Evolve Additive Shuts Down and Auctions Its STEP Printing Equipment

Evolve Additive Solutions is winding down operations and liquidating its physical assets. The Minnesota company, which spun out of Stratasys in 2018 to commercialize its STEP selective thermoplastic electrophotographic process, has engaged Grafe Auction to sell equipment across three sites.

The first auction covers the Edina, Minnesota facility at 7355 Washington Ave S. Bidding closes Thursday, September 17 at 1pm Central. An in-person preview runs that morning from 9am to noon. Rochester, New York and Minnetonka, Minnesota sites follow in October.

STEP technology built parts from engineering-grade thermoplastics using an electrophotographic process adapted from 2D toner imaging. The pitch was simple: match injection molding on cost, surface finish, and part strength at production volumes into the hundreds of thousands of units per year. Founder Steve Chillscyzn held 45 patents tied to the technology and developed it as an internal Stratasys R&D project before the spin-off.

The funding was substantial. Stanley Black and Decker and the LEGO Group put in $19 million in 2017, followed by a $25 million round in 2018 that brought Stratasys in as an investor. A $30 million growth round from 3D Ventures in 2021 pushed total funding past $55 million. That same year, Evolve shipped its first commercial SVP Scalable Volume Production system.

In 2022, 3D Ventures managing partner Joe Allison took over as CEO to push commercialization, with Chillscyzn shifting to chief technology officer. The leadership change did not reverse the slide.

The Edina auction catalog centers on the hardware behind the STEP platform: Evolve toner-based production units, a Stratasys FDM 3D printer with a portable stand and enclosed build chamber, and quantities of Evolve SVP PA850 toner cartridges. Supporting equipment includes LMI Technologies Gocator 3D smart laser line profilers, a semi-automatic dual-head powder auger filler and doser, a stainless vibrating powder screen and sifter, and industrial polymer transfer rollers.

STEP was supposed to be the future of high-volume polymer additive manufacturing. It offered unrivaled precision and speed for ABS parts. In practice, the process proved too costly and complex to scale. The company could not build the support structure needed to shepherd customers from pilot to full production. That failure pattern is increasingly common in additive manufacturing: promising lab technology that cannot survive the transition to factory floors.

Evolve's collapse follows a string of polymer AM casualties. The industry is littered with clever processes that raised tens of millions and still could not compete with injection molding on price or with traditional AM on flexibility. STEP had the Stratasys pedigree, blue-chip investors, and a decade of development. None of that was enough.

For anyone watching the additive manufacturing market, the auction is a sobering benchmark. It shows what happens when a technology cannot cross the valley between pilot success and commercial volume. The assets will find new homes, but the dream of toner-based high-volume AM dies with this sale.