Intrepid Automation CEO: 3D Printing Must Scale for Mass Manufacturing

Mass manufacturing, not just prototypes

Ben Wynne has spent two decades in additive manufacturing. He worked at HP's advanced R&D group in the early 2000s, then helped launch 3D Systems' San Diego site in 2016. Today, as CEO of Intrepid Automation, he is pushing the company toward a single goal: making 3D printing a foundation for mass manufacturing rather than a tool limited to prototyping.

In a recent interview on the TCT Magazine podcast, Wynne said the industry has finally reached a point where the technology can support real production volumes. The challenge is no longer whether 3D printers can make parts. It is whether they can make the same part, at the same quality, across hundreds of machines. Wynne told the podcast that he wants to make additive manufacturing a foundation for mass manufacturing, not just an occasional alternative to conventional tooling.

The snowflake problem

Wynne calls it the snowflake problem. Buy two identical industrial 3D printers and they will likely produce different results. That variability works against adoption in aerospace, defense, and automotive, where part qualification is strict. Wynne says many manufacturers have 100 or 200 industrial 3D printing machines that sit idle because they cannot deliver consistent output.

Intrepid Automation addresses this with software and closed-loop sensor systems. The company uses a modular DLP process that projects entire layers at once rather than tracing with a laser point. Multiple projectors are stitched together to create one unified image across a build area roughly 30 by 26 inches. Closed-loop sensors measure variation in real time and adjust the process while printing. Wynne says this makes Printer 1 produce the same part as Printer 2, 3, or 4. That consistency is the prerequisite for any manufacturer thinking about adding machines to a production floor at scale.

Casting patterns as the entry point

Rather than asking manufacturers to abandon existing foundry processes, Intrepid is inserting 3D printing at the front end. The system prints digital patterns for sand casting. Foundries can then produce qualified metal parts using the same infrastructure they already operate.

This approach shortens lead times from months to days. It also avoids the costly re-qualification that comes with replacing an entire manufacturing line. Wynne says the strategy is gaining traction with defense and aerospace customers who need speed without sacrificing compliance.

The company makes its own resins and focuses on speed. Digital patterns replace traditional tooling, and the process works with existing foundry workflows. Wynne describes it as upgrading what already works rather than tearing it down. By layering software and automation onto established processes, Intrepid helps manufacturers modernize without abandoning the capabilities they spent decades building.

Automation and reshoring

Intrepid has raised close to $30 million and is scaling its commercial operations. The company designs its systems for lights-out operation, with robots loading and unloading machines. Wynne sees this as essential to addressing labor shortages and supporting reshoring efforts in the U.S. He says the factory of the future is not built on robots alone, but on capturing the legacy knowledge of experienced workers and embedding it into automated systems.

What comes next

Intrepid Automation is focused on casting and heavy manufacturing, but Wynne sees the same consistency problem across other sectors. He believes the lessons learned from industrial DLP can apply to metal printing and other processes once the variability issue is solved.

The company is also fighting a patent dispute with 3D Systems that began in 2021. Key claims were dismissed in March 2025, though some matters remain ongoing. Wynne says those legal issues are largely behind the business now, and the team is focused on commercial growth and expanding its customer base in aerospace and defense.