Spectroplast CEO on Silicone 3D Printing: Mass Production Is the Next Step

A Materials Company, Not a Printer Company

Spectroplast does not sell printers. It sells silicone compounds formulated specifically for layer-by-layer deposition, along with the process know-how to print them reliably. CEO Maximilian Eils laid out that model on the TCT Additive Insight podcast, where he described a strategy built entirely around material science rather than hardware announcements.

Eils took the top job at Spectroplast in late 2025, around the time the company moved its headquarters from Zurich to Munich. The relocation was not cosmetic. Munich places Spectroplast closer to automotive and medical device manufacturers in Germany and southern Europe, the customers most likely to adopt silicone AM at scale.

Why Silicone Is Hard to Print

Thermoplastics melt, flow, and freeze. Silicone does none of those things cleanly. It behaves like a viscous fluid that must be cured layer by layer without mixing between layers, without stringing, and without losing the elasticity that makes it useful. Most off-the-shelf 3D printers cannot handle that chemistry.

Spectroplast's approach starts with the formulation. The company engineers silicone compounds with specific rheological properties: enough viscosity to hold shape between layers, enough流动性 to extrude without tearing, and enough chemical stability for biocompatible medical applications. The printer hardware is secondary. A material that cannot be printed consistently does not matter how sophisticated the motion system is.

Current Applications

The podcast discussion covered two main markets. Medical devices lead the list: ear prosthesis, orthotics, surgical guides, and anatomical models for pre-surgical planning. Silicone is inherently biocompatible and soft, which makes it naturally suited for anything that contacts skin or interfaces with body tissue.

On the consumer side, custom grips, wearable components, and ergonomic handles are where silicone 3D printing competes with injection molding. The economics work when part counts are low or when geometry is too complex for conventional tooling. Above a few thousand units, molding still wins on price. Spectroplast is not pretending otherwise.

Toward Series Production

Eils used the phrase "on the verge of series production" during the podcast. That is a careful description. It means silicone 3D printing is ready for defined production runs in specific applications, not that it will replace molded silicone across all industries tomorrow.

The path to broader adoption depends on two things: faster print throughput and tighter quality consistency. Both require materials advances more than hardware upgrades. Spectroplast's continued investment in formulation chemistry is aimed at exactly those problems.

The Munich Move

Relocating from Zurich to Munich was also a signaling move. Germany's medical device and automotive sectors are among the most demanding in the world. Winning validation from those supply chains gives Spectroplast credibility that transfers to other markets. The Munich office is not just a headquarters. It is a credibility anchor.

The podcast episode is worth listening to for anyone tracking materials innovation in additive manufacturing. Spectroplast is one of the few companies pushing silicone AM toward production rather than treating it as a niche prototyping option, and Eils's explanation of how that works is unusually direct.