Danny Piper, of NewCap Partners, helps companies with mergers and acquisitions, financial analysis, and more, particularly in the additive manufacturing sector. As an analyst and sparring partner for the industry, Danny is known for being insightful, forthright, and bold. As you can learn from his podcast, Printing Money, he’s unafraid to share unpopular opinions that may make you uncomfortable but will push you to think critically and make the right decisions. In this episode of the 3DPOD, we discuss current issues surrounding funding, exits, growth, consolidation, and the market as a whole. We really enjoyed this discussion and hope you will too.

Sam O´Leary worked in making aftermarket components and reverse engineering before joining GE Power and GE Additive. Subsequently he went to SLM Solutions. He was there for a real resurgence of the company with SLM releasing ever larger models culminating with the large-format,12-laser NXG XII powder bed fusion 3D printer. Then the firm was sold to Nikon, to form Nikon SLM Solutions. Sam talks to us about the laser wars, about ever larger printers, strategy and how to run a business well. His focus on doing simple things right, driving the right innovations with and for customers, and executing has paid off handsomely for the firm. We talk as well about the future of additive and what will get us there.

Charles Bibas worked in the barcode industry for many years, until he discovered a method that could revolutionize 3D printing. With a small team, he created a better optics package for 3D printing. Rather than going for a salvo, Charles’s company Tecnica uses a Lens Free Optical Scanner (LFOS or Ogon) to obtain better results for selective laser sintering (SLS). A labor of love for Charles, Tecnica still had a go-to-market strategy. We talk to him about his plans to take this product to market.

When Daghan Cam founded AI Build, the firm’s technology was a made up of a single 3D printer attached to a robotic arm for large scale polymer parts. The team did an about face and now focuses on developing the software that controls robotic arm 3D printers, including polymer, composites, concrete and metal. Makers of wire arc additive manufacturing, extrusion, and construction systems are all talking to AI Build now to create their software. With a recent injection of $3.2 million in funding, AI Build is a very exciting company and Daghan tells us its story so far.

Duann Scott is an industrial-designer-turned-business-development specialist who has worked for such illustrious firms as Shapeways, Autodesk, and nTopology. In our interview with him, he talks fluidly about his vision for the 3D printing software market and what is impeding additive manufacturing (AM) from moving forward. Duann is a firm believer in design for additive, working as an educator of these skills and assisting startups through his Bits to Atoms consultancy. Come hear what he has to say about software for a 3D printed world.

Raymond Weitekamp’s research at the California Institute of Technology was the basis for a new way to 3D print resin. Now, Weitekamp’s trying to commercialize the technology via a startup called polySpectra. Using existing vat polymerization machines, the company can release unique 3D printing materials with functional properties that can withstand real-world conditions.

Rather than sell a machine and resin together, or partner with a single vendor, polySpectra is trying to sell its materials to the emerging “open materials” space, in which customers can use machines with the materials of their choice. Raymond’s path is one that will help others in producing more end-use parts with vat polymerization. Will this startup enable the creation of new disruptive parts that will shape the future of 3D printing?

Melissa Snover got started 3D printing candy, but she saw a more meaningful opportunity in 3D printing customized vitamins. Now, you can go to the Nourish3D website, take a quiz, and get your customized vitamin gummies. The idea is that everyone, at every moment, could require a different set of nutrients. Nourish3D has developed its printers in-house to be able to make custom vitamin concoctions to order. I love this idea, the opportunity and Melissa’s entrepreneurial zeal and I really hope that you’ll enjoy this episode!

Manufacturing consultant Ivan Madera went to California knowing no one there and little about additive manufacturing. Now, his company, Morf3D, 3D prints aerospace and defense parts to the highest tolerances. Picking up investments from EOS, Boeing, and Nikon, the company makes parts that power rockets and satellites. Ivan’s ambitions stretch further still. He wants his company to partner with others to make production cells that can lead to a more industrialized form of manufacturing with 3D printing. We talk about what got Ivan to where he is now and where he wants to be in the future. We hope that you really enjoy this episode!

MakerVerse is a Europe-based 3D printing service platform with global ambitions. The company aims to be the place where your orders for all 3D printing technologies come together and get fulfilled by vetted partners. Focused more on manufacturers than individuals, MakerVerse aims to be different than existing 3D printing services. The company is also different because it was founded by Siemens Energy, Zeiss, and other investors. In this episode, we hear from Marcus about the company’s vision, goals, and ambitions. There is currently consolidation in 3D printing services, with American startups, SPACs, and traditional players fighting for relevance, as well as scale. What will be the role of MakerVerse’s in this? We’ve yet to see, but, in this podcast, Markus makes a compelling case for his firm.

John Wilczynski is the Executive Director of America Makes. Established a decade ago, America Makes performs research coordination, workforce training and education, standards development, and more for the additive manufacturing industry. John tells us about the progress that the organization has made and the projects that they are involved in. We get a look at some of the technological challenges that America Makes is trying to solve and others that don’t fit into its purview. We also get to see just how you can bring an industry together.

You can learn more about America Makes initiatives and many of its member companies’ initiatives too, at the MMX Conference in Youngstown, OH (Aug. 16-18, 2022).

In our latest episode, Ajay Panwar, Sr. Engineering Manager, Design Assurance at Medtronic, discusses the intersection of quality and 3D printing for the medical field. To be clear, Ajay does not speak for or represent Medtronic on the show. He is merely sharing his ideas, knowledge, and best practices. The conversation may have been highly technical, but it does get you thinking about what goes into making a medical device with 3D printing, including the problems, issues, and opportunities.

Enrico Gallino is a materials scientist with Ricoh. The Japanese firm has developed its own powder bed fusion (PBF) technology, rolled out a 3D printing service, has developed an anatomical model 3D printing workflow, and is establishing a binder jetting process. In a candid interview, Enrico discusses Ricoh´s role in 3D printing and what the company is doing. In particular, he details some materials he is excited about, including a thermoset PBF powder that was completely new to Max and I. Really enjoyable interview for us to do and hopefully also for you to listen to.

Mohsen Seifi already had deep expertise in additive manufacturing and research before joining ASTM. Now, as Vice President of Global Advanced Manufacturing Programs, he heads up ASTM’s unified initiatives in additive manufacturing. 3D printing is significant at ASTM, and ASTM is influential in the field of 3D printing. We speak to Mohsen about how this synergy developed, what ASTM is doing in standards, what ASTM offers in terms of education, and other ongoing projects. Mohsen also shares his vision for the future of additive manufacturing and how to achieve it. While we delve deeply into standards and their impact, the conversation covers a broad range of topics.

Israeli firm CASTOR analyses parts. It can then tell you if the part is printable, how much it would cost in different 3D printing technologies, on which part you can save money through mass reduction and much more. CASTOR´s software is a gateway to 3D Printing. Companies can use it to jumpstart their 3D Printing projects or do an analysis of the potential for 3D Printing in their organization. We talk to CEO and founder Omer Blaier about the startup, its abilities and goals.

Sintavia‘s Brian Neff has built a company that uses a fleet of large metal powder bed fusion systems to 3D print some of the most demanding and technically challenging parts that can be made. In the U.S. aerospace and defense markets, Sintavia is already well-known. Outside of that arena, not so much. We talk with Brian about Sintavia’s journey and what the company produces. We talk about the potential of 3D printing for heat exchangers and heat sinks as well as for space. Really interesting episode and we really hope that you enjoy it as well!

Lauralyn McDaniel, of ASME´s Metrix Connect, is incredibly experienced in medical device manufacturing, standards, and additive manufacturing. From the podcast episode, you can hear her brilliant mind operate as she parlays complex concepts into easily digestible material. She’s a real wealth of information and we really feel like we can do another four podcasts with her about standards development, aerospace, implementing standards in your organization and more.

Tali Rosman was responsible for a diverse amount of roles worldwide, including at Stratasys and the Israeli Air Force, before landing a job at Xerox. Her task, to lead Xerox’s Elem Additive unit. The first job she has is to commercialise ElemX Xerox’s drop-by-drop metal 3D printing technology. She tells us how she’s going to do that, for what markets it is suited, and what applications she is targeting. No, this is no broad spectrum push or something targeting the usual suspects of aviation or orthopaedics; Tali is taking a tight zoom on the technology’s strengths and focusing on aluminum and MRO. It’s a fascinating look at an outlier go-to-market that could be a portend of more Xerox technologies to come.

Joseph Crabtree’s Additive Manufacturing Technologies is spreading around the world. The company has offices in four countries and its PostPro3D vapor fusion technology is growing. But, Joseph wants more. He wants to move into more post-processing technologies and make a far more integrated solution. Joseph tells us about his plans, his Brexit mitigation strategy, and how he sees the market evolving. Enjoy this episode!

Francesco De Stefano was a consultant before he came to Caracol. You’ll notice that when he answers questions about the market and the future of his firm. He had to learn a lot of other things during his time helming the large format AM startup, however. Francesco talks to us about the challenges of printing large parts, the applications, the journey his company has taken and the possibilities.

Ankush Venkatesh passionately tells us about Glidewell Dental‘s holistic and very vertically integrated adoption of 3D printing. The firm has had to make its own software, deploys over 400 3D printers. and is looking to make its own post-processing solutions, as well. As a large dental lab, the company also uses machine learning to automatically propose 3D printing design files in its operations. What follows is a great look into how a firm can gain a true advantage through creating and deploying technology wisely.

Mathematician Elissa Ross is a member of MESH Consultants, which commercializes mathematical solutions for practical industry problems. METAFOLD is a MESH spinout that aims to rid us of our meshes and STLs by allowing users to create intricate and lightweight lattices and other complex structures. We loved talking to Elissa and finding out how researchers can come out of left field to solve some fundamental issues that our industry has. METAFOLD is also interesting because it has a go to market challenge: How do you commercialize a way to describe and arrange complex 3D printed shapes, lattices, TPMS structures, and more?

CEO of Electroninks Brett Walker shares a roller coaster of an entrepreneur story on the 3DPOD. His company made it big early on. However, disappointment set in early. Yet, the company managed to build itself a new foundation. We talk to Brett about 3D printed inks, conductive ink, and the elusive 3D printing of circuits. We also discuss Electoninks´ Kickstarter and their development as a firm. Great episode especially if you´d like to delve into 3D printed electronics and circuits.

We’re very proud to have made it to 100 podcast episodes. We’re grateful to you for being there for this journey. In this episode, we look back at the past 100 shows, discuss who we’ve spoken to, and what we’ve learned. We really hope that we can do 100 more!

Rich Neill is refreshingly clear and direct about 3D printed electronics. His previous venture allowed him to start Advanced Printed Electronic Solutions with his own money, making him beholden to no one. This independence enables him to speak candidly about the opportunities and capabilities of 3D printed electronics today. He can clearly discuss what is working, what is happening, and what is real. The result is a super informative podcast that is a must-listen for anyone in 3D printing, offering a chance to learn just how useful and imminent 3D printed electronics are.

Along with his fellow researchers at Carnegie Melon University, Adam Feinberg developed what is known as FRESH bioprinting technology. We discuss how and why FRESH is important. We also get to talk about Adam’s company, FluidForm, which is commercializing FRESH, but perhaps not in the most obvious way. The episode covers how FluidForm is doing the heavy lifting to commercialize its bioprinting techniques as it works towards scalable bioprinting technologies. All in all, an eye opening podcast.

Brent Stucker has been involved with 3D printing for a long time now and has had an outsized impact on our industry. In this episode of the 3DPOD, we cover a wide range of issues and opportunities in additive manufacturing (AM). All the while, Brent is crystal clear and candid about what AM needs, as well as the history of the 3D printing industry so far. We talk about Brent’s days as a researcher, which generates some good tips for listeners. We also discuss his segue into entrepreneurship and his current role at 3D Systems. I love speaking with Brent and learning from him and hope that you do as well!

Joseph Flynn is an academic who, along with a group of colleagues, created Gen3D, a surprisingly easy-to-use software package that allows users to create complex lattices and manifolds. I love Gen3D and the firm’s free training. In our conversation, it is more than apparent that the Gen3D team is very different from the average software firm. We really loved talking to Joseph, who gave us deep explanation of TPMS surfaces and much else besides. Super nice episode and we really hope that you think so, too.

Steve Deak haș a long and deep experience with additive manufacturing. He ran one of the first machines at GE in 1993 and later brought 3D printing to Hasbro. He worked for resin supplier Huntsman, one of the earliest service bureaus in the world, manufactured composites, and ended up at GE again to usher in the conglomerate’s end use parts for aviation. Besides this, he’s been very active in the Additive Manufacturing Users Group. Steve has a wealth of experience and brought so much learning and sharing to the 3D printing community that we just know you’re going to enjoy this one.

Founder of 3D-Squared Andrew Allshorn began as a model maker before running one of the first stereolithography (SLA) machines in the U.K. He’s an inventive problem-solver who has tackled a lot of challenges in his many years in additive manufacturing. He’s worked extensively in SLA, but also hacks his own fused deposition machines and has worked for years in metalizing polymer parts. We could have probably done six podcasts with Andrew’s stories and experience in consulting for 3D-Squared, his work at the Additive Manufacturing Users Group and much much more. We loved doing this and hope that you learn from Andrew just like we did.

Hyperganic is a stealthy startup that wants to replace how things are currently designed and made. The company aims to disrupt CAD with a very different design paradigm using artificial intelligence and generative design.

Heading up the firm is experienced entrepreneur Lin Kayser. Lin explains what Hyperganic wants to do and how it wants to do it. What follows is a fascinating look into how a company seven years in the making wants to tackle the new 3D printed world. By being procedural and letting engineers code to design parts, the company can make a real impact. If they can then define the properties of every part at the voxel level, then they could really shape how the future will be made.

Ted Sorom, CEO and co-founder of Mantle, is looking to revolutionize metal 3D printing. Mantle has a paste extrusion method that features a post-machining step to mill unfinished parts and achieve better results. The paste is unique in that results in parts that harder than green components made using metal binder jet, which are likely to collapse under their own weight. Mantle’s parts can then be machined, making them ideally suited for end use. Less finishing, less post-processing, fewer supports, better surface quality, and lower costs could be a result. Rather than present its technology as the end-all-be-all of all metal 3D printing, Mantle is, for now, targeting tooling alone. This tight focus accelerates the firm’s go-to market. This was really an interesting chat and we hope that you enjoy it.

James DeMuth was a researcher committed to solving some very big problems and creating new technologies at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He opted to become an entrepreneur because of Seurat, a startup with a potentially very disruptive 3D printing technology. Seurat offer a novel metal 3D printing method that scales and significantly reduces the costs of laser powder bed fusion parts. James goes into detail about this hereto unknown technology. We also ask him about his go-to-market, which is also novel. Super exciting podcast which we hope you like.

Dr. Jenny Chen is a neuroradiologist. On top of that, she’s also the founder of 3DHEALS, a network of healthcare practitioners who are collectively learning about 3D printing. Through local meetups, events, and lectures, 3DHEALS allows the medical community to grapple with the challenges that additive manufacturing brings. We talk broadly with Jenny about the challenges and benefits in medicine that 3D printing presents. What opportunities are there? What are the roadblocks? Jenny clearly lays out the medical 3D printing landscape for us all.

Authentise is the developer of a manufacturing execution system (MES) software package that helps businesses manage their 3D printing fleets. With Authentise, you can track your prints and batches, as well as trace materials and machine settings. If you want to optimize your manufacturing and reduce errors, an MES is a crucial bit of kit. If you’re making products to specific standards or with a high regulatory burden, then MES software will help you get the traceability that you need for your quality control. We have a wide-ranging talk with the personable Andre Wegner, Authentise CEO. A really great pod, especially for those who are in manufacturing.

Will Richardson started the electron beam company Wayland Additive nearly five years ago. Since then, the UK firm has been part of the eBeam renaissance, witnessing a resurgence of electron beam vendors and users. Concurrently, the UK and its defense establishment have significantly increased their adoption of additive manufacturing (AM). Was Wayland just in the right place at the right time, or does the company have much more going for it? In this episode of the 3DPOD, Richardson discusses the architecture of their machines, the applications they’re working on, NeuBeam’s particle neutralization, process monitoring, and more, demonstrating that his firm is not just here to stay but here to grow.

Conflux is one of the 3D printing startups that I’m the most excited about. With $6 million in recent funding, the company is using its own methods, designs, and expertise to 3D print heat exchangers. Speaking to Conflux CEO Michael Fuller, we learn that the company now wants to advance the manufacturing of heat exchangers before industrializing it.

He hopes to make heat exchangers that can outperform conventional counterparts by a significant margin. Lower mass, higher performance with costs that are manageable could see Conflux enter into a great many markets in heat management. Starting in automotive racing applications, the company has so far proven out its technology widely.

I really love heat exchangers as a 3D printing application and it was great to learn more about them. It was also interesting to see Michael Fuller’s vision on starting and running his business.

Fabric8Labs is a startup that has turned to lithography and chip manufacturing processes to develop a unique 3D printing technology. Their method uses thin film and electroplating to produce very fine parts from copper.

The team is very ambitious. We speak to CEO Jeff Herman and Director of Product Ian Winfield about their prospects. This is a startup that wants to grow big and its team thinks that their technology will give them enormous potential. We discuss funding, applications, and how to work with clients, and much more in this episode.

Danish AM Hub is a national 3D printing group that organizes a large meet-up with the goal of educating and aiding its members in all things 3D printing. Several places in the world are trying to do something similar to become the Silicon Valley of 3D printing. I really think that Denmark is doing this correctly. The Hub is very professional and has succeeded in uniting a lot of the additive manufacturing (AM) efforts in that country. We talk to CEO Frank Rosengreen Lorenzen about how the Hub does this. We also end up in a long conversation about sustainability and how to develop AM. We hope that you enjoy this conversation!

Senior vice president of Strategic Growth at Stratasys, Pat Carey talks to us about the company’s new product portfolio. What does it mean for partners and customers that the company now has many technologies and not just two? And how did they manage to train all of their people on stereolithography, digital light processing and selective absorption fusion (SAF)? What does SAF mean anyway? What can it really change in manufacturing? Pat also discusses Stratasys’s vertical and applications focus. We get a look into the company’s strategy and where it is headed.

Upon the heels of a third-place win for Alpine F1’s Fernando Alonso at the Formula One Qatar Grand Prix, we’ve published this podcast episode with Pat Warner, Advanced Digital Manufacturing Manager for the Alpine F1 Team.

Pat is a true 3D printing pioneer. He started as a machinist and was lucky that his local village of Enstone in England had an F1 team in it. Pat got to play with one of the first 3D printers in the U.K. and use it for wind tunnel models and features on cars. He developed materials, developed new methodologies, and worked to the technically demanding tune of the pied piper that is Formula 1. Pat tells us a lot about why F1 teams use additive and what they use it for. He talks to us about the circus that is Formula 1 and how 3D printing helps teams win. Pat’s simply lovely and we really enjoyed this episode. We hope that you do as well.

Mahendran Reddy is the Business Development Director for NAMIC. NAMIC is Singapore’s 3D printing promotion and coordination organization. I think it’s a remarkably effective one at that. We spoke to him to find out how Singapore was going about promoting the city state for 3D printing. What support can I have when I come to Singapore as an entrepreneur? Why is Singapore a good place to set up my Asian headquarters? What startups are already there? These are some of the things we discussed, we hope that you enjoy listening!

Frank Piller is one of the leading voices in mass customisation. He’s a Professor at RWTH Aachen University and has written and done a lot of research into mass customisation. He’s the co-author of Leading Mass Customization and Personalization: How to profit from customization in e-commerce and beyond which you can download for free here. He’s also one of the researchers behind “Surviving on the long tail: An empirical investigation of business model elements for mass customization” and has an introduction to mass customisation here. I’ve been following Frank’s work for over a decade because he does a lot of interesting research and is clear and concise in communicating it as well. So I was really looking forward to having Frank on the 3DPod and he didn’t disappoint. We have an engaging and lively discussion about mass customisation, what it means, the different types of mass customisation and more. Frank talks us through some best practices and candidly gives us examples of best practices, good implementations and failed ones. Max and I really loved the conversation and we hope that you do too.

Dr. Jason Jones was an AM researcher on a project that expanded in scope and got very complicated. Miraculously it resulted in a company called Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies. This firm makes print heads and equipment that turns CNC machines into DED machines. The company’s machines are used to make parts, repair parts and add new material to older parts. They also have inspection heads to enable parts to be build right and checked the first time. I really think that Hybrid is an amazing combination of Additive and CNC and criminally underused. Jason gave us a wonderful tour of his companies advantages and the specific advantages of 3D printing and subtractive manufacturing in one machine. Really worth your time!

Xometry (Nasdaq: XMTR) is a fast growing and, now, publicly-traded marketplace for manufacturing services. We talk to CEO Randy Altschuler, who came from finance to build and grow companies. What exactly is the role of Xometry? How does it aim to grow and scale up even more? What markets is it expanding into? How does it ensure that good manufacturing partners make parts well? How does it control for quality and determine price? How is it expanding and what applications and technologies is it looking to next?

We talk about the company’s strategy and how the business has managed to grow. I really think that there is a lot of insight here in growing and scaling a company. I especially enjoyed Randy’s focus on performing every single day rather than milestones as a key to unlocking continued growth. It will be very interesting to see how the competitive landscape in 3D printing and manufacturing services evolves. This is a great listen for anyone involved in that business.

In this episode of the 3DPOD, we talk to Mandaná “Mandy” Moshiri, Technology Manager at the LEGO Group. Far from the maddening crowds, the hype, and the promises of 3D printing, she and her colleagues are using additive at the famous toy block-maker. What technologies does LEGO use? What future additive processes is Mandy excited about? What is holding 3D printing back and what are its advantages?

Mandy details how LEGO is using it for mold tooling and conformal cooling molds. How do you innovate with 3D printing at a firm? What kinds of applications and research are worth pursuing? And how “normal” is AM at LEGO?

We get a very clear and honest picture from Mandy as to her field and how she’s applying it at her employer. I really liked her directness, skepticism, and straightforward way of using and discussing 3D printing. I think this is a must-listen for those of you implementing 3D printing at large companies or in industry.

In this episode of the 3DPOD, we take a deep dive into IP, patents, and more with Meggan Duffy, Partner at Marshall Gerstein. As an entrepreneur our co-host Max is especially engaged in this episode. It was very practical, offering a lot of actionable learnings on IP. The takeaway for me was that in our business, you need an IP strategy and must be very engaged with this subject. Chock full of practical information, this is a great episode to learn more about IP.

Steve Grundahl started Midwest Prototyping in the very early days of 3D printing. On this episode of the 3DPOD, he tells us about how he got financing, how he grew his business. what technologies and applications he relied on, and how he kept growing. Steve also tells us why he opted to sell his firm now and how the future of Midwest Prototyping under the umbrella of Prototek will look. As well as sharing his entrepreneurial journey, Steve imparts a lot of wisdom. There are anecdotes, but ones that you can really learn from. We had a blast once again with this episode and know that you will find it to be valuable, as well.

A 3D printing double unicorn, Formlabs is one of the most talked about and followed startups out there. The firm pioneered desktop stereolithography and the professional desktop segment and now has released an entry level powder bed fusion machine, as well.

We speak to founder and CEO Max Lobovsky about the early days of Formlabs. How did the company get funding? Well, it started with an overheard story and a tweet. Max goes on to talk about why Formlabs made some of the choices it did and how it came to grow. He discusses the company’s future and how it will continue to grow, as well. We also discuss SPACs, IPOs and more. Really great discussion!

Max will also take part in the SmarTech – Stifel AM Investment Strategies 2021 summit on September 9, 2021, where he will be able to shed more light on overall market and his company’s role in it. Register for free here.

Luis Baldez is Senior Manager of Market Development for HP, but he’s also the Executive Director of the 3MF Consortium. 3MF is trying to get the 3D printing industry to ditch the much maligned STL file format for something better.

The team wants to establish .3MF as a new standard to get more accurate files that can convey more information. If we want to produce colorful or gradient parts, or multiple materials in a single part, then we will need better ways of describing them. STL also doesn’t work well for super complex lattices and other new geometries. So, Luis and his team are going to try to help us transition. But, how to do this? Who is 3MF? And what are they doing? These are all topics that you can learn from our podcast.

MeaTech 3D (NasdaqCM: MITC) is the Israeli startup rocket ship that is aiming to commercialize and industrialize 3D printed meat. Ethical meat uses fewer resources, less water, less land and creates many fewer emissions than regular meat does. But can this development actually work at scale? How much will it cost? And how do you make 3D printed meat? We look into the future and at the possible disruption that 3D printed meat may bring together with co-founder Omri Schanin.