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.

John Hart is a Professor at MIT; he´s also the director of the Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity as well as the director of the Center for Advanced Production Technologies. He is also a co-founder of VulcanForms. We could fill many episodes talking to John obviously, but here we focus on teaching additive, workforce development, the state of the US manufacturing ecosystem, casting startup Fabri, and Desktop Metal. We go from details to vision in an engaging talk that spans the breadth of Additive.

Rich Garrity is the Chief Business Officer of Stratasys. Rich shares Stratasys´ vision and future with us. We talk about machines, applications, clients, and the market in general. What technologies will Stratasys rely on, what materials will it focus on, will it stay with polymers or move more towards metals, how is it dealing with competition, and more will be addressed in this episode.

Marleen Vogelaar was Shapeways‘ first CFO and, along with a new management team, rescued Shapeways out of bankruptcy proceedings. She takes us through the drama and effort to rebound the firm and grow it once again. What is their strategy to be? What markets will they target, what technologies will they use, and where will they invest? Will the firm focus on consumers, businesses, manufacturing, or prototypes? Will the company look at series manufacturing and more assembly operations, or stick to what others do? On the whole, this is an exciting set of experiences and a well-informed look into the future of Additive Manufacturing.

Today we’re doing something completely different in not having one guest on the 3DPOD but many. We’re talking one by one to a team of people at Center Street Technologies. We will hear from the factory floor, machine operations, and founders, all speaking about their role and their part in this team. Center Street wanted this because they’re a team effort, and they want to show how: Michael Garvey, Patrick Kiraly, Brady Walther, Matthew Heffinger and Clark Patterson help make up Center Street. Center Street is developing a large-format Material Extrusion system and service for the Additive Manufacturing market. Building off of work for the Air Force, the team is developing materials, machines, settings and machine in tandem, acting as a systems integrator for large format additive.

Øyvind Tafjord runs Visitech, a firm that makes the light engines that power a lot of the DLP machines we use in Additive. We talk to Øyvind about light engines, their market, competition, and the logic of really large vat polymerization systems. Øyvind thinks that vat polymerization systems using scrolling light engines of several meters by several meters would push Additive into low cost production. We also talk about what it is like to run a business amidst geopolitical uncertainty. Visitech implemented a “No China” supply chain a few years ago, a move that looks very prescient in the current circumstances. Given their work in optics and complex assemblies, Visitech´s success may mean that your own supply chain could also be localized.