Postprocessing is a necessary part of the additive manufacturing (AM) workflow in almost every instance, because 3D printing alone rarely yields a finished part ready for use. Depending on the materials and processes they choose, AM adopters have to account for depowdering, curing, heat treat, cleaning, dyeing, tumbling, machining and many other post-print operations. Coupled with the high-mix, low-volume production typical in AM, such steps are difficult to automate or optimize — leading many c...
Apr 22, 2025•57 min•Ep. 58
A question from an audience member about competing production rates for a forged metal part that might be made through additive manufacturing instead got Pete Zelinski thinking about production rate in general, and what this rate does and does not tell us about productivity overall. Additive can win a production “race.” An example involving a 1,000-piece production run of parts otherwise made through molding was documented by Formlabs (more info below). However, is a head-to-head comparison like...
Mar 31, 2025•13 min•Ep. 57
Formnext 2024 lived up to its reputation as additive manufacturing’s largest trade show, attracting more than 34,000 attendees to 54,000 m2 of exhibit space. It was also large in the sense of showcasing just how big 3D printing can go, with plenty of showpieces and demos running to illustrate the current scale of large-format additive manufacturing (LFAM) technology. But beneath the robotic arms and towering prints, there were also plenty of new machine introductions, software advances and appli...
Dec 03, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 56
Additive manufacturing and robots are parallel technologies, both digitally enabled tools for manufacturing that are advancing in adoption. But they also enable each other. 3D printing can provide the grippers, end effectors and other specialized tooling that robots require to serve production. And robots are driving AM forward as well. Collaborative robots or cobots are being used to tend 3D printer farms, sometimes mounted on autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) for a fully mobile, as well as aut...
Oct 10, 2024•41 min
The 2024 edition of IMTS – The International Manufacturing Technology Show welcomed more than 89,000 attendees to Chicago last week. While only a portion of the show’s 1,500 exhibitors were offering additive manufacturing equipment or services, AM nevertheless had a significant footprint at this show. Conversations with speakers, exhibitors and attendees revealed insights about where additive is finding traction now, and where it is heading next. In this episode of AM Radio, I talk with Pete Zel...
Sep 19, 2024•53 min•Ep. 54
Stephanie Hendrixson shares observations from her visit to learn more about two different manufacturing institutes under the umbrella of Carnegie Mellon University. First, she visited the lab facilities at Mill 19, a refurbished steel mill site, used by the Manufacturing Futures Institute. The MFI aims to accelerate the digital transformation of manufacturing, through work that includes things like robotics, digital twins and generative design as well as AM. She also learned about the Next Manuf...
Aug 12, 2024•19 min•Ep. 53
In this follow-up to episode #51 of AM Radio, Dr. Tim Simpson joins Stephanie Hendrixson and Pete Zelinski in the studio to talk more about how NASA is implementing and shaping additive manufacturing. As part of an intergovernmental personnel act (IPA) assignment, Dr. Simpson has spent the last two years deployed within NASA helping to advance additive use cases and connect AM users within the organization. In this episode, he shares insights from this work including NASA's collaborative relatio...
Jul 02, 2024•31 min•Ep. 52
Additive Manufacturing Media editors have had the chance to visit three different NASA facilities: the Goddard Space Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Marshall Space Flight Center. Pete Zelinski and Stephanie Hendrixson learned and reported on how 3D printing is being used to fulfill NASA missions through parts like a generatively designed bracket, lightweight titanium lattices and a multimaterial thrust chamber made with two different processes. But where do these parts fit within NA...
Jun 27, 2024•31 min•Ep. 51
When we first covered Model No. in 2020, the company was manufacturing furniture on its own large-format 3D printers, built to designs directly manipulated by customers through parametric options available on its website. Four years later, production looks a bit different. Gone is the user-facing design tool, as the company has discovered that conversation with customers is the more effective way to arrive at the right designs for its clients. More colors and materials are offered today, in part...
May 22, 2024•21 min•Ep. 50
We are trying something new on the podcast! Whenever one of us on Additive Manufacturing Media pays a visit to a manufacturer for the first time, we want to talk about the trip as soon as we return. Why keep this recap to ourselves? In this episode of AM Radio , here is Stephanie Hendrixson getting the full download just after I paid a visit to Innovative 3D Manufacturing in Franklin, Indiana. Innovative does contract production using 12 laser powder bed fusion machines, all from Renishaw. Just ...
Apr 15, 2024•31 min•Ep. 49
What is qualification, and what does it entail for additive manufacturing applications? In this episode of AM Radio, Dr. Tim Simpson joins Additive Manufacturing Media editors Pete Zelinski and Stephanie Hendrixson to talk about various issues around qualification in AM, including: the difference between qualification and certification; the expense of qualification activities; how standards are developed; and the opportunities additive can realize with qualified procedures. Find related links an...
Feb 13, 2024•49 min•Ep. 48
In the last episode of AM Radio for 2023, hosts Pete Zelinski, Stephanie Hendrixson and Fiona Lawler look back on Additive Manufacturing Media's top 10 stories by pageviews for the year. The list reveals some interesting trends including the ramp up in additive manufacturing "factories," additive adoption that necessitates more sophisticated downstream processing, and a heavy emphasis on metal 3D printing. In the second half of the show, the hosts share their favorite stories, regardless of rank...
Dec 18, 2023•46 min•Ep. 47
The world's largest trade show for additive manufacturing technology featured more than 800 exhibitors across the entire AM value chain. Additive Manufacturing editors Peter Zelinski and Stephanie Hendrixson discuss what they learned and discovered at the event in this episode, including the rise of copper, the introduction of new processes for 3D printing in metals, equipment upgrades that don't rely on hardware, reduced barriers to entry for AM and much more. Find photos, related links and the...
Nov 20, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 46
Additive manufacturing "factories" and other facilities that have been built from the ground up to serve this process are becoming increasingly common, but a purpose-built space is not a necessity for successfully applying AM. Stephanie Hendrixson and Fiona Lawler discuss Fiona's recent trip to visit a newly established Protolabs facility dedicated to laser powder bed fusion, and swap stories of other AM spaces--from a 3D printer tucked under the stairs to a rented office space all the way to bu...
Oct 30, 2023•34 min•Ep. 45
Sporting goods, tooling, integration with conventional processes, multi materials — in this episode of AM Radio, Jodee McElfresh and Pete Zelinski discuss the topics that have been popular on the Additive Manufacturing Media website and social media recently. Mentioned in Episode: Snarr3D's 3D printed golf putter shafts article and LinkedIn post ActivArmor's 3D printed casts The Cool Parts Show episode and LinkedIn post Jodee's post with the EOS 3D printed top Pete's post about the America Makes...
Oct 02, 2023•31 min•Ep. 44
Formnext Forum Austin, the first Formnext event to be held in the United States, concluded August 30 after two full days of conference programming dedicated to industrial additive manufacturing. The event is jointly organized by Mesago Messe Frankfurt, AMT—The Association For Manufacturing Technology, and Gardner Business Media, the publisher of Additive Manufacturing Media. Along with sessions on additive end markets, production applications, AM technology and design for additive manufacturing ...
Sep 11, 2023•45 min•Ep. 43
Succeeding with additive manufacturing from a technical perspective has to be followed by succeeding with AM from an organizational perspective. Additive is a different production process entailing different enterprise, workflow and costing considerations, not to mention different personnel, communication and cultural considerations as well. Dr. Tim Simpson and Peter Zelinski talk about all of this: how to organize for success when additive manufacturing is the production process. This episode o...
Aug 14, 2023•37 min•Ep. 42
As a “born digital” technology, additive manufacturing intrinsically relies on data, more so than any other manufacturing process. That data reliance potentially exposes AM users to data security and cybersecurity issues; efforts are underway to help these users protect designs, print parameters, machines and even 3D printed parts. But beyond the dark side of data, figuring out secure ways of storing and sharing data also opens the door to more freely distributing manufacturing, sharing material...
Jul 24, 2023•33 min•Ep. 41
Additive manufacturing is a dynamic space for various reasons: The technology is advancing and application possibilities are still being developed, and as a direct consequence, the landscape of AM companies is subject to change due to investor moves; mergers and acquisitions; and startups emerging from “stealth mode.” On this podcast, and in related reporting for Additive Manufacturing Media, we serve manufacturers by covering AM technology and applications — the corporate and financial moves ar...
Jun 26, 2023•43 min•Ep. 40
Additive manufacturing offers significant promise for strengthening and simplifying manufacturing supply chains. We glimpsed this during the pandemic, when 3D printers provided a quick response for needed medical components for uses such as ventilators and personal protective equipment. What are the ways AM can answer supply chain problems longer term, and how close are we to realizing this promise? In this episode of the AM Radio podcast, I am joined by Penn State’s Dr. Tim Simpson as we discus...
Jun 05, 2023•42 min•Ep. 39
At the 2023 edition of RAPID + TCT held in Chicago, Additive Manufacturing Media editors noticed evidence of AM’s maturation both in terms of technical capability and utility for end-use applications. Stephanie Hendrixson, Peter Zelinski and Fiona Lawler discuss themes discovered at the event, including more precise DED, new tools for process monitoring, more sophisticated understanding of AM and sustainability, AM winning on cost and much more. Find photos and video from the show in this blog p...
May 15, 2023•58 min•Ep. 38
Is additive manufacturing inherently more sustainable than conventional manufacturing methods? Stephanie Hendrixson and Dr. Tim Simpson wade into the various factors that must be considered to make this assessment; dive into some of the research happening in industry and academia on the subject; and discuss why sustainability is such a tricky problem in AM. This episode of AM Radio is brought to you by Formnext Forum: Austin . Mentioned in this episode: “Plastics: Knowledge and Information Takin...
Apr 24, 2023•32 min•Ep. 37
With the arrival of resources such as ChatGPT and Dall-E, artificial intelligence (AI) is a widespread topic of discussion. But AI has been aiding additive manufacturing for years, to the extent that the applications are coming to seem pervasive. Stephanie Hendrixson and Peter Zelinski talk about the link between AI and AM, both as we see it today and as we expect to see it in the future. What AI and AM have in common is frictionlessness — in terms of offering instruction, as ChatGPT shows, and ...
Apr 03, 2023•39 min•Ep. 36
A sign of the advancing understanding of additive manufacturing: Many of the previous misperceptions have gone away. Or they have at least dramatically declined. Few in manufacturing today believe 3D printing is as simple as "hit print," and most understand that the design of the part determines how well it can take advantage of AM. However, there are still pervasive misperceptions about AM among the manufacturers today who are just beginning to explore it. Tim Simpson and Peter Zelinski talk ab...
Mar 20, 2023•31 min•Ep. 35
Additive manufacturing (AM) tends to see popular media coverage when a consumer good is 3D printed. 3D printed houses and fashion grace headlines at the moment. On social media, however, additive manufacturing is a daily topic of conversation for users, students and entrepreneurs. As digital editor for Additive Manufacturing Media , I have the pleasure of observing and engaging in some of those conversations. On this episode of the AM Radio podcast, Peter Zelinski and I review eight AM-related s...
Feb 27, 2023•36 min•Ep. 34
Bringing additive manufacturing to scale production also means scaling the workforce trained to design, manage and carry out that production. While some fundamentals stay the same across material and process, learning the intricacies of specific applications and industries takes time. What is the role of the university in preparing the next generation of additive manufacturers? What should industry expect in new hires, and how can companies upskill their existing workforce? And what are the “sof...
Feb 06, 2023•33 min•Ep. 33
3D printing for repair and replacement is an underappreciated but potentially very valuable application for this technology. The ability to add material only where necessary and to do so in an automated fashion allows worn surfaces to be rebuilt with less human labor, keeping items such as aircraft blades in service for longer. Additive manufacturing offers an avenue for manufacturing parts no longer in inventory or production, by skipping over tooling to arrive more quickly (and often, more aff...
Jan 16, 2023•26 min•Ep. 32
The most-viewed stories on AdditiveManufacturing.Media this year illustrate some of the trends in industrial 3D printing, including its increasing adoption for spare and replacement parts; increased applications for electric motors; and a maturing user base. Peter Zelinski, Stephanie Hendrixson and Jodee McElfresh take a look back at the top 10 articles and videos from 2022. This episode is brought to you by The Cool Parts Show . Mentioned in this episode: 500-Pound Replacement Part 3D Printed b...
Dec 20, 2022•48 min•Ep. 31
Additive manufacturing's largest trade show, Formnext, returned to its pre-pandemic strength in 2022. In this episode, Peter Zelinski describes trends from the show floor (including 3D printing with ceramics, anticipating robot automation, and a pivot away from support structures) while Stephanie Hendrixson shares observations found in social media. This episode is brought to you by PTXPO . Mentioned in this episode: Pete's post-show report on Formnext 2022 Videos filmed at the show: Wasp 3D pri...
Dec 05, 2022•43 min•Ep. 30
Additive Manufacturing Media digital associate editor Jodee McElfresh joins the podcast for this episode inspired by trends spotted on social media. She and Stephanie Hendrixson discuss additive manufacturing superlatives and the value of the "boring" part, plus how individuals and companies can make the pivot into AM. Spoiler: Waiting for the next generation won't be enough; consider workforce development from the inside. This episode is brought to you by the The Cool Parts Show . Mentioned in ...
Nov 07, 2022•35 min•Ep. 29
