Insights from Endeavor 3D’s O&P White Paper

Orthotics and prosthetics are at the center of a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, where patient expectations for comfort, customization, and quick turnaround continue to rise. Yet for many clinicians, traditional fabrication methods such as plaster casting and thermoforming still dominate day-to-day practice. While reliable, these processes often leave patients waiting weeks for a device that may still require multiple adjustments before achieving an acceptable fit.

Endeavor 3D’s new white paper, A Clinician’s Guide to O&P 3D Printing, explores how additive manufacturing is addressing these challenges, offering clinicians and engineers a path toward faster, more precise, and more scalable solutions.

One of the most pressing issues with traditional methods is the timeline. Fabricating a custom prosthetic socket or orthotic device through casting and thermoforming can take a month or more, requiring repeated clinic visits and adjustments. For patients, this not only prolongs discomfort but can also discourage long-term compliance.

Consistency is another challenge. Because plaster molds are destroyed during production, there is no digital record of a patient’s anatomy. Any modification or replacement must begin from scratch, leading to variability in outcomes and inefficiency for both clinicians and labs.

Finally, design limitations remain a constant barrier. With conventional materials and manual processes, it is difficult to create lightweight, ventilated structures or tailor devices to both the mechanical and lifestyle needs of individual patients. The result is often a compromise between what is possible to fabricate and what is truly ideal for the wearer.

Additive manufacturing redefines O&P device production by digitizing and shortening the workflow. Clinicians can move from weeks-long fabrication timelines to a matter of days. High-resolution scanning technologies capture anatomy in minutes, while advanced printers like HP Multi Jet Fusion produce strong, end-use devices in less than 24 hours.

Perhaps most importantly, every patient becomes a permanent digital record. This ensures consistency across fittings and allows clinicians to iterate quickly. Engineers can make adjustments directly to the design file rather than starting from scratch.

Additive manufacturing also opens the door to true customization. Engineers can vary lattice structures, infill densities, and ergonomics, helping fine-tune the breathability and flexibility of patient-specific devices. These capabilities allow clinicians to deliver solutions that feel less like compromises and more like individualized care.

For clinicians, additive manufacturing means fewer patient visits, reduced turnaround times, and devices that are more likely to fit correctly the first time. For engineers and fabrication specialists, it means greater design freedom, scalable production, and the ability to push beyond the limits of traditional materials.

These advances represent a shift in how the O&P industry can respond to patient needs with speed, precision, and adaptability. This white paper explores this shift in depth, presenting real-world applications and insights for clinicians and engineers looking to adopt or expand their use of 3D printing.