The Third Angle

“Manufacturing is critical to our national security, our health and our ability to explore new worlds and advance the human condition... VulcanForms exists to move manufacturing forward and be a small piece, hopefully a very important piece, of that future.” 

VulcanForms is an MIT-born company that builds and operates advanced digital manufacturing infrastructure, founded in 2015. It’s named after Vulcan, the roman god of fire and metalworking. Why? Because the company has developed an innovative new way of manufacturing intricate metal parts on an industrial scale. They use metal additive manufacturing, a form of 3D printing to print engineered metal components that require precise designs and complex structures. This means they can have a production line that can at one time be making components for medical devices, then switch to making consumer electronics, and another week be making products for aviation, space exploration or the defence industry.

What’s more this production line is quieter, cleaner and greener than ever more! Manufacturing  components this way instead of the traditional method of forging them cuts down on costs and removes the need for a supply chain.

In this episode, Co-Founder John Hart takes us around VulcanOne, VulcanForm’s Foundry in Massachusetts, to find out more. We also hear from Brian Thompson at PTC, who tells us about how the 3D CAD software Creo helps the team at VulcanForms collaborate on their designs to perfect this alternative manufacturing process.

VulcanForms is supported by PTC Partner PDS Vision, find out more about here

Find out more about Creo here

Your host is Paul Haimes from industrial software company PTC.

Episodes are released bi-weekly. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for updates.

Third Angle is an 18Sixty production for PTC. Executive producer is Jacqui Cook. Sound design and editing by Clarissa Maycock. Location recording by Curt Nickisch. And music by Rowan Bishop.

“Ultimately, we will be looking to save lives, I think, within one to two years that that would be a reality.”

If you are injured in a disaster zone, it is critical that you receive medical care as urgently as possible. But what if the environment is not safe for medics to enter? Either because it is a war zone or because there are hazardous materials around? That’s where AMRC’s VR technology can help.

The Advanced Medical Robotics Centre at the University of Sheffield, UK has created pioneering robotics technology to get medics into difficult-to-access areas to triage patients. Using medical telexistence (MediTel) technology, medics can operate a remote controlled robot to reach the patients, and wear a virtual reality headset which places them in that environment. The robots are equipped with medical devices which allow the medics to carry out checks including taking the patient's pulse, administering pain relief and palpitating their abdomen. Meanwhile the headset is so realistic that it feels like the user is there on the ground, with the view from the robot moving in real time as they move their heads. AMRC is hoping to use this technology in the next 1-2 years to save lives in dangerous environments.

In this episode we head to Sheffield to visit AMRC’s Digital Design Lab to meet David King, who demonstrates how realistic their MediTel VR technology is.

Find out more about AMRC here

Your host is Paul Haimes from industrial software company PTC.

Episodes are released bi-weekly. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for updates.

Third Angle is an 18Sixty production for PTC. Executive producer is Jacqui Cook. Sound design and editing by Ollie Guillou. Location recording by Helen Lennard. And music by Rowan Bishop.

“We’re giving the opportunity for people to do a lot of technical work, that generally doesnt happen too often in Kenya”

If you’ve been to East Africa you may be familiar with “boda bodas.” If not, they’re small taxi bikes, commonly used by couriers or to transport people. There are 1.2 million of them in Kenya alone, that’s a lot of combustion engines on the roads, and removing them is the problem that Roam Electric are helping to solve

Roam was founded in 2017. They started out making electric safari vehicles (no surprise being located right on the edge of the national park) but they now aim to create an electric future for Africa by producing easy-to-use, affordable electric vehicles. As well as developing innovative electric buses as the country’s newest and greenest mass transit solution, they also build an electric motorcycle called the Roam Air, primarily targeted at boda boda riders.

In this episode we head to Nairobi to visit Roam’s HQ to meet Masa Kituyi and Dennis Wakaba who show us round the shop floor, take a spin on a Roam Air and hear how the technology and design behind these motorcycles is the future of mobility in Africa.

The other fascinating aspect of this story is the positive impact that the company is having locally. The workforce is 39% female and they’re a success story in talent development in Kenya.

We also hear from Jon Hirschtick at PTC, who tells us about how the Onshape software helps the whole team at Roam collaborate seamlessly in the design process and management of the whole manufacturing journey.

Find out more about Roam here 

Find out more about OnShape here

Your host is Paul Haimes from industrial software company PTC.

Episodes are released bi-weekly. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for updates.

Third Angle is an 18Sixty production for PTC. Executive producer is Jacqui Cook. Sound design and editing by Clarissa Maycock. Location recording by Helen Lennard. And music by Rowan Bishop.

From being inside ground control during mission launch at a space centre, to being pelted with virtual fireballs in virtual reality, to riding inside the electric vehicles revolutionising transport in Africa, the Third Angle podcast has taken us to some incredible places over the last 24 episodes.

Here we look back at highlights of some of our most inspiring conversations with the people at the forefront of the future of engineering, all powered by PTC technology.

If this has left you wanting to know more, you can listen back to all of our episodes on the PTC website or wherever you get your podcasts.

Previous episodes of The Third Angle are available here.

Listen to the full Genesis Custom Sabers episode here, and find out more about the company here.

Listen to the full ARC episode here, and find out more about the company here.

Listen to the full D-Orbit episode here, and find out more about the company here.

Listen to the full Actronika episode here, and find out more about the company here.

Listen to the full OX Delivers episode here, and find out more about the company here.

Your host is Paul Haimes from industrial software company PTC.

Episodes are released bi-weekly. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for updates.

Third Angle is an 18Sixty production for PTC. Executive producer is Jacqui Cook. Sound design and editing by Clarissa Maycock. And music by Rowan Bishop.

“How can we make this so it physically works, but also how can we make it so that it looks amazing as well?”

From James Bond to Mission Impossible to The Great Escape, chances are you have probably seen a Triumph motorcycle on the silver screen. Triumph’s most famous bikes are probably their iconic 1960s Bonneville range, but they make a wide range of classic, urban and adventure bikes, and also supply engines for racing bikes, with some models having even broken land-speed records. The company was founded in 1902 and they currently sell around 100,000 bikes each year all around the world.

The sleek design which made the 1960s models so famous is very important to the brand, but they also need to include all of the modern hardware that today’s consumers expect, from cruise control to infotainment. Our producer Helen visited Triumph’s headquarters in Hinckley to meet Chief Design Office Geoff Hurst. He showed her around their offices and the on-site Visitor Centre, and explained how clever design is required for their contemporary bikes to maintain all the style of their 1960s models, but include all of the technological advances of the 2020s.

We also hear from Mark Lobo at PTC, who tells us about how the Windchill software is ideal for automotive and motorcycle manufacturing companies like Triumph who value quality and attention to detail.

Find out more about Triumph here.

Find out more about Windchill here.

Your host is Paul Haimes from industrial software company PTC.

Episodes are released bi-weekly. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for updates.

Third Angle is an 18Sixty production for PTC. Executive producer is Jacqui Cook. Sound design and editing by Clarissa Maycock. Location recording by Helen Lennard. And music by Rowan Bishop.

“We believe that Africa shouldn’t be trailing behind the developing world in green initiatives, but that actually Africa is primed to lead the drive to green initiatives.”

Around the world, over 3 billion people don’t have access to motorised transport. This means that farmers in emerging economies can struggle to get their produce to market. They might have to carry heavy loads long distances, or pay to rent a bike which isn’t suited to dangerous roads, all because they can’t afford to buy a truck. OX Delivers is working to change all this by allowing farmers to rent space in their electric OX Trucks. As the farmers are only paying for the space they need, the system remains affordable and allows them to take more goods to market and make more profit.

The OX Delivers system is currently operating in Rwanda, but they aim to expand to other emerging markets. The OX Trucks have been designed to be durable enough to negotiate the hilly Rwandan roads, and fully electric to keep costs down and to be less polluting. Our producer Helen visited their HQ in Leamington Spa in the UK to find out more about how OX Delivers are constantly innovating and improving their trucks to give the best possible service to their customers.

We also hear from Jon Hirschtick at PTC, who tells us about how OnShape’s cloud-based system can suit a small start-up like OX Delivers and help their engineers to work collaboratively with their office in Rwanda.

Find out more about OX Delivers here.

Find out more about OnShape here.

Your host is Paul Haimes from industrial software company PTC.

Episodes are released bi-weekly. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for updates.

Third Angle is an 18Sixty production for PTC. Executive producer is Jacqui Cook. Sound design and editing by Clarissa Maycock. Location recording by Helen Lennard. And music by Rowan Bishop.

“There’s nothing really else out there that compares to this…. It’s the closest to real life you can get without actually going out on track in a car.“

Imagine being able to race round all the world’s top Formula One circuits and feel every bump and bit of understeer without actually having to travel anywhere. Or to be able to test drive a road car that  hasn’t been built yet on the motorway. Dynisma creates driving simulators that make this possible. Founded by ex-F1 engineer Ash Warne, Dynisma develops incredibly realistic driving simulators for both motorsport teams and the car industry.  What sets their simulators apart though is how quickly they respond, in milliseconds, so drivers feel like they’re driving a real car.

Our presenter (and motor racing fan) Paul Haimes joined Ash in Dynisma’s office in Somerset to learn more about how they build state of the art simulators - and to have a test drive in their flagship DMG-1 model simulator. Paul drives the DMG-1 around the famous Spa Francorchamps F1 circuit, guided around by junior Aston Martin driver Tom Canning, to feel the responsiveness and realism of the simulator.

Ash also takes us around their manufacturing site to see the simulators in construction, and tells us about how incredibly accurate simulators can help motorsport teams and manufacturers cut down on travel and plan for a greener future. We also hear from Jon Hirschtick at PTC, who tells us about how OnShape’s cloud-based system can help Dynisma engineers to be more collaborative and get to the cutting edge of simulation.

Find out more about Dynisma here.

Find out more about OnShape here.

Your host is Paul Haimes from industrial software company PTC.

Episodes are released bi-weekly. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for updates.

Third Angle is an 18Sixty production for PTC. Executive producer is Jacqui Cook. Sound design and editing by Ollie Guillou and Clarissa Maycock. Location recording by Hannah Dean. And music by Rowan Bishop.

“It is different, it is unique, and people are not used to seeing a piano in this harmonious mustard colour.”

Since the launch of the Casiotone keyboard in 1980, the electronic keyboard has become a popular addition to our homes. A more affordable and portable option to the classic piano, it opened up an exciting new era of musical expression to a generation of consumers. Although they started out making calculators and watches, they have since sold over 100 million musical instruments. Their latest model, the PX-S7000 in “harmonious mustard” from the Casio Privia range, is not only going down a storm with musicians but it’s also a thing of beauty winning design awards for its unusual look.

Neil Evans is the Electronic Music Division of Casio in the UK and Ireland. He tells us about the cultural impact and evolution of the casio keyboard… and also plays us some tunes. Find out from Neil how the sound samples have evolved over the years, how their dedication to detail makes playing the keyboard a truly sensory experience, and why that sleek and lightweight design is so important.

We also hear from Brian Thompson, who heads up PTC’s CAD division. He explains how Casio uses Creo to further develop its Privia range in terms of ECAD-MCAD collaboration, and how the software helps the company to balance the electronic and mechanical aspects of the design. This is especially important with customers placing more and more emphasis on aesthetics.

Find out more about Casio here.

Find out more about CREO here.

Your host is Paul Haimes from industrial software company PTC.

Episodes are released bi-weekly. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for updates.

Third Angle is an 18Sixty production for PTC. Executive producer is Jacqui Cook. Sound design and editing by Ollie Guillou and Clarissa Maycock. Location recording by Hannah Dean. And music by Rowan Bishop.

“The project has definitely made me more curious about all the kinds of subjects I had to delve into for the project… also resilience, I think, is a big part of it.“

Education is vital for inspiring the engineers of tomorrow. In this special episode of the podcast we ask: are we encouraging enough young people to go into engineering to meet the demand for innovation? We speak to Jordan Cox from PTC’s Education segment about the importance of inspiring the next generation to study STEM subjects, and how the company is supporting academia in creating the engineers of the future.

We also head to Germany to meet Steve Sandhoop, a high school student at the Gymnasium in den Filder Benden, who is living proof that giving students access to technology to get involved in engineering can yield great results. Steve created a robot arm designed to carry out knee surgery as part of his final project at school. Not content with just building the robot, he also created an accurate life-size model of a human knee for it to operate on. He 3D printed all parts of his robot arm and the model knee in the school “fab lab” (short for fabrication lab) and consulted with a surgeon to make the model anatomically correct. Steve designed the robotic arm in PTC’s Onshape CAD software.

We hear about how the project has ignited an interest in engineering and software for Steve and how vital it was for him to have the tools and support provided for him by his school.

Find out more about PTC’s Education Segment here.

Find out more about CREO here.

Your host is Paul Haimes from industrial software company PTC.

Episodes are released bi-weekly. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for updates.

Third Angle is an 18Sixty production for PTC. Executive producer is Jacqui Cook. Sound design and editing by Ollie Guillou. Recording by Ollie Guillou and Clarissa Maycock. And music by Rowan Bishop.

There is no new episode this week as we are taking a mid-season break, but we will be back on 11th July bringing you the story of how a student in Germany has created a fully independent robotic arm to perform knee replacement surgery.

In the meantime, take the opportunity to look back at some of the most exciting advances in technology we have covered in our previous episodes, from visiting the architects making the buildings of the future, to speaking to the engineers making the machines that fight cancer.

Earlier in 2022 we visited PAL-V, who are engineering the world’s first road legal flying car. Plus we went behind the scenes at Silverstone with motor racing team Rodin Carlin, and visited the space station at D-Orbit in Italy to hear about the satellites they are launching.

Find all our previous episodes here.

Find out more about CREO here.

Your host is Paul Haimes from industrial software company PTC.

Episodes are released bi-weekly. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for updates.

Third Angle is an 18Sixty production for PTC. Executive producer is Jacqui Cook. Sound design and editing by Ollie Guillou. Location recording by Hannah Dean. And music by Rowan Bishop.