Ian Yang is the founder of Gantri , a startup which uses desktop 3D printers to make lamps . We love Gantri because it deploys 3D printing for consumer products and is one of very few firms to do so. Gantri is pushing our technology into your living room and bedroom. So, how does the company manage to do that? We follow the company’s path, software, and design sensibility. We look at how they use 3D printers that you may have at home and tried to make their own. Ian tells us why they manufacture...
Apr 17, 2023•54 min
Frank Herzog, alongside his wife, commercialized Concept Laser. The firm was later sold to GE to become the core of GE Additive, and Frank stuck around to build out GE’s operations in Lichtenfels. Later, Frank and Co. started an R&D center, a seed capital fund and a Venture Capital firm all united under the HZG Group . Frank tells us his extraordinary tale of family and entrepreneurship. We learn of his principles and what he thinks make companies successful. We could have easily spoken with...
Apr 10, 2023•53 min
Meld is one of the most exciting metal 3D printing startups out there. Its additive friction stir deposition is a solid-state process that can print very large metal parts that no other technology can without the use of a chamber. On this episode of the 3DPOD, we have a veteran guest returning. Tim Bell, Chief Operating Officer at MELD Manufacturing Corporation, returns to us to explain the technology and the company. We talk about the possibilities and the applications, including making gradien...
Apr 03, 2023•32 min
Ben Schrauwen was a Professor of Machine Learning who also had a few startups under his belt when joined Autodesk and worked on the CAD giant’s 3D printing software. He then started Oqton, a software firm later sold to 3D Systems. In this episode of the 3DPOD, Ben goes into depth with us to explain machine learning, AI and the opportunities there. I really enjoyed his explanations of machine learning and what it is and isn’t. He then goes on to talk about Oqton and the future of 3D printing....
Mar 27, 2023•44 min
Scott Volk has deep experience in additive and, over the decades, he’s stood at the forefront of polymer and metal implementations, working for such firms as Incodema3D and GPI Prototype. Upon leaving Keselowski Advanced Manufacturing, where he served as Vice President of Business Development & Strategy, in 2022, Scott’s a free agent via his own firm, Advanced Additive Innovations Inc. Now, he can speak freely and he does so extensively in this episode of the 3DPOD. We get a well-informed, n...
Mar 21, 2023•54 min
Martin Eichenhofer took his research from ETH Zurich and turned it into an exciting startup, 9T Labs , which hopes to make its two step carbon fiber 3D printing technique suitable for large-scale volume production of programmable carbon fiber components. Carbon fiber and other CFRP parts could replace metal, make elements lighter, and represent a new method for altering the form factor of many objects today. Bikes, drones, and consumer electronics could be just some of the areas impacted. In thi...
Mar 13, 2023•44 min
Matt Smith started his firm TCPoly while he was a researcher at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He parlayed this small business into manufacturing filament that is thermally, but not electrically conductive conductive. With a thermal conductivity of 6 W/m-K, TCPoly filament can be used to create structures with properties that other parts simply cannot have. TCPoly has expanded to manufacturer panels that could help keep large buildings cool. Matt’s story is one that really illustrates how ...
Mar 06, 2023•46 min
As Head of Business Development, Marketing and Sales, Ole von Seelen has been helping trinckle 3D grow in the 3D printing space for years now. Starting out as a package for managing online services, the firm expanded to become a productivity software until pivoting again to become a customization software vendor. Now armed with investment from the HZG Group , it wants to accelerate its growth into making mass customization and personalization easy for anyone to do. On this episode of the 3DPOD, ...
Feb 27, 2023•47 min
Samantha Snabes, co-founder of re:3D, is extremely humble, but as we dive into her story in this episode of the 3DPOD, we learn just how exciting, fascinating and fun her life has truly been. It is a story of high-speed entrepreneurship for good. Max and I are swept away by her story and that of re:3D , which has brought a family of large- and medium-format 3D printers to life. re:3D’s Gigabot systems have good intentions but are also being used in serious applications at NASA, Lockheed Martin a...
Feb 20, 2023•53 min
David Moodie is a New Zealand-based product designer who took a tumble down the 3D printing rabbit hole. After meeting the world’s nicest venture capital fund, a fanciful client project morphed into a startup, dubbed Foundry Lab . The firm’s metal casting technology is a potentially very exciting one. Speeding up the die casting process is something of which others have steered clear. By creating a unique technology meant to accelerate die casting, the company does not have to grab a lot of mark...
Feb 13, 2023•43 min
Slant 3D CEO Gabe Bentz only wanted to design and market 3D printed parts, but found existing service bureaus too expensive. So, he made a pivot and Slant 3D deployed the world’s largest 3D printer farm . The company now uses desktop 3D printers to make products at scale. This is a potentially very disruptive strategy for the additive manufacturing industry. In this episode of the 3DPOD, Gabe talks us through what Slant does and how it aims to grow....
Feb 06, 2023•43 min
In this episode of the 3DPOD, we speak to Dr. Steven Kurtz , director of the Implant Research Center at Drexel University’s School of Biomedical Engineering, Science, and Health Systems and also acts as an implant consultant. We have a great conversation about the PAEK family of high-performance polymers, including PEKK and PEEK, for use in the body. Dr. Kurtz also discusses the opportunities for Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) which is still a nascent material for additive man...
Jan 30, 2023•51 min
Coming from the world of gaming, Lars Brubaker started MatterHackers to take part in the 3D printing revolution. Due to his background, he has good war stories: trying to find filament when no one was selling it, except a single individual in New Zealand, or seeking out customer service on some of the first consumer 3D printers. Lars also tells us about building companies: what kind of values, metrics, and strategies you have to do in order to be successful. By being close to your customers and ...
Jan 18, 2023•43 min
Fergal Coulter, a postdoctoral research fellow at ETH Zurich, is one of the most interesting scientists working in 3D printing today. His work spans from 3D printing on balloon shapes to heart valves, electro active actuators, prosthesis, 3D printing bacteria and much more. You can check out his research on his website and his YouTube channel . Now, Fergal is working on an eight-axis 3D printer which he is to release open source to the world. This is an astounding project and could help the worl...
Jan 01, 2023•44 min
Bob Markley, Executive Vice President at additive manufacturing provider ADDMAN Group , has had an eventful journey in 3D printing. In this episode of the 3DPOD, he discusses the route to starting a 3D printing service with one machine and trying to grow it. Now, he’s a part of the fast-expanding ADDMAN empire. What does it take to run a service today? Where are the opportunities and what should a 3D printing service do? What will happen with consolidation in 3D printing? Bob tells us very candi...
Dec 26, 2022•50 min
Maxi Strixner has worked in engineering positions and leading firms such as EOS, AMCM, AP Works and now The Exploration Company. We talk to him about designing for additive, engineering for additive and what it takes to be an engineer in additive manufacturing. We also discuss new space, aviation, racing cars, automotive, generative design, optimization and much much more. Really exciting look at what it takes to engineer for success in Additive.
Dec 16, 2022•50 min
In this week’s episode of the 3DPOD, we have Paul Gradl, a principal engineer in the Combustion Devices Design and Development Branch at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. This is an episode that we’ve been looking forward to for months. We wanted to have Paul on because he wrote and cowrote a couple of papers which we love, including “ Metal additive manufacturing in aerospace: A review .” It’s simply fantastic, providing a great overview of what is going on in metal 3D printing in the aerospac...
Dec 12, 2022•1 hr
Prior to establishing precision metal 3D printing firm Holo, Inc. , Arian Aghababaie founded a firm dedicated to building a digital light processing (DLP) 3D printer. That startup was quickly acquired by Autodesk, leading to the CAD software giant’s Spark / Ember 3D printer, a DLP machine that was widely used. Later on, he spun out the printer technology to form Holo, which uses what I refer to as “slurry stereolithography” to produce finely detailed metal parts as a service. Holo is trying to i...
Dec 05, 2022•52 min
Andrew Cunningham is an additive manufacturing (AM) process engineer at General Motors (GM). He candidly tells us about how GM is using 3D printing across the organization. We get some tidbits on everything from prototyping to tooling to racing. He also talks about the company’s new $300,000 CELESTIQ vehicle , which will feature a variety of AM technologies by the firm to make over 100 3D printed metal and polymer parts....
Dec 01, 2022•52 min
Tim Bell started off as a machinist, working a lot of jobs in engineering, program management, and more before going to Siemens Digital Industries , where he is now Additive Manufacturing Business Manager. On the 3DPOD, he speaks to us about digital twins , digital thread, and contextualizes these broader manufacturing trends . Tim also discusses the opportunities in additive and manufacturing going forward. How does Siemens work with companies to help them adopt 3D printing? What are some of th...
Nov 24, 2022•44 min
On this episode of the 3DPOD, Tim Berry, Head of Manufacturing at Launcher , takes us through what you need to be an engineer working in new space today. He discusses how Launcher uses 3D printing to make components for propulsion and other spacecraft systems. You’ll be blown away just how extensive the startup’s 3D printing activity is. You’ll also be quite surprised by what copper they use. This is a must-listen if you’re interested in the new space race....
Nov 21, 2022•54 min
Before serving in his current role as Technology Director of America Makes , Brandon Ribic worked at Los Alamos and Rolls Royce. In this episode of the 3DPOD, Brandon takes us through what America Makes is up to , how to spread additive around the U.S., and what is holding back the 3D printing industry. From training to capacity building, we’re told what could and does help. Great conversation that has a lot to offer, particularly for listeners who want to move additive from the sketch pad to pr...
Nov 14, 2022•45 min
Sascha Wenzler, Vice President of Formnext , is with us on the 3DPOD again. He’s now in a much more relaxed frame of mind, now that we have a complete trade show taking place with significant visitors and exhibitors and free from pandemic fears. We talk to Sascha about the trends at Formnext 2022, what kind of stands we will be seeing, what companies are doing to promote themselves, and what kinds of activities will be taking place. Sascha also discusses the types of lectures, courses, and prese...
Nov 07, 2022•41 min
CEO of Evolve Additive Joe Allison got started with 3D printing in 1987. After working for 3D Systems, he started Solid Concepts, which would grow to become one of the world’s largest additive manufacturing service bureaus before its ultimate purchase by Stratasys. In turn, Joe served as the CEO of Stratasys Direct Manufacturing . What’s more, it would pioneer parts on commercial aircraft, drones, and in all sorts of applications. Joe tells us of his pioneering role in the industry and what he i...
Oct 31, 2022•55 min
Neal Orringer worked in a number of roles in the U.S. government and with 3D Systems before leading ASTRO America as its president. There, he’s trying to wrangle large companies like Boeing and Honeywell into spreading 3D printing across their industrial base. Orringer also trying to lead the charge in hypersonics and make 3D printing useful for land vehicles. We hope you find our conversation with Orringer as entertaining as we did. If you want to hear more from Neal, please register for our (F...
Oct 24, 2022•58 min
Stephen Holmes is the Editor in Chief of DEVELOP3D , a publication with its own voice dedicated to product development, design, and CAD. The outlet also offers stories related to 3D printing, as well as product reviews on peripherals and computers. Additionally, the team behind DEVELOP3D hosts its own live event, DEVELOP3D Live, on November 1 . We really enjoyed Stephen´s opinionated clear take on 3D printing and the promise of our industry....
Oct 17, 2022•39 min
After working in aerospace, engineer Dale Swarts went into the orthopedics industry, where he worked at Zimmer for many years, rising to the status of director. Later, he became the Applied Research Director at Pipeline Orthopedics. When that firm was taken over by Mako, he took the position of director before becoming the Chief Engineer at Stryker when it acquired Mako. Dale knows an awful lot about 3D printing orthopedics. Now semi-retired, but advising such firms as Oxford Performance Materia...
Oct 14, 2022•47 min
AM Ventures portfolio company Incus is developing a method to use lithography metal manufacturing to make small accurate metal parts. What kind of applications work for its technology? How is the company going to grow its business? How do they stack up against binder jet, bound metal, and powder bed fusion? We have an open conversation with Dr. Gerald Mitteramskogler, Incus CEO and founder, about all of this. We also discuss his journey in 3D printing and the future of his firm....
Oct 03, 2022•45 min
Quantica Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer Ben Hartkopp invented a method of inkjetting extremely viscous, high-performance materials. Moreover, the startup’s print heads and materials can provide voxel-level control over a printed part’s properties, potentially revolutionizing the dental, medical, printed electronics, bioprinting markets and more. Quantica is producing its own inkjetting technology itself, which is a huge challenge. Not only will the company have to commercialize a novel pie...
Sep 26, 2022•40 min
Kris Binon is at the helm of Flam3D , an organization that began by connecting the Belgian region of Flanders via 3D printing. Later, Flam3D grew to represent research institutes and companies throughout Belgium and, now, the Netherlands. In this episode of the 3DPOD, we talk about how to educate people about 3D printing, as well as how to work with governments and other stakeholders to spread 3D printing around the world....
Sep 19, 2022•31 min
