• Customized Quality Assurance, Control and Management Meet Rigorous Applications
• Purpose-Built Software Designed to Ensure Full Testing and Traceability of End-to-End Processes
• User-Application Team Offers Expert Guidance on Optimal Materials and Technologies
• Flexible, On-Demand Digital Production Ushers in Additive Manufacturing 2.0

NEW YORK — (BUSINESS WIRE) — January 19, 2022 — Shapeways Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SHPW) (“Shapeways” or the “Company”), a leading global digital manufacturing platform driven by proprietary software, is extending its robust quality assurance capabilities to address the rigorous production requirements of enterprise customers while meeting the new expectations of Additive Manufacturing 2.0. This next generation of 3D printing represents an inflection point toward mass adoption, which Shapeways is enabling through its world-class services and support of diverse and demanding additive manufacturing applications.

Shapeways is uniquely positioned to help drive market momentum for Additive Manufacturing 2.0 with its end-to-end digital manufacturing platform and established ecosystem of manufacturing partners.

Shapeways’ extended quality assurance capabilities are designed to lower manufacturing barriers while increasing the speed of delivery of quality parts and products for more than one million customers worldwide. “Quality is at the heart of all we do—from refining initial designs to delivering final products and every step in-between,” said Aidan O’Sullivan, vice president of operations at Shapeways. “We continually enhance our quality systems, which are designed to ensure that we meet our customers’ exact performance requirements, each and every time.”

World-Class Quality Drives Next-Generation Additive Manufacturing

At each Shapeways ISO-9001 production facility, quality experts adhere to rigorous Quality Assurance and Quality Control procedures designed to address special customer requirements spanning prototypes to full-scale production of high-performance, end-use parts. An experienced user-application group assists customers in identifying design attributes while guiding the selection of materials and technology combinations to yield the best possible outcomes for a variety of industrial applications for aerospace and defense, automotive and healthcare industries.

Additionally, Shapeways addresses growing demand for highly personalized products by customizing quality management to meet a variety of strenuous requirements. For example, Shapeways assists an international manufacturer of custom knee braces in producing two products tailored for different activity levels. To help ensure the highest levels of product reliability and performance, Shapeways identified specific file orientations and stress-testing processes. The user-application team also recommended the use of Nylon 11 material to manufacture a specific brace model designed for high-impact athletic performance.

Additionally, Shapeways continues to work closely with customers like 67 Designs, a developer of rugged iPad mounting devices for off-roading, to optimize builds and scale production volumes at price points comparable to traditional injection molding.

Real-Time Visibility, Testing and Traceability

Shapeways’ multi-step quality management process includes real-time monitoring and alerts, along with complete testing and quality checks designed to achieve part reliability and consistency. Tracking updates on all production and post-processing keeps customers fully informed on status while complete traceability facilitates fast root-cause analysis of issues impacting end-to-end manufacturing flows.

In producing high-quality drone parts for several Shapeways industrial customers, the quality team tested each part against stringent strength characteristics for optimal durability. Additionally, they collaborated with drone customers to align part design and file orientations with varying drone-assembly requirements in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Shapeways also works closely with its global network of technology and manufacturing partners through dynamic feedback loops focused on maximizing operational efficiencies and streamlining preventative maintenance. As Shapeways scales operations to meet the ever-increasing demands of Additive Manufacturing 2.0, the company will continue to expand its offerings, including the design of new quality control mechanisms for specific industrial applications.

About Shapeways

Shapeways is a leader in the large and fast-growing digital manufacturing industry combining high quality, flexible on-demand manufacturing powered by purpose-built proprietary software which enables customers to rapidly transform digital designs into physical products, globally. Shapeways makes industrial-grade additive manufacturing accessible by fully digitizing the end-to-end manufacturing process, and by providing a broad range of solutions utilizing 11 additive manufacturing technologies and more than 90 materials and finishes, with the ability to easily scale new innovation. To date, Shapeways has delivered over 21 million parts to 1 million customers in over 160 countries.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this press release are not historical facts and are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. The forward-looking statements include statements regarding: our robust quality assurance capabilities addressing the rigorous production requirements of enterprise customers and meeting the new expectations of Additive Manufacturing 2.0; and our plans to continue to expand our offerings, including the design of new quality control mechanisms for specific industrial applications. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of management of the Company and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of the Company. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including the risk that Shapeways has a history of losses and the Company may not achieve or maintain profitability in the future; the risk that the Company faces significant competition and expects to face increasing competition in many aspects of its business, which could cause the Company’s operating results to suffer; the risk that the digital manufacturing industry is a relatively new and emerging market and it is uncertain whether it will gain widespread acceptance; the risk that the Company’s new and existing solutions and software do not achieve sufficient market acceptance, and other factors discussed in Shapeways’ Registration Statement on Form S-1, under the heading “Risk Factors,” and other documents Shapeways has filed, or will file, with the Securities and Exchange Commission. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that the Company does not presently know, or that the Company currently believes are immaterial, that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s expectations, plans, or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its assessments to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, it specifically disclaims any obligation to do so.

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Investor Relations
Jennifer Walsh
investors@shapeways.com

Media Relations
Rhonda Giedt
press@shapeways.com