3DPOD: Insight from 3D Printing Pros

An often little understood key element of the 3D printing equation is powder. Powdered metal is the material in powder bed fusion and binder jet systems. We write, read, and hear a lot about machines and parts, but not often do we learn much about powder itself. One man who can teach us a lot about it is Carpenter Additive‘s Ben Ferrar. Carpenter (NYSE: CRS) is the Medical/Dental Sponsor for 3DPrint.com’s upcoming Additive Manufacturing Strategies summit, taking place February 9th and 10th.

Ben is very knowledgeable about powder and in this episode walks us through what can go wrong, what makes a good powder, why storage is important, and tells us some new material developments. Carpenter Additive is one of the largest 3D printing powder providers and has a wide range of materials on offer. We discuss the most notable of these. The omnipresent Ti-64, which was once the end-all-be-all of materials is now being complemented by many materials that are newer to additive. Ben is really great at explaining things in a measured tone, so it was a treat to get to talk to him about the powder side of our business. We really hope that you like this episode!

Ben Ferrar will be speaking at 3DPrint.com’s upcoming AMS online industry summit (Feb 9-10, 2021). Register here.

Max and I had a really great time talking to nTopology CEO Brad Rothenberg. Brad started nTopology as a series of tools for creating lattices, but it became much more than that with a new way of modeling and simulating using signed distance functions to form an equation describing a shape. Also called volumetric modeling or implicit modeling, this technique makes shapes easy to describe and modify.

This compares to the  the cumbersome way through which STLs describe all the winding triangles in large files that take ages to render or modify. This is a new path to making and describing geometry. By not having to update or keep track of all faces and normals and indeed the mesh, as you would with NURBS and other ways to generate and manipulate geometries in CAD, nTopology is meant to be faster. Especially for large files, complex files and complex parts, the company’s nTop software should be able to generate manifold geometries and modify them through a series of parameters quickly.

But, will the team be able to find a place next to Autodesk, Dassault and ANSYS? Will it be able to compete, or play nice with the triangle giants? We talk about this and a lot more with Brad in an enlightening conversation.

Today, we’ve got the whirlwind that is Sarah Goehrke on the 3DPOD. Max and I had a great time talking to the former 3DPrint.com Editor-in-Chief about her editorial business, Additive Integrity, along with her work in 3D printing journalism, predictions for the next year, and a brief look back into the last year.

Most of the time, however, we spoke about Women in 3D Printing and the enormous flight that this organization has taken. We discuss their upcoming conference and other events. We also talk about how to get more girls and women involved in our industry. We discuss diversity and inclusion, which are two subjects that Goehrke is passionate about. We really do hope that you like this episode and do keep your ideas, suggestions, and feedback coming.

Today, we talk once again with John Barnes, but we also have Jennifer Coyne of the Wabtec Corporation joining the program. Wabtec is a huge Pittsburg-based train company that makes all manner of trains and train parts with 27,000 employees and $8 billion in revenue. Coyne leads their 3D printing efforts, which are mostly based around spare parts, but she discloses that they’re already working on parts for new trains, as well.

She openheartedly and concisely discusses the opportunity for additive at her firm, as well as the challenges. The company is working on qualifying new parts, making components that are already going on trains and is expanding to a new facility at Pittsburg’s Neighbhorhood91. Coyne discusses what Wabtec is going to do at the new campus geared towards additive manufacturing located on the grounds of Pittsburg’s airport.

John Barnes, who runs Barnes Global Advisors, is super enthusiastic about the facility and what it will bring. He talks to us about how they want to make powder and recycle argon at the facility to lower the costs of 3D printing. Really an enjoyable episode once again that felt like a friendly chat, but was also informative.

Edouard Moens de Hase talks to us today about Aerosint. For the last few years, they have been working on improving powder bed fusion. The company has an innovative drum roller that can recoat layers of powder selectively. This means that the company can mix several metals, polymers, or ceramics in one layer or build. The company can also make gradient materials or bimetallic parts.

Aerosint’s path to market is also unique in that it is focusing on its drum-based recoater technique and not in making the entire machine. Aerosint is a very inspiring company to me. They can radically alter what can be made and how parts can be designed and used with an existing technology. Aerosint could really be a force multiplier for many users and OEMs and advance 3D printing applications for many players. We hope that you enjoy listening!

This time, Max and I got to speak with 3D Systems’ CEO Jeff Graves. Graves has spent over 17 years in corporate leadership roles and now will helm 3D Systems into a new era. We really enjoyed talking to him as he explained the current state of 3D Systems and what it’s like to be at the company now. He also is open about divestitures, changing margins, future activities, and the focus of the firm.

3D Systems’ acquisitive past has meant that it became quite amorphous and Graves is trying to change this through focusing the firm on applications where reliability is key. He also hits at selling more units and making new investments. Graves talks about how to get customers and how the firm aims to expand. He also discusses how machines, software and materials are the key pillars of the firm, crucially excluding services. He mentions some new initiatives and some future plans, as well. We really liked this talk and found Graves to be engaging and clear in his plans for one of the largest companies in 3D printing.

Stefanie Brickwede’s efforts at Deutsche Bahn and Mobility Goes Additive are herculean and will have a significant impact on our industry. Through Brickwede’s efforts, Deutsche Bahn has already 3D printed thousands of parts from polymer items to help the blind to large metal parts in critical applications. Seeing that the challenge of industrializing 3D printing for rail was too big for even the huge Deutsche Bahn, she cobbled together an alliance of railway firms and partnered them all with service companies, software firms, metal printer companies, and materials businesses to see if they could conjointly implement 3D printing for rail.

This is an incredibly cost-effective move that could see us implement 3D printing across the rail industry much sooner than if everyone tried it alone. Brickwede talks with us about how she did it, what the key challenges are and were, what kinds of parts they print, and how Deutsche Bahn works together with others.

I really believe that if others follow in her footsteps for other industries, applications and regions, we can accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing significantly. This is really one of the most important things happening in 3D printing, so give this a listen and spread the word.

Al Siblani is a 3D printing pioneer who got his start over 19 years ago. He worked with layered object manufacturing—the paper, and laser technology—which is a leitmotiv of our podcast and was exceedingly problematic at the time. Subsequently, Siblani founded EnvisionTEC, whose digital light processing (DLP) technology has been a major player in manufacturing, especially for jewelry casts, hearing aids, and dental applications.

We speak to Siblani about his history in 3D printing and how he managed to found his firm. He shares some war stories with us and talks about the current state of EnvisionTEC and the market. He also expresses what he wants to do in the future and how he perceives the market. EnvisionTEC’s development from a one-technology company to one that deploys various different technologies in many markets makes it a versatile, independently held firm. Siblani relays the potential for one particular area, bioprinting specifically. He also talks about the position that being an employee-held company gives the firm and how he sees his independence in the future. All in all, a great story for us and hopefully for you as well. Tell us what you thought of this episode and keep up your suggestions!

Alessio Lorusso built his first 3D printer at 17 and went on to bootstrap his company Roboze. His enthusiasm and drive really shine through in this episode of the 3DPod. The founder talks of Roboze’s expansion into the U.S., where it will hire a lot of staff. He also discusses their parts service, Roboze’s work in materials and their Argo printer. Lorusso discloses that Roboze wants to produce its own materials and that it has done a lot of work characterizing them. He talks about finding the right investors and the right kind of relationships, as well.

Roboze is now a leader in the high-temperature FDM space, where PAEKs and other high-performance polymers are 3D printed. The high-temperature machines that make these parts out of materials such as PEI, PEKK and PEEK need to stop heat bleed in the chamber and control the print process very well. Lorusso touches on some more things also such as pre-drying and settings. He talks about Roboze’s efforts at controlling repeatability and getting the same part to print in New Zealand and Texas. He outlines the vision behind his business and plots a course forward. It’s easy to be swept away by Lorusso’s enthusiasm and grand plans and both Max and myself were! We hope that you enjoy this episode.

I think we can all agree that, so far, this year has been incredibly taxing and confusing for us all. Some of us have had their working lives affected in a much more fundamental way still. Industries such as aviation, automotive, and hospitality have been adrift on a storm of uncertainty and changing information and realities.

One of the most affected fields is the convention industry. Dependent on international guests, air travel, people mixing up-close, and a wish to grow business has driven fairs and conventions to be a significant sector worldwide—one that has had a very rocky year with fits and starts. An individual that is well aware of this is Sascha Wenzler, who heads up Formnext for convention firm Mesago.

Formnext is the definitive 3D printing event and brings together tens of thousands from all over the globe each year. This year, Formnext is going all-digital. That announcement rocked the 3D printing industry and has blown a hole in everyone’s marketing calendar. We talk to Wenzler about what the digital Formnext will be like. How will marketeers and companies be able to showcase themselves?

Wenzler mentions an interesting matching solution the company will deploy and how presentations and product launches can take place. We talk about how guests will interact and how discussions will form. We also delve deeper into the taxing year so far. Wenzler tells us with candor how it was for him and his team to endure. He tells us of the changing plans and how he’s proud of the amazing responsiveness and mountains of work done by his team in organizing a Formnext, then switching over to and organizing a blended version and now switching again to an all-digital event.

Wenzler also talks of the future of tradeshows and how Formnext plans to be more relevant year-round. All in all, this was a great talk and we hope that you find it informative. I really wish Sascha and his wonderful team all the best and am looking forward to an all digital but all amazing Formnext!