Kory Drake grew up surrounded by the fumes of motor oil and gasoline. With a family steeped in racing and race engineering, he naturally ended up working for racing teams. Now at Arrow McLaren´s IndyCar team. He talks about 3D printing race cars, jigs, 3D printing at races, and much more in this episode. Kory is super down-to-earth and direct about where Additive makes sense and where it does not. He walks us through how they evaluate new technologies and how they aim to stay on top of the lates...
Aug 26, 2025•46 min
Jake Volnov started DrukArmy to help the Ukrainian war effort. DrukArmy lets individual service members request parts, describe a use case or need, design parts, or order parts. These parts, millions of them, are then 3D printed. A lot of these parts go to make up key components of drones, an essential part of Ukraine´s defenses. 3D printed drone components , along with a lot of sacrifice, have helped the country remain free and will play an important part in every conflict henceforth. This epis...
Aug 18, 2025•46 min
Dr. Habib Dagher founded the University of Maine ‘s Advanced Structures and Composites Center , which, with 400 researchers, is one of the leading composites research centers in the world. In 3D printing, the center makes houses out of wood waste and 3D prints boats and other large polymer structures. Habib believes in cheaper waste products over concrete for construction printing . He also details the ways in which we can use Additive in printing composites. But 3D printing is one part of a big...
Aug 11, 2025•51 min
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...
Aug 04, 2025•58 min
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 n...
Jul 28, 2025•44 min
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...
Jul 21, 2025•50 min
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 ...
Jul 14, 2025•55 min
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, A...
Jul 08, 2025•56 min
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 bre...
Jun 30, 2025•42 min
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.
Jun 23, 2025•48 min
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...
Jun 16, 2025•55 min
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. ...
Jun 09, 2025•55 min
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...
Jun 02, 2025•45 min
Ruben Meuth worked at Fraunhofer before helping to start 3D Spark , a German startup that helps companies identify, cost, quote, and screen 3D printed parts. There’s a lot going on in the part screening, digital warehouse space, and we discuss this fast-developing part of the industry with Ruben. Where are the important choke points in additive and how can software help grow our market?
May 26, 2025•43 min
Jay Dinsmore founded the eponymous company Dinsmore years ago. Since then, he’s had many an adventure in hiring people, managing them, training them, keeping them, and getting the best out of them. Meanwhile, he’s wrestled machines across several technologies as well. We also discuss the takeover by ADDMAN of his firm and the path ahead. We really run the gamut here from finance to operations, and I think it’s an enlightening entrepreneurship and growth story....
May 19, 2025•50 min
Jacob Nuechterlein is back with us. Initially we go into Fortius Metals discussing the special materials that firm has for DED. But, the meat and bones of this episode is metals more generally. What’s is an oxygen dispersion steel, what about a superalloy? And what are refractories? When is something a metal matrix composite? And can we have things that fit into multiple categories? Rather confusingly, the answer is yes. Jacob helps guide us through a lot of often used but little understood term...
May 12, 2025•50 min
Mark Skylar-Scott is an experienced bioprinting researcher now working at one of the foremost bioprinting labs in the world at Stanford University. We talk about inexpensive desktop bioprinters and their ability to do meaningful work, as well as various bioprinting technologies. We were very happy to get a lot of detail, but also a great overview into this rather murky market. We’re told about the future probable and the future possible, as well as the different challenges. This is a great prime...
May 05, 2025•48 min
Kodiak Brush grew up playing football before working on crash testing. Sometimes someone’s career can seem like it is inexorably building up to one goal. And with Kodiak now making better football helmets through 3D printing, this is one of those cases. LIGHT Helmets is making affordable 3D printed helmets. Using desktop 3D printing and design optimization, special structures have been created that absorb critical impacts in the correct way. There are cheaper helmets out there, but starting at $...
Apr 28, 2025•1 hr 1 min
Dieter Schwarze is a true 3D printing icon. Here we get the twisting, arduous tale of Dieter’s journey into additive. Starting with inkjet, SLA and lots of other technologies, Dieter´s path was filled with telenovela-like plot twists. The Nikon SLM Solutions story is an important element of his tale, but the entire saga is much more complex. With a lot of candor, he talks about getting started, growing a business, selling to Nikon, and more. We get a real entrepreneurial vision here. Nothing has...
Apr 21, 2025•48 min
Spencer Loveless’ story is a compelling one. It’s a tale of a family business starting from nowhere and becoming successful. Then subsequently, it is a tale of manufacturing in the USA against all odds. This is a very topical story, but it is also a crucial story for 3D printing. His firm Merit3D uses a technology that most have only seen at trade shows, Photocentric. Furthermore, he’s not running a traditional service bureau. Spencer wants to do to true manufacturing, bridge manufacturing, and ...
Apr 14, 2025•46 min
I really loved this episode of the 3DPOD with Howie Marotto , Additive Manufacturing Business Director at EWI . A Marine with deep logistics experience gets to tell us how viable 3D printing actually is for the military. If we look at the frontlines, the forward operating base, or large overseas bases—where will we 3D print what? Which technologies and machines will be used, and how will the U.S. ensure it has the best machines? Given his significant experience in setting up and supplying some o...
Apr 08, 2025•43 min
Executive Director for the Center of Advanced Manufacturing and Materials at Harrisburg University , Larry “LJ” Holmes is a pioneer in applying additive manufacturing to defense and other critical sectors. Part inventor, part educator, he is dynamic and a true force for change. LJ is now spearheading the J-DAMMIT military 3D printing event. But he’s also done exciting work in explosive technologies and beyond. From swarm manufacturing to aviation, and from tiny robots to some of the largest 3D p...
Mar 31, 2025•53 min
Andreas Knoechel, Head of Program Management for Additive Manufacturing at Oechsler , is doing some real heavy lifting in production . German plastics manufacturer Oechsler was the pioneer behind 3D-printed shoes at scale . In this episode of the 3DPOD, Andreas speaks of this success as well as some lesser-known achievements of the firm. From the well-known bicycle seats to other newer applications, he highlights the firm’s progress. I’d definitely give this episode a listen—Andreas shares real ...
Mar 24, 2025•49 min
Metallurgist and materials scientist Jacob Nuechterlein founded Elementum 3D in 2014 based on a proprietary process for making powders that enhances both the powder and the final parts’ properties. Elementum 3D produces tantalum, copper, steel, aluminum , and more. In space , aerospace, defense, and Formula 1, the company enables the production of parts that would otherwise be impossible to manufacture. In this episode of the 3DPOD, we talk to Jacob about metals, powders, applications, and the m...
Mar 17, 2025•56 min
Chromatic 3D Materials CEO Cora Leibig has extensive experience in the plastics industry. We discuss the volumes of polymers and other materials, as well as what is needed to transform these markets. Cora chose 3D printing because, in this sector, meaningful change —through new materials and manufacturing methods—can be implemented more easily and quickly than in higher-volume markets. In this episode of the 3DPOD, we talk about safety, cost, and strategies for growing additive manufacturing, as...
Mar 10, 2025•42 min
Stephan Kuehr began his career at 3YOURMIND before joining the volumetric 3D printing firm Xolo . In this episode of the 3DPOD, we discuss Xolo, its technology, volumetric 3D printing, bioprinting , and the company’s market approach. We also explore its collaborations with academics and the development of applications for its technology. Additionally, Stephan shares insights on the state of the 3D printing industry, as well as advice on building and growing a successful startup....
Mar 03, 2025•46 min
Andrew Graves began his career as a Design Engineer before joining 3D Systems in 1990. After pioneering stereolithography in the UK for F1 teams and aerospace firms, he helped establish a 3D printing service. In 2012, he joined Stratasys , later working at DSM before returning to Stratasys to oversee the Neo line of 3D printers. With a broad perspective and deep expertise in additive manufacturing, Andrew shares fascinating anecdotes, little-known early examples of 3D printing, and insightful pe...
Feb 24, 2025•51 min
Ronen Lebi has held extensive roles at Stratasys and served on the boards of numerous 3D printing startups. In this episode of the 3DPOD, Lebi’s history leads us to a discussion about what it’s like to be a startup today and the best practices regarding advice, boards, and growth. We also talk to Ronen about 3D printing applications and their expansion. Additionally, we get a chance to discuss Machina Labs , a startup that uses robots to cut, weld, and press metal panels....
Feb 17, 2025•42 min
Mark Barfoot is a 3D printing veteran who began by introducing additive manufacturing to traditional firms before becoming Managing Director of the Multi-Scale Additive Manufacturing Lab at the University of Waterloo. He later worked for Cimetrix and Javelin, two major 3D printing resellers, before spending a stint at EWI. Now, he serves as VP of Engineering at Voxel Innovations , an electrochemical polishing and machining firm capable of remarkable advancements. In this episode of the 3DPOD, we...
Feb 10, 2025•45 min
Joe Calmese talks to us about the financing of additive manufacturing, machine prices, and utilization. He runs ADDMAN , a large, high-end service bureau that produces many critical components, including defense articles. Naturally, in this episode of the 3DPOD, we discuss defense, as well as niobium and its applications. Joe’s enthusiasm and deep understanding of the subject are infectious, taking you on a journey toward greater efficiency in manufacturing. The manufacturing opportunity is subs...
Feb 03, 2025•49 min
