Hamid Zarringhalam rose through the ranks of Nikon‘s precision manufacturing unit. He’s now a Corporate Vice President at Nikon and the CEO of Nikon Advanced Manufacturing and Nikon Ventures. We’re of course going to discuss LPBF and SLM Solutions in this episode. We talk about the market for large machines, applications, costs, directions, and future scenarios. We even squeeze in some other technologies and strategies. It’s a great episode with a lot of insight.

This episode of the 3DPOD is brought to you by Würth Additive Group, industry leaders in digital inventory and physical supply chain solutions. From factory floors to frontline operations, Würth Additive helps manufacturers streamline sourcing and stay production-ready with 3D printing, on-demand parts, and smart inventory strategies.

Peter Rogers is Australian but has worked in Japan since 2009. He has held roles at a Japanese 3D Printing firm, at Velo3D, and at Autodesk. Today, he consults for Japanese 3D Printing firms looking to expand overseas, as well as foreign firms that want to expand into APAC. He also gives marketing and strategic advice to companies worldwide. In this conversation, we get Peter’s insight on the software market, the development of Metal Additive, the broader journey of AM, as well as doing business in Japan. He explains Japan’s slow start in Additive as well as getting the sense that the country is now serious about 3D Printing and growing in the space.

Kory Drake grew up surrounded by the fumes of motor oil and gasoline. With a family steeped in racing and race engineering, he naturally ended up working for racing teams. Now at Arrow McLaren´s IndyCar team. He talks about 3D printing race cars, jigs, 3D printing at races, and much more in this episode. Kory is super down-to-earth and direct about where Additive makes sense and where it does not. He walks us through how they evaluate new technologies and how they aim to stay on top of the latest developments. Car racing and 3D printing go back decades, but here we get a real view of how it’s being used today.

Jake Volnov started DrukArmy to help the Ukrainian war effort. DrukArmy lets individual service members request parts, describe a use case or need, design parts, or order parts. These parts, millions of them, are then 3D printed. A lot of these parts go to make up key components of drones, an essential part of Ukraine´s defenses. 3D printed drone components, along with a lot of sacrifice, have helped the country remain free and will play an important part in every conflict henceforth.

This episode of the 3DPOD is brought to you by Würth Additive Group, industry leaders in digital inventory and physical supply chain solutions. From factory floors to frontline operations, Würth Additive helps manufacturers streamline sourcing and stay production-ready with 3D printing, on-demand parts, and smart inventory strategies.

Dr. Habib Dagher founded the University of Maine‘s Advanced Structures and Composites Center, which, with 400 researchers, is one of the leading composites research centers in the world. In 3D printing, the center makes houses out of wood waste and 3D prints boats and other large polymer structures. Habib believes in cheaper waste products over concrete for construction printing. He also details the ways in which we can use Additive in printing composites. But 3D printing is one part of a bigger technology for him. With Convergent Manufacturing, Additive and subtractive processes work together in unison. That is a very compelling vision that we’re already doing with a lot of things, but could really change how we are able to make things. Through working in concert, better toolpathing, QA, and multiple heads could print, mill, add conductive traces, and more to one boat hull all at the same time.

This episode was brought to you by Continuum Powders.

Alex Kingsbury worked at the Australian research institute CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) on Additive before working for The Barnes Global Advisors, RMIT University, and now nLight. Alex is, of course, the co-founder of our other podcast, Printing Money. At nLight, she wants to expand the use of beam shaping in Additive. With beam shaping, we may be able to use more materials, get better part properties, and dramatically speed up build speeds. Alex takes us through the technology, but we also talk about 3D printing in Australia, the cost of 3D printing, and strategy.

This episode was brought to you by Continuum Powders.

Matt Pine is training Marines to use 3D printing in the field and helping deploy the technology globally for the United States Marine Corps. Working primarily with desktop machines, he focuses on MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul), improvised repair, and delivering parts to where servicemen and women need them most. Matt talks about the needs of the Marine Corps, and we explore the differences between 3D printing at Camp Lejeune and in a forward operating area. We discuss which parts are needed, what materials are required, and how 3D printing can be scaled effectively. We also learn how Matt trains Marines to 3D print and which Marines can and should be trained in this process. His experiences overseas and in conflict zones give him a sanguine view of what is needed and what 3D printing can realistically deliver.

This episode was brought to you by Continuum Powders.

Continuum was previously known as Molyworks, and we loved their crazy startup story with founder Chris Eonta. Now Rob Higby is the firm’s CEO. With him, we discuss a more mature very different firm. We talk a lot about making aircraft, and aircraft MRO, which is a considerable opportunity but maybe not as easy as we think. Rob suggests that cargo aircraft could be a sweet spot for AM and gives us a lot of insight into an industry he worked in for years. Then we get into Continuum’s future, its strategy, and what the company is doing to meet powder demand. What’s the opportunity in reclaimed, recycled powder, and where is this part of the market headed?

Dhruv Bhate is an associate professor at Arizona State University. There, he looks at structures, materials, and design. Previously, he worked at PADT as well as in the semiconductor and automotive industries. We talk here about meta materials, lattices, and the power (and risk) that these structures have. We also learn about bioinspired design. What is the best way to look at nature to find new forms and performance? Should we study a creature or look for features? We learn about the maxim ¨go ugly early¨ as well as Druh´s journey so far. 

Jason Murphy´s NXC MFG (Next Chapter Manufacturing) is not a generalist service; instead, the company specializes in making tooling. Using LPBF and binder jet, the company produces some of the most complex, high-performance tooling worldwide. Jason talks to us about conformal cooling and when companies turn to Additive for their tooling needs. We also talk about manufacturing in America and workforce development. Jason is a Master Molder with extensive experience in the molding industry. So, Additive is a problem solver for him. His LPBF machines of choice will surprise you, and I think that his methods and vision for creating a business should be an inspiration for many more to develop similar businesses in other verticals.