{"id":69863,"date":"2026-03-23T00:01:58","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T23:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/?p=69863"},"modified":"2026-03-20T20:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T19:40:11","slug":"post-processing-in-2026-23032026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/post-processing-in-2026-23032026\/","title":{"rendered":"What Will Change for Post-Processing in 2026?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been a while since PostProcess Technologies released its renowned study on post-processing<\/a> trends. But now, the 5th edition is finally available, following the last release in 2022. The report highlights a growing focus on sustainability, safety, and health. <\/strong>As production volumes in additive manufacturing increase, concerns surrounding post-processing are also shifting. How can we keep up with production speeds and ensure that workers are properly protected? Let\u2019s take a closer look at what\u2019s on the horizon for post-processing in 2026.<\/p>\n

Many post-processing trends and requirements have remained consistent over the years: since 2019, support removal<\/strong> and surface finishing<\/strong> have remained the two most commonly used methods among 3D printing users. 59% of participants use the former technique, while 48% use the latter.<\/p>\n

Of course, these post-processing techniques are closely tied to the preferred additive manufacturing process. The study shows that material extrusion<\/a> remains in first place, followed by resin-based processes, and finally powder-based methods. Similarly, there have been no major changes compared to previous years. So, what’s different about the post-processing sector in 2026?<\/p>

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The Challenges of Post-Processing in 2026<\/h2>\n

For the first time, the main issue related to post-processing lies in part consistency: for 54% of respondents, achieving consistent quality<\/strong> from one batch to the next is difficult. The time required<\/strong> for post-processing operations follows closely behind\u2014at 53%\u2014and indicates that these tasks remain too time-consuming. This has a direct impact on the workforce, as many of the responding companies believe that labor should be allocated to tasks with higher added value. Therefore, more automated solutions are needed that do not require human intervention\u2014or at least not to the same extent.<\/p>\n

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The main challenges associated with post-processing (credit: PostProcess)<\/p><\/div>\n

For 52% of respondents, the top priority when it comes to investments in post-processing is to redirect this workforce to other operations<\/strong>. Improving end part quality remains the primary concern (at 68%).<\/p>\n

Scaling Up Is Essential<\/h2>\n

Finally, the 2026 report highlights a particularly interesting point regarding the increase in production volumes in additive manufacturing. As it is increasingly used for the production of finished parts, in batches of varying sizes, post-processing methods must keep pace in terms of scale and throughput. How can they keep pace with 3D printers<\/a>? How can we advance the automation of certain processes? What can be accomplished by a machine versus a skilled worker?<\/p>\n

70% of respondents expressed doubts about their post-processing methods and their ability to keep pace in the future. It is time to take it to the next level.<\/p>\n

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The budgets allocated to post-processing are quite telling: for most of the companies surveyed, post-processing accounts for less than 25% of total additive manufacturing expenses. It is not a priority\u2014or at least, it does not appear to be one.<\/p>\n

One thing is certain: things are changing when it comes to post-processing in 2026. Not drastically, of course, but we see that it must follow the trends in additive manufacturing, which all point toward a shift toward production. You can find the full study HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

*Cover Photo Credits: KingStarMold<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been a while since PostProcess Technologies released its renowned study on post-processing trends. But now, the 5th edition is finally available, following the last release in 2022. The report highlights a growing focus on sustainability, safety, and health. As…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6114,"featured_media":69864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69863"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69863\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69865,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69863\/revisions\/69865"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}