Skip to main content

3DEO

ServiceTorrance, California, United StatesFounded 2016· One of 2176 Service companies tracked by AMPulse

Design, engineering and manufacturing service specializing in complex metal 3D printed components, assemblies, and subsystems with proprietary Intelligent Layering® technology.

CEO / Founder
Scott Dennis
Team Size
11-50
Stage
Active
Total Funding
$41.46M
Latest Round
Strategic Investment
Key Investors
Mizuho Bank, Development Bank of Japan, Seiko Epson Corporation, IHI Aerospace

Technology & Products

Key Products

CleanPrint™ technology for monolithic pure copper cold plates with 3D internal flow architecture; Intelligent Layering® technology for high-volume production of small metal parts in pure copper, Inconel, and stainless steel.

Technical position · AMPulse analysis

Production-proven platform with 1.5M+ parts built using patented Intelligent Layering® technology across multiple materials; CleanPrint™ true 3D cooling architecture enabling next-generation thermal solutions.

Patent position

3DEO's filings fell from 5 patent families filed in 2019 to 2021 to 2 in 2022 to 2024, a -60% change against -25% for tracked AM filings in the same patent offices. AMPulse analysis

Filing momentum
2 families filed 2022–2024, 5 in 2019–2021 (-60%); all tracked AM filings in the same offices -25%
Filed in
US 64%WO 21%EP 7%CN 7%
Named competitors, AM patent families
Desktop Metal 102Markforged 83ExOne 118

14 AM patent families in total. Recent years are still being published, so read a filing change against the same-office figure.

Differentiation

Value Proposition

End-to-end design and manufacturing solutions using proprietary Intelligent Layering® process and Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) expertise to unlock significant performance improvements in components, assemblies and subsystems.

How They Differentiate

End-to-end design and manufacturing service using proprietary Intelligent Layering® technology combined with deep DfAM expertise; CleanPrint™ true 3D cooling architecture unavailable from traditional manufacturers.

Market & Competition

Target Customers

Innovative companies needing small metal parts and components

Industry Verticals

Medical, Aerospace, Industrial, Consumer, Automotive, Data Center/Liquid Cooling, Semiconductors, Laser Systems, Micro-Inverters

Competitors

Desktop Metal; Markforged; ExOne

Growth & Milestones

Growth Metrics

600% growth in revenues in 2019 over 2018

Major Milestones

Introduction of Metal 3D Printing Technology, Grand Prize at 2023 Design Excellence Awards, 1.5M+ parts produced, CleanPrint™ technology launch for liquid cooling, Scott Dennis appointed CEO (Aug 2024)

https://www.3deo.co

Recent coverage of 3DEO

Official records

Filings, certifications, and programme counts AMPulse can show for this company.

  • [C] ISO_9001 · claimed

AM patents

AM-relevant patents linked to this company.

Patents
16
Granted
7
Families
14

Leading domains: process (16), equipment (15), material (12)

Filings by year: 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 1

  1. DEVICES AND METHODS FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL PRINTING20210069783 · US
  2. METHODS FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL PRINTING03493973 · EP
  3. DEVICES AND METHODS FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL PRINTING2018026962 · WO
  4. DEVICES AND METHODS FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL PRINTING20210205886 · US
  5. Devices and methods for three-dimensional printing10792731 · US

Funding rounds

  • Strategic Investment$3.5M2024-09Lead: Mizuho Bank · Source: 3DEO Press Release
  • Strategic InvestmentUndisclosed2024-03Lead: IHI Aerospace · Source: 3DEO Press Release / BusinessWire
  • Strategic InvestmentUndisclosed2024-01Source: 3DEO Press Release
  • Series BUndisclosed2021-03Source: Crunchbase
  • Venture Round$17.0M2021-01Source: Crunchbase

Why this company matters

AMPulse analysis, not a company disclosure

3DEO addresses a specific gap in metal additive manufacturing: the high-volume production of small, complex metal parts at costs competitive with traditional processes like CNC machining and metal injection molding. While many metal AM systems focus on low-to-mid volume production or large parts, 3DEO's Intelligent Layering technology is designed from the ground up for scale, targeting applications where thousands to millions of parts per year are required.

The core technology is a binder jetting process that interleaves 3D printing with CNC milling in a single automated workflow. After each layer of metal powder is deposited and bound, a milling head cuts the layer to final geometry before the next layer is added. This hybrid approach eliminates the need for secondary machining on most features, reduces post-processing time, and achieves tighter tolerances than standalone binder jetting. The company reports 600% revenue growth in 2019 over 2018, indicating early market traction.

3DEO serves customers in medical, aerospace, industrial, consumer, and automotive verticals, focusing on innovative companies that need small metal components in high volumes. Typical parts include complex brackets, housings, and mechanical assemblies that would otherwise require multiple manufacturing steps. The company has raised $41.46 million from investors including Mizuho Bank, the Development Bank of Japan, and Seiko Epson Corporation, the latter also serving as a strategic partner.

The company's competitive moat rests on its patented Intelligent Layering process and its ability to deliver cost-effective production at scale, a segment where LPBF and DED systems are often uneconomical. However, as binder jetting from competitors like Desktop Metal and ExOne matures and adds in-situ machining capabilities, 3DEO will need to continue expanding its material portfolio and throughput to maintain its lead in the small-parts production niche.