Solutionology Podcast

In this mini-episode of the Solutionology Podcast, we’re addressing some of the most common questions we get about volume production using additive manufacturing. In fact, these questions were the driving force behind a technical presentation that Carl Douglass, DI Labs CEO, created and will be delivering at the Medical Device and Manufacturing tradeshow in Minneapolis. We’re just getting warmed up and hope to see you there!

Common questions about volume production with additive manufacturing:

• What types of applications and projects are the right fit? 
• What reasons should drive the decision to use additive?
• What reasons should drive the decision NOT to use additive?
• What does the production part approval (PPAP) process look like?

Takeaways from Carl’s presentation:

• To successfully leverage additive for production, build it in early
• High-tolerance parts are possible
• Additive shouldn’t be considered the end-all-be-all
• Additive can be a superpower if used in the right applications

Related Content: 

• MD&M technical presentation details
• Article in "Plastics Today" about the presentation

Chapters & Topics:
00:00 Intro
00:15 Welcome
00:40 MD&M presentation takeaways
02:27 Go & yield applications for additive
04:51 Organizational limitations
05:34 Need a champion and stakeholders
08:28 Keys for successful production
09:27 Developing a production part approval process
11:37 Validating biocompatibility for medical device
13:35 Biggest shortcomings in preparing for additive
14:06 See you at MD&M

More about DI Labs:
https://dilabs.cc/

We’re back with a favorite client and good friend, Mike Van Staagen, owner of Van Staagen Design and VP of Advanced Design and Development for Cirrus Aircraft.

In this episode, Mike talks about working with a company to design the internal body of a very specialized camera about the size of a soda can. He explains how leveraging the DI Labs Multi-Jet Fusion (MJF) capabilities for final production allowed him to drive complexity into his final design. His solution included a single printed part, which he describes as “impossible,” that held over 20 components together and went through multiple iterations to add new features such as snaps, wire runs, and clips. Mike calls MJF technology "a solution that can grow with you."

More about DI Labs.
Watch all of our Solutionology Podcast Episodes on YouTube.  

Related Content: 

• Ep #18 | The Impact of Rapid Modeling at Full Scale: Cirrus Fuselage
• Ep #19 | Insights from a 30-Year Career in Product Design w/ Mike Van Staagen

In this special episode, we got 30 years of wisdom from renowned product and aviation designer, Mike Van Staagen. Mike is extremely passion about sharing what he's learned on his professional journey which started with architecture and led to his current position as VP of Advanced Design and Development for Cirrus Aircraft.

Among Mike's many career achievements, he helped to envision, design and lead teams for the best-selling Cirrus SR20/22 aircraft. He was also the creator and driving force behind the Cirrus SF50 Vision personal jet.

Here's a snapshot of the insightful and powerful points Mike makes in this episode. If you're looking for inspiration, take a listen!

Episode Topics:
00:00  Intro
01:41  Thinking like an architect changes your perspective
06:25  If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then models are worth 1,000 pictures
07:33  Making bold moves can create bold results
18:17  A design is never, ever finished
20:11  Accidental discovery is a superpower, so create opportunities for it to happen
25:56  Models and prototypes are the best possible ambassador for your design
32:14  Polygon modelers are easy to manipulate and like having digital clay

Watch all of our Solutionology Podcast Episodes on YouTube:    
• Solutionology Podcast 

More about DI Labs:
https://dilabs.cc/

Don’t miss this conversation with a favorite client and good friend, Mike Van Staagen. Mike is a renowned designer of aircraft, mobility solutions, products of all sorts, and a manufacturing engineer with an award-winning 30-year career. He currently serves as the VP of Advanced Design and Development for Cirrus Aircraft while also operating his own design firm. Mike's many accolades include helping to envision, design and lead teams for the best-selling Cirrus SR20/22 aircraft. He was also the creator and driving force behind the Cirrus SF50 Vision personal jet.

In this episode, Mike explains the daunting challenge he brought to DI Labs during the design phase of a new Cirrus aircraft project. Our solution, which was delivered to Cirrus in just 30 days, was a full-scale fuselage prototype created using additive manufacturing. We printed over 130 thin-walled panels and developed a proprietary system of mechanical joints and assembly to build a 10' x 4.5' model that became the ambassador of Mike’s new design concept.

Dimensional accuracy was critical in this project which is why it is a perfect example of Mike's theory that 1/8 of an inch can make all the difference.

00:00
01:07 Welcome and introduction
03:32 Accomplishments at Cirrus
04:30 Ideas behind the Cirrus SR20 & SR22
07:14 Creating the best passenger experience
08:07 Hand constructed full-scale fuselage of the vision jet
11:12 The  ⅛’s of an inch difference
12:11 3D printed full-scale fuselage shows ⅛’s of an inch
14:22 An accomplishment

See this project profile on our website: https://dilabs.cc/portfolio-item/full...

Watch all the episodes on YouTube: Solutionology Podcast 

Learn more about DI Labs: https://dilabs.cc/

This episode of the Solutionology podcast is unlike any other we've done. Our guest is Todd Buness, the CFO and President of Prinsco, a long standing product development client of DI Labs. In this conversation we do a deep dive into the business and finance side of product innovation from his perspective. It's a topic that takes us away from the technical details of additive manufacturing and highlights how the benefits of additive support innovation with speed, rapid learning, and flexibility to iterate.

Todd is a great storyteller and shares specific examples of how this has played out in companies he's worked for such as Cargill, Heraeus, and Prinsco. He describes himself as a "manufacturing guy" and not a typical CFO because of his strategic focus on bringing together the functional units of an organization to drive success. He talks about understanding customer needs, designing the right thing, getting something into customer hands as soon as possible for feedback, getting to market quickly to start a revenue stream and building a partner relationship with clients. It's a long-term, solutions-based way of thinking that is very aligned with our approach at DI Labs which is why these types of conversations are so much fun for us! Enjoy!

00:00 Intro
05:02 Inside the episode
07:42 Bringing together engineering, manufacturing and sales
08:30 Heraeus contract manufacturing approach
10:21 Medical component example
14:18 Not a typical finance guy
15:35 Shifting the customer perspective at Cargill
16:49 First ever customer solutions strategy
18:25 Converting a commodity business into a solution model
19:36 Beer barley examples
22:21 Helping customers shift their thinking
25:57 Story of shifting from commodity vs solution customers
29:53 Scarcity mindset to opportunity mindset
31:55 Enlarging the pie vs getting the lowest price
33:04 Classifying customers to service them correctly
34:19 Challenges of managing a program
37:30 Advice to your younger self
39:46 Getting the commitment to get programs launched

https://dilabs.cc/

Carl & Brian walk through examples of how they’ve used industrial 3D printing (additive manufacturing) to drive innovation in projects using low pressure molding methods such as thermoforming. You’ll see examples where traditional molds were modified with 3D printed components in order to enhance features and test design changes during real time production. When additive is used this way and in this part of the process, it can help product development teams fuel innovation and make better, more strategic decisions.

https://dilabs.cc/

00:00 Intro
03:33 Additive isn’t always the best solution
04:05 Early thermoforming mold
05:26 Glass bead reinforced nylon 12
07:13 Traditional manufacturing
10:48 Different testing approaches
11:45 Product changes in real time– modified molds
12:19 Scheduling production down time
15:30 Balancing desired outcome with economics
16:14 Our approach– understanding the whole picture
17:14 What validating thermoforming can achieve
19:32 Demonstrating use of additively produced components
21:46 Thermoforming in process demonstration
23:21 Improve product with existing tooling
24:24 Inserts attached to the mold to change geometries in real time
30:24 Marrying technologies to drive a decision
32:13 HP Multi Jet Fusion is the primary resource
35:40 Change is part of our daily lives

Do you have experience with ultra-high-performance PEEK materials? Come from an industrial application with harsh chemical & thermal conditions? Robert McKay & Silvia Berretta of Victrex have extensive experience with PEEK and have been instrumental in launching PAEK, an ultra-high-performance option to PEEK with increased printability & more flexible processing window. In fact, VictrexAM™ 200 PAEK is now a Stratasys validated material. We've experienced challenges printing with PEEK & believe the processing ease & flexibility offered by PAEK could vastly accelerate the adoption of additive across applications like aerospace, defense, medical, heavy industrial & electronics. Learn how PAEK is an additive manufacturing superhero!

00:00 Intro
01:52 PEEK material & challenges
05:26 Intro to Victrex, inventor of PEEK
06:04 PAEK is the true superhero
06:30 Meet Robert McKay & Silvia Berretta
09:33 Victrex & PEEK designed for injection molding
10:35 Evidence of PEEK’s use worldwide
11:25 Victrex manufacturing
12:20 The AM world in Victrex
13:26 PEEK support group?
14:07 PAEK pulled by trends
15:50 Relationship between PEEK & PAEK
16:21 Misconceptions of PAEK
18:42 PAEK molecular differences & crystallization speed
21:39 PAEK lower viscosity & wider processing window
23:00 PAEK soluble supports & a sweet spot of crystallization
26:25 Victrex & the Stratasys OpenAM program
28:55 OpenAM Beta & first part using AM 200 PAEK
34:36 Acceptance and success of PAEK
36:47 PAEK qualified for aerospace flight uses
38:28 Defining certifications to achieve
39:36 Higher chemical resistance
45:34 Reinforcement additives
48:25 Requests for fiber-filled filament
49:45 Specifying materials for additive
51:21 Drivers of carbon fiber
53:02 Advice about exploring PAEK
55:22 Confidence to align PAEK with PEEK applications

PAEK at DI Labs

There's a lot of overselling and hype in the additive industry right now that's not founded in reality. In this excerpt from the Solutionology Podcast Episode #13, we talk about this trend toward transactional, short-term thinking. On the flip side, we share how embracing discomfort and taking ownership of client projects is built into the DI Labs culture. Hear examples of when our engineering-first approach has driven us to take risks, push beyond client expectations, and do things differently. Ideally, our client relationships become a collaborative push and pull where both sides are challenged to see past short-term wins and create strategic, long-term solutions.

Find the full episode on YouTube!
Learn more: https://dilabs.cc 

As a customer, have you ever been disappointed by a company's willingness to honor promises? Does it feel like their commitment stops when their profitability stops? 

We've been on the receiving end of this problem recently, which has only strengthened our resolve to deliver on promises we make to customers, no matter what. DI Labs is an engineering-first additive provider committed to solving problems the right way vs making sales the quick way. 

That's the topic of this excerpt from episode #13 of the Solutionology podcast about the 5 Pain Points of Additive. What's been your experience with making promises vs delivering on promises?

When companies promote quality, what do they really mean? In this excerpt from the Solutionology Podcast 13, DI Labs Co-founders Carl and Brian Douglass dive into the topic of quality and the role it plays in meeting customer expectations.

In additive manufacturing, quality is tied to dimensional accuracy, tolerance control, consistency, and performance. It’s about understanding and setting expectations on the front end, then building in process controls through the entire production cycle to ensure that every single part meets the quality standard required for that client, application and performance level. Learn how our 3D scanning CMM (Computerized Measuring Machine) along with our digital workflow and hands-on inspection process give DI Labs the ability to ensure quality on an entirely new level.

https://dilabs.cc/