finalists to an online meeting. In this meeting, we explain what is important for the pitch and answer any open questions. In addition, each finalist team has the opportunity to participate in individual pitch coaching by the Digitalization Center Ulm | Alb-Donau | Biberach | Neu-Ulm. Here you can present your business canvas to receive feedback and tips for the final.

Here you will find the detailed conditions of participation.  (opens in a new window)

The intellectual property rights remain with the participants. Within the 3D Printing Challenge, the 3D printed products, business plans and presentations will be published. Participants agree to this publication.

Participants shall ensure that the copyrights of third parties are not infringed. 

Interview in Radio free FM