NW Rapid Manufacturing

What NW Rapid Manufacturing does

NW Rapid Manufacturing LLC is a privately held, woman-owned Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) additive manufacturing service bureau founded in 2008 and headquartered in McMinnville, Oregon. The company operates EOS P7-series SLS machines to fuse nylon powders layer by layer into functional prototypes and end-use production parts, with a build rate of 10–15 mm/hour, layer thickness of 0.10–0.15 mm, and no support structures required during printing. Its material catalog spans 10 polyamide powders including stock PA 2201 Nylon 12 and PA 615-GS glass-filled, plus non-stock specialty variants such as carbon-fiber-filled, mineral-fiber, fire-retardant (FAR 25.853), and Nylon 11 grades. The company delivers full in-house post-processing — bead blasting, vibratory finishing, electroplating, metallization, Mil-Spec painting, inserts, and assembly — supported by FDA food-safe, USP Class VI, ITAR, and RoHS/WEEE certifications.

NW Rapid's commercial model is a custom-quote, project-based service with per-part pricing varying by material, geometry, and finishing requirements. Distribution is exclusively direct: customers submit CAD files through an online quote form or phone outreach, and every project is reviewed by an engineer before printing. There are no channel partners, resellers, or marketplace listings. The customer base spans Aerospace & Defense/UAS (primary vertical — Matternet, Northwest UAV, Bionic Power working with the U.S. Army and Marines), general manufacturing and engineering (Superior Screen Systems/Tri-S, TREKKER, PlyoTower), education and research (Oregon State University Global Formula Racing), performing arts (Portland'5 Center for the Arts), and consumer/SMB aftermarket (1996 Honda Accord replacement part). Named commercial outcomes include 800,000+ flight hours accumulated on UAV parts, a 10-day turnaround replacing 8-week traditional tooling for Tri-S, and sub-$90, 3-day replacements for legacy metal castings.

The go-to-market motion is consultative enterprise and mid-market field/inside sales targeting engineers and defense contractors in the Pacific Northwest and across U.S. defense/aerospace supply chains. Marketing is content-led via the Layer-by-Layer Bulletin blog, Mailchimp newsletter, SEO-optimized vertical landing pages, Facebook organic social, and community/education outreach (Nerd Herd robotics, McMinnville High School EASA, Yamhill County CASA). The firm is bootstrapped with no disclosed funding rounds, no institutional investors, no parent company, and no M&A activity; the leadership team is small (President Heather Harris, Controller Ginny Long, General Manager Nick Classen, plus production and finishing specialists), and the operating footprint is a single McMinnville site.

Name

NW Rapid Manufacturing

Legal name

NW Rapid Manufacturing LLC

Website

https://nwrapidmfg.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NW Rapid Manufacturing is a woman-owned Selective Laser Sintering service bureau in McMinnville, Oregon, delivering SLS prototypes and end-use parts in 10 polyamide materials with full in-house finishing to aerospace/defense, industrial, and commercial customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Additive Manufacturing Services

NAICS

Printing and Related Support Activities (3231), Machine Shops (332710), Electroplating, Plating, Polishing, Anodizing, and Coloring (332813)

SIC

Coating, Engraving & Allied Services (3470)

akta.pro primary industry

Polymer 3D Printing Service Bureaus (FDM/FFF, SLA/DLP, SLS/MJF) (IMAAADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Machining & Precision Finishing (CNC, Drilling, Tapping, Reaming) (IMAAAGAG), Concept & Industrial Design Prototyping (Additive) (IMAAAFAA), Joining, Assembly & Repair (Bonding, Welding, Brazing, Fasteners) (IMAAAGAK)

Keywords

• SLS 3D printing
• Additive manufacturing services
• Rapid prototyping
• Nylon parts production
• Contract 3D printing

Headquarters

HQ city

Mcminnville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. SLS 3D Printing Service Bureau: NW Rapid Manufacturing operates as a professional Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) 3D printing service bureau. Customers submit CAD files for printing functional prototypes and end-use production parts in nylon and composite materials. Revenue is generated on a per-part or per-project basis, with pricing varying by material selection, part complexity, and finishing requirements. The company offers a 5-step structured process including engineering review, printing, and post-processing finishing services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

NW Rapid Manufacturing operates a Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) 3D printing service bureau using EOS P7-series machines to convert customer CAD files into functional prototypes and end-use production parts in nylon and composite powders. The company offers 10 different SLS nylon materials (stock and non-stock specialty powders) and provides comprehensive in-house post-processing finishing (bead blasting, vibratory finishing, electroplating, painting, fastener inserts, assembly) with engineering review of customer CAD files prior to printing.

Product overview

NW Rapid Manufacturing is a woman-owned Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) 3D printing service bureau offering a integrated suite of additive manufacturing solutions. The core offering is SLS 3D printing services for prototyping and production parts using industrial nylon powders. The portfolio includes two stock Nylon 12 materials (PA 2201 Standard and PA 615-GS Glass-filled) available for fast turnaround, plus eight non-stock specialty materials including carbon fiber-filled, glass-filled, mineral fiber-filled, fire retardant, aluminum-filled (ALUMIDE®), and Nylon 11 variants. Post-processing is handled through comprehensive finishing services covering bead blasting, vibratory finishing, electroplating, painting (including Mil-Spec), and assembly. Engineering support including CAD file review and material selection guidance is provided as part of the service. The company primarily serves aerospace, defense (UAV/UAS), medical, automotive, and industrial manufacturing sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SLS 3D Printing Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 800,000+ flight hours accumulated on SLS parts flying on commercial and defense UAVs, with some parts exceeding 1 million hours of flight time
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Northwest UAV (NWUAV)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNWUAV, an 80+ employee company with $20M+ annual revenue, is a key partner in SLS additive manufacturing for UAV engine components. NW Rapid produced the 'puck' component prototype for NWUAV's universal engine assembly system, demonstrating SLS capabilities for complex UAV geometries. Chris Harris founded NWUAV in 2005 in McMinnville, OR.
• Superior Screen Systems (Tri-S)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTri-S, a 25-employee bottle screen-printing company in Tualatin, OR, partnered with NW Rapid to replace expensive metal tooling with 3D-printed base cups. NW Rapid became Tri-S's exclusive go-to printer for all tooling, achieving dramatic cost reduction and 10-day turnaround vs. 8-week lead times.
• Bionic Power, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBionic Power, based in Vancouver, BC, Canada, contracted NW Rapid to prototype wearable technology for charging rechargeable military batteries. NW Rapid used PA640 carbon fiber/glass bead nylon 12 and collaborated with Stratasys, 3D Systems, and Hydro Graphics for a fully functioning product for the U.S. Army and Marines.
• MatternetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMatternet (Menlo Park, CA) partnered with NW Rapid to design and manufacture the first drone specifically for transporting small goods. NW Rapid provided SLS material selection, design iteration, and production of lightweight, durable drone components using PA 2201 and GLS 840 materials.
• TREKKER Design & ManufacturingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTREKKER Design & Manufacturing, an engineering company in Hillsboro, OR, collaborated with NW Rapid to design and produce replacement magazines for antique Remington Model 591 firearms using Nylon 12 PA 2201. The two companies collaborated to repair an out-of-tolerance part and develop solutions for future production.
• Oregon State University (OSU) Global Formula RacingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOSU students requested assistance creating a Global Formula Racing fuel tank for international competitions. NW Rapid designed the fuel tank using SolidWorks, applied PA 2201 with liquid tank sealant, and collaborated with Northwest UAV engineer Tim Klein to refine the design. The fuel tank was used in competitions in Austria, Germany, and Michigan.
• Hydro Graphics, Inc.minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHydro Graphics, Inc. provided decal finishing services for the Bionic Power military wearable technology project, complementing NW Rapid's SLS printing and post-processing capabilities.
• Northwest UAV (NWUAV) - Tim KleinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTim Klein, an OSU alumnus and engineer at Northwest UAV, collaborated with OSU students to refine the fuel tank design, bringing his fuel tank expertise to the project. This McMinnville-based collaboration leveraged local expertise.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Xometry: Xometry is a venture-backed online manufacturing marketplace aggregating CNC, 3D printing (including SLS), injection molding, and sheet metal services. It competes with NW Rapid on the digital RFQ side, particularly for SLS polymer production parts in aerospace and industrial use cases.
• Protolabs: Protolabs operates an automated, multi-technology digital manufacturing service bureau offering SLS, metal 3D printing, CNC machining, and injection molding. It is a broad incumbent competing for the same engineering and prototyping customers, but at much larger scale and with instant-quoting automation.
• 3D Systems (Quickparts): 3D Systems is a foundational 3D printing OEM that also operates a service bureau (Quickparts) for SLS, SLA, and metal AM parts. It is named as a partner-collaborator in NW Rapid's Bionic Power project, and competes for SLS nylon production work.
• Hubs (Protolabs Network): Hubs (now part of Protolabs Network) is a global online manufacturing platform offering CNC, 3D printing (including SLS), and sheet metal services through a distributed network of vetted suppliers. It is a broad incumbent competitor for online-quoted SLS work.

Direct peers

• Sculpteo: Sculpteo is a European online SLS and plastic 3D printing service bureau offering nylon (PA12, PA11) and TPU production parts. It is a direct peer in polymer SLS service bureau work, primarily serving European customers, but with overlapping materials and use cases.
• Star Rapid: Star Rapid is a China-based rapid prototyping and low-volume manufacturing service bureau offering SLS, SLA, DMLS, CNC, and injection molding. It is a direct peer competing for SLS polymer work, primarily serving North American and European customers via online quoting.
• Stratasys Direct Manufacturing: Stratasys Direct is one of the largest and longest-running digital manufacturing service bureaus in North America, offering SLS, FDM, PolyJet, and metal AM. It is the closest large-scale direct competitor to NW Rapid, serving the same aerospace, defense, and industrial customers with broader material and technology coverage.
• Shapeways: Shapeways is an online 3D printing service bureau offering SLS, MJF, SLA, and DMLS in a wide range of materials. It is a direct peer in polymer SLS service bureau work, with a more marketplace-driven model and broader consumer focus.

Regional players

• BeAM (AddUp / sister AM bureaus): AddUp (and the broader European metal AM service bureau ecosystem) competes in industrial additive manufacturing, more on the metal side but addressing the same aerospace, defense, and industrial customers. Geographic focus is Europe; technology focus is metal DMLS, which is adjacent to NW Rapid's polymer SLS niche.

Emerging players

• Fictiv: Fictiv operates a digital manufacturing platform connecting customers with vetted global suppliers for CNC, 3D printing, and injection molding. It is an emerging marketplace competitor targeting the same engineering-driven custom parts workflow NW Rapid serves, with automated quoting and distributed manufacturing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/northwestrapidmfg
• Xx.com/nwrapidmfg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/northwest-rapid-manufacturing

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NW Rapid Manufacturing