Solutionology Podcast

In Part Two of this Solutionology Story, Stephanie Hendrixson, Editor-in-Chief at Additive Manufacturing Media, dives deeper into the paradigm shift of mass customization in manufacturing. She recently reported on the topic directly from the DI Labs facility in Minnesota. Stephanie talks with Brian and Carl Douglass about how AM is redefining production by enabling uniquely tailored products on de...

Stephanie Hendrixson, Editor-in-Chief at Additive Manufacturing Media, joined Brian and Carl Douglass on Solutionology Stories episode #30 to share some fascinating stories and groundbreaking innovations in additive manufacturing (AM). In fact, the episode was so good that we split it into two parts!  In Part One, Stephanie shares the unexpected path she traveled from English literature to additiv...

In this follow-up to Part One of our conversation with Bud Runquist, VP of Sales and Marketing at Stratasys Direct, we go beyond the incredible disaster response story of additive manufacturing told in Episode #28. (https://youtu.be/t0GsB9hil3w) As two leaders deeply embedded in the additive manufacturing space, DI Labs and Stratasys Direct share a mutual commitment to raising the bar for quality,...

Welcome to the latest edition of our Solutionology Stories newsletter and podcast featuring insights from our client, Jamie Duininck the CEO of Prinsco, Inc. He's a third-generation owner and leader of a family business that provides water management solutions to the agricultural, stormwater, residential, and onsite markets. Jamie is a creative, out-of-the-box thinker who is well respected ac...

The Story of a Distributed Manufacturing Response Led by Stratasys Direct In October 2024, a major hurricane struck the U.S., leaving destruction in its wake—including the disruption of a critical injection molding supply chain for a top automotive manufacturer. With production at a standstill and losses mounting by the hour, the company turned to Stratasys Direct, one of the world’s largest addit...

Join us behind the scenes of DI Labs' largest product development and launch program to date, powered by a digital-first approach. Spanning eight years, this transformative journey began in 2015 with a rough business plan. It culminated in 2024 with the launch of a groundbreaking four-model product portfolio for Prinsco, a leader in water management solutions. Our guests on this episode of So...

Our Solutionology podcast shares behind-the-scenes stories of projects and problem-solving using a digital mindset. In Episode #25, Carl Douglass, DI Lab CEO, and Brian Douglass, DI Labs COO, have an in-depth discussion about quality with Hannah Kinder, DI Labs Production Manager. Quality can be a touchy subject in additive manufacturing because it often seems ambiguous and expectations can be wil...

What is a digital mindset, and how does it add value to the product development, design, management & manufacturing process? In Episode #24 of the Solutionology Podcast Carl Douglass, P.E. and Brian Douglass from DI Labs dig into this topic. Brian starts by providing a simple definition of a digital mindset from the DI Labs perspective. "A digital mindset is a way for us to stay flexible...

What does it mean to have a digital mindset and how does it open up possibilities in product development and manufacturing? On this episode of the Solutionology Podcast, Carl and Brian share DI Lab’s journey in creating a consumer product line that has grown exponentially by leveraging the power of a digital mindset and manufacturing process. It allowed us to approach the market without the constr...

Recently, Carl and Brian Douglass were guest experts on a Webinar hosted by MasterGraphics and Mindfire. We are posting this as an episode of the Solutionology Podcast with their permission. Access the original posting here . Could you elevate your Approach with a Solid Plan from the Experts? Challenge the status quo by asking yourself: Is your current additive manufacturing plan truly optimized,...

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 u...

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...

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, de...

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...

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 manufacturin...

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 i...

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, Victre...

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 engin...

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 s...

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 expect...

There's a high degree of pricing and quality variability in the market from additive manufacturing service providers. In this excerpt from the Solutionology Podcast Episode 13, Carl and Brian talk about the difference in approach between service providers offering cheap parts and companies like ours focusing on achieving the highest quality possible. It's a mindset shift that starts with...

Many additive adopters are buying new printers with the expectation that they're "plug & play." In this excerpt from the Solutionology Podcast Episode #13, Brian and Carl dive into the topic of what it really takes to successfully onboard new additive technologies and build a digital workflow to support quality and consistency. Additive is an industrial manufacturing process jus...

In this episode, we brought our great friend and team member, Justin Hildebrandt, into the podcast studio during his annual stint at DI Labs. You see, Justin has spent two weeks a year for the past ten years as a DI Labs Solutionologist. Why only two weeks? Because the rest of the year he's a highly skilled pilot as part of his family's agricultural aviation business in Colorado. Justin...

This Solutionology episode is inspired by our work serving the medical device industry, which makes up over 50% of our business. We dig into the details of medical device applications but the takeaways apply to product innovation in many high-end applications where a manufacturing process that supports tight tolerances, exacting quality, unique geometries, design flexibility, and sealed surfaces i...

In this episode of the Solutionology Podcast, we talk with Serah Peterson, engineer and project lead at PHYTEC America, and learn about her experience working with DI Labs to solve a problem so many innovative companies face: bridging the gap between a new product and its final application so customers can connect more deeply with it, see its potential and appreciate its value. PHYTEC is an indust...