AM Radio

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 industr...

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 lon...

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 bro...

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 .   Me...

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 d...

Additive manufacturing (AM) has overcome many obstacles to become an accepted production method in spaces where it makes sense. But the work is not done yet. Manufacturers who are now applying 3D printing for ongoing production at scale are discovering how issues that seemed small at first are now growing into problems that need solutions. In this episode, hosts Stephanie Hendrixson and Peter Zeli...

Additive manufacturing is changing the possibilities for working with ceramics. Julia Hider and Peter Zelinski take stock of this, discussing various 3D printing processes making use of ceramic material and various applications benefiting from this. This leads to a conversation about the cases where additive is providing an alternative to casting.   This episode brought to you by The Cool Parts Sh...

Pete Zelinski, Stephanie Hendrixson and Julia Hider recap additive manufacturing technology on display and other discoveries at IMTS--The International Manufacturing Technology Show in a live taping of AM Radio recorded from the AM4U stage at the show. Then, our hosts share insights from this year's co-located Additive Manufacturing Conference, which next year will transform into the Formnext Foru...

In additive manufacturing, design and production must inform each other — but do they need to live under the same roof or the same ownership? In this episode, Stephanie Hendrixson and Julia Hider consider business models that separate design from production, and in some cases provide the consumer substantial agency in the manufacturing process. Then, they discuss Artemis I and the various ways 3D...

Cohosts of the video series and AM Radio Pete Zelinski and Stephanie Hendrixson reflect on three years and 50 episodes of The Cool Parts Show and what it means. Then, Pete, Stephanie and videographer Austin Grogan share their favorite episodes.   This episode is brought to you by the Additive Manufacturing Conference at IMTS .   Mentioned in this episode: The Cool Parts Show Our 50th episode on Li...

Manufacturers of electric vehicles (EVs) seem to be adopting additive manufacturing (AM) more readily into production than the conventional automotive industry and other transportation segments have. This adoption is in part because of the functional and geometric possibilities that additive brings, but it is also because EVs are being made in lower quantities and represent new product platforms w...

Headed to IMTS--The International Manufacturing Technology Show, and curious about the additive manufacturing value there? Peter Zelinski and Julia Hider share insights about the show including the difference between two major AM events, what to expect on the AM4U stage, and general tips for surviving and thriving at the tradeshow. IMTS takes place in Chicago, September 12-17.  This episode of AM...

Additive manufacturing contains more than 3D printing, but even this term carries multiple meanings. 3D printing might mean extruding plastic, or depositing binder into metal, or melting material with lasers, or any number of other things. In this episode, Stephanie Hendrixson and Peter Zelinski try to stump each other with some unusual 3D printing processes and consider whether the "Seven Familie...

Modern Machine Shop senior editor Matt Danford joins Julia Hider to discuss five trends in digital manufacturing that are playing out for both machining and 3D printing.  This episode is brought to you by the Additive Manufacturing Conference at IMTS . Mentioned in this episode:  Data Matters , Matt Danford's Modern Machine Shop column covering Industry 4.0 in machining Matt's column about Five 3D...

The conflict in Ukraine has intersections with the world of additive manufacturing. Hosts Stephanie Hendrixson, Peter Zelinski and Julia Hider discuss ways that 3D printing is bringing aid; realities of distributed manufacturing; and the effects of the war on one additive manufacturing business with operations in Ukraine.   This episode is brought to you by the Additive Manufacturing Conference at...

Editors Peter Zelinski, Stephanie Hendrixson and Julia Hider discuss discoveries and observations about 3D printing materials, processes, applications and scale from RAPID + TCT 2022, held in Detroit, May 16-19.   This episode is brought to you by the Additive Manufacturing Conference at IMTS .   Mentioned in this episode: RAPID+TCT Slideshow and blog post about the 2022 event RAPID 2021 recap GKN...

Additive manufacturing is creating new opportunities for fiber-reinforced polymer composite materials. This has implications for the promise of AM and implications for the composites industry. In this episode, Peter Zelinski of  Additive Manufacturing Media  is joined by Jeff Sloan of sister brand  CompositesWorld . They talk about composites replacing metal, large-format 3D printing for tooling,...

Julia Hider shares 3D printing for production and various kinds of tooling spotted at the first-ever Plastics Technology Expo. Then, she and Pete Zelinski discuss new methods of 3D printing with polymers that deliver greater freedoms in terms of layer width, layer height, material viscosity and more. This episode is brought to you by the Additive Manufacturing Conference at IMTS. The call for pape...

Can 3D printed polymers reinforced with chopped or continuous fibers be a suitable replacement for metal parts? In this episode, Julia Hider and Stephanie Hendrixson discuss at least three scenarios where this is taking place--and two of them happen to involve training devices related to aerospace. (Possibly a precursor to printed composites replacing metals on flight-worthy aircraft?) Then, our h...

3D printing is valuable as a means of bridge production—that is, manufacturing that is less than scale production, and likely temporary, but nonetheless filling a production need. Sometimes it comes between prototyping and serial production, or to cover a supply chain gap. Pete Zelinski and Stephanie Hendrixson discuss several examples where manufacturers are performing 3D printed bridge productio...

Additive manufacturing makes it possible to begin to make a new product cost-effectively at small scales through 3D printing, and both change the product design and scale up its production in response to market acceptance. This means inventors of new products can be their own manufacturers, and it's why inventors producing their own product is becoming a new category of manufacturer. Julia Hider r...

A 3D printed part is rarely complete straight off the printer, and many additive manufacturers are accustomed to performing some level of cleaning and surface finishing. But postprocessing need not stop there. Electroplating, powder coating, anodizing and other processes can add improve the appearance, provide greater resistance and add functionality to 3D printed parts. On this episode of AM Radi...

Additive Manufacturing Media , the brand behind AM Radio, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary in 2022. In this episode, Stephanie Hendrixson and Pete Zelinski take a look back at the last decade in 3D printing and additive manufacturing and then offer 6 predictions for the next ten years in AM.   This episode is brought to you by PTXPO .   Mentioned in this episode: Past issues in our digital a...

SHOW NOTES Additive manufacturing is realizing new possibilities for components at the extremes of size range. In this episode, Peter Zelinski and Julia Hider discuss micro 3D printing via DLP as well as large scale 3D printing enabled by robots, FDM, wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) and more.   This episode is brought to you by PTXPO .   Mentioned in this episode: Nano Dimension's Fabrica 2...

Julia Hider and Stephanie Hendrixson discuss the benefits and use cases for 3D printed lattices as a replacement for conventional foam materials. Then, they count down Additive Manufacturing 's top 10 stories from 2021.   This episode is brought to you by PTXPO .   Mentioned in this episode: Rawlings' REV1X baseball glove featuring 3D printed inserts Carbon's Design Engine for lattice generation H...