3DPOD: Insight from 3D Printing Pros

Thomas Feldhausen works at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) on hybrid manufacturing , DED, digital twins, and new manufacturing solutions. For years, he’s tried to marry traditional subtractive manufacturing with additive manufacturing for cost-effective, scalable production. Using simulations to improve results, improve tool pathing, and get better part properties, while using particle...

Alexander Plotkowski is all about developing new alloys. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), he’s the Group Leader for Computational Coupled Physics within the Computational Sciences and Engineering Division. He’s done in-depth research on controlling grain patterns , tried to predict the microstructure of parts , helped develop tools to predict and validate simulations , and deve...

Gordie Folin had deep experience in engineering at Pratt & Whitney , GE , and GE Aviation before becoming the Chief Product Officer at Beehive Industries . Among his achievements, he served as the Executive Director of the groundbreaking Catalyst engine program , which extensively used additive manufacturing. Now at Beehive, he’s in charge of making a family of 3D printed jet engines. Be...

Dirk Simon had already spent years in the chemicals industry before joining and pioneering BASF ‘s 3D printing effort. We get to hear how that firm looked at 3D printing and entered the market. We also look at Dirk’s time at Farsoon , where he pioneered their early entry into Europe and beyond. Then we talk about FKM and the economics of sintering. We discuss some history and look at w...

Stefan Joens of Elnik Systems sells ovens. Their debind and sintering equipment powers a lot of high-volume binder jet and MIM production. We learn about Elnik and its origins. But we also get a deep dive into sintering, debinding, shrinkage, and binder-jet part production. We talk about different parts, part sizes, where binder jet shines, and where it does not. We talk about the future of binder...

Ruben Wauthle studied at Leuven University at a very serendipitous time. Through working with pioneering additive professors and surgeons, he entered into a specialty that was emerging. He joined pioneering LPBF firm Layerwise and was a part of the team that did the first metal 3D printed jaw implant. He continued to work in implantology and 3D printing at 3D Systems and FMI. Later he co-founds AM...

Schendy Kernizan worked as a professor and researcher before co-founding RLP ( Rapid Liquid Print ), a company that extrudes silicone into a hydrogel. RLP allows for pure silicone to be made quite quickly with a lot of design freedom. From medical devices to industrial components, the company is exploring what its technology can do. We talk with Schendy about working with customers, go-to-market,...

Romain Kidd was MyMiniFactory ‘s CEO and helped that company grow in a crowded market of people sitting between “the cloud,” communities, and 3D printing. We talk about how MyMiniFactory was founded, grew, and now found a surprising niche in tabletop games and mini figures. A popular fantasy niche became the lifeblood of the site, which is now, because of it, also very vat polyme...

Tom Bakker is a talented engineer who has worked in LPBF, custom machine building, and on semiconductor equipment. Now he wants to make LPBF metal printing cheap. With Metal Base , Tom is developing a low-cost system that will make LPBF accessible. He has already sold 6 to beta testers, and the systems are running there. Now, through Kickstarter, he’s sold 20 more. We hear about how Tom is p...

Kris Kleven has spent decades in engineering. First, he did demanding engineering projects for Schlumberger, Emerson, and others in the oil and gas industry. Later, he worked at NBC Universal and other firms in theme parks and Oshkosh in heavy-duty vehicles, and now he does engineering with his own firm . Given his deep flow and industrial additive manufacturing expertise, it’s notable that...

Matthew Shomper has worked on 3D printed medical devices for many years. There, he specialized in new geometries, cutting-edge designs, designing implants, FEA optimization, approval processes, 510(k) submissions, textures, and more. He worked with surgeons and implant companies and went through the entire process from design to implant for spinal cages, plates, and more. Now he is consulting on i...

Peter Richards is the CEO of Deep Manufacturing, a supremely ambitious company deploying DED to build underwater habitats. Additionally, the company makes pressure vessels and large certified metal structures for clients. He tells us how Deep scaled so quickly, what the company wants to do, what roadblocks were in the way and how it hopes to grow. Some of the things he tells us are quite surprisin...

Mike Zimmerman started in research before starting his own startups. Now his firm makes a fiber with some very exciting properties indeed . The material has been turned into a very high-strength filament. We talk to Mike about the beginnings of his research, how he approaches invention, how he views entrepreneurship, and the prospects of his firm. One interesting element is that, although the mate...

Oliver Elbert ‘s over ten years in additive manufacturing have been spent automating LPBF. For large, high-volume, or critical parts, Grenzebach has provided custom automation solutions. Depowdering, powder handling, sieving, heat treatment, part handling, resurfacing, QA, and Grezebach Additive can automate all of these processes. The company could give you a 3D printing factory or automate...

Greg Kerkstra is part of a family business that leads in the precast concrete industry. They’ve now turned to Progress Group’s large-format binder-jet concrete technology, which we covered here in a podcast with Andreas . Greg is exploring applications, products, and go-to-market with his family business. What will work? Where is the value? What is interesting and profitable in concret...

6K Additive is roaring ahead with a recycling solution for metals. Their path from scrap to powder is helping the US to be more resilient, produce powder locally and perhaps be more cost effective and sustainable as well. But, what does 6K want to do? Where is it headed? What does it want to accomplish? How does it’s process stack up to others? And how will it go about it? Frank here talks u...

Mikhail Gladkikh has worked in oil and gas for many years. With this background, we obviously talk about energy market turbulence and the adoption of AM in oil and gas. We talk about what oil and gas companies want, how they are adopting 3D printing, and how it is being used. We also talk about MRO more generally, digital supply chains, and resilience, and manage to squeeze in a little about Würth...

Jay Rogers was in the Marine Corps, consulting, and sailed around the world. He first came to additive through his company, Local Motors . He talks us through that firm’s promise and development. We also talk about his new venture, medium and large-format 3D printing firm Haddy . We also talk more broadly about entrepreneurship, companies, venture capital, additive manufacturing, and busines...

In the 300th episode of the 3DPOD, we take a look at what we think will happen over the next 12 months; for instance, what will happen with Bambu’s dominance, what will happen to Formlabs, what will happen to the market as a whole? Then we veer off into a discussion about heroes, Midway, and how the entire future of the US´s global dominance rests on the shoulders of two very different men....

Jesse Roitenberg is the Education Director at Stratasys . We go through his 20-year journey in additive, starting in some really pioneering days at Stratasys in sales. Jesse talks about desktop 3D printers, using 3D printing in education , using 3D printing in universities, 3D printers in schools, and more. We talk about software, CAD, and teaching 3D printing as well. From dental training solutio...

Amir Mansouri started SprintRay to make an accurate Vat Polymerization system. Through conversations with customers, SprintRay became a $100 million revenue dental 3D printing company instead. Now, Mansouri tells us he is closer to making more products for dental than to expanding into other verticals. We delve into SprintRay’s success, talk about Nespresso cups, resins, dentures, and teeth....

Eric Ronning started ReMixers when he and his team discovered a new way to more efficiently mix fluids, pastes, and other materials. Multiple materials could be more thoroughly mixed with new geometry. The ReMixers team then found that they could reduce waste in static mixer use. This led them to industrialize the production of millions of mixers using their own print farm. The team now uses sever...

An Duong, a former Rolls-Royce innovation manager working on 3D printed aeroengines, made an unexpected shift from aerospace to entrepreneurship. The work was challenging and engaging, and he very much enjoyed his time at the company. But a side project creating desktop material extrusion models for display has now become his full-time job. We talk to An about his journey so far, how he makes his...

Kristi Eveland Smith started as a competitive soccer player before moving into consulting, operations, and 3D printing. She’s now Vice President, Design to Production at Carbon 3D and has been with the firm for over 12 years. It’s been a crazy ride for Carbon over time, and Kristi takes us from the very early days through scaling, growth, and the changes in strategy and approach the co...

Ben Wynne is focused on bringing digital automation into traditional casting and heavy manufacturing through his work at Intrepid Automation . He explains how the company connects design, tooling, robotics, and production data into integrated workflows that improve quality, repeatability, and traceability. By layering software and automation onto established foundry processes, Intrepid aims to hel...