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Mass production is the Eldorado of additive manufacturing. It is not easy to achieve and very few companies have been able to cost-effectively produce thousands and even millions of parts using AM technology.
One of these companies is OECHSLER, a major manufacturer of polymer (and ceramic) parts for various key industries, including automotive and sportswear. The German company achieved severalworld’s first in terms of serial production after building multiple additive production facilities.
Now, under the leadership of Andreas Knoechel, Head of Program Management Additive Manufacturing, the company is going to the next level, targeting “lot size one” and highly customized products.
These include INSOLO, a 3D printed insole for the orthopedic market (and beyond), as well as multiple bike saddles. In addition, the company recently launched an advanced Online Ordering Platform, which empowers clients to place orders for 3D printed parts quickly and redefines the landscape of manufacturing by combining technology and convenience.
*The content has been edited for smoother flow and to remove pauses and filler words.
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Today we welcome Brad Kreger, the new CEO at Velo3D, the largest US-based manufacturer of metal powder bed fusion 3D printers.
Mr. Kreger joined Velo3D in December 2022 as the Executive Vice President of Operations, and was tasked with transforming the company’s processes, consolidating them after a period of rapid – perhaps even too rapid – expansion.
When Benny Buller, the company’s founder, stepped down as CEO late last year (he remains on the Board of Directors), Mr. Kreger stepped up.
Today he is here to speak with VoxelMatters about his strategy to turn the company around, reassure investors, and “attack” the next phase of massive AM growth, starting with key Defense applications.
He intends to do this by leveraging the “industrialization” experience he matured working at large companies such as Thermofisher, where his responsibilities included taking startups and young organizations that had been acquired and bringing them through the industrialization curve.
*The audio content has been edited to add transitional content, remove pauses and filler words.
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Get ready for an electrifying start to the new season of the VoxelMatters Podcast!
In 2024, we're diving headfirst into the boundless world of additive manufacturing, exploring an array of applications spanning industries, materials, and parts
To kick off this journey, we've got an extraordinary story to share with you. Brace yourselves for a game-changing narrative about a company that's not just redesigning parts for AM but reimagining them – through code!
Meet LEAP71, the pioneers of a revolutionary computational engineering approach to part design. They aren't just transforming the way we create some of the world's most cutting-edge products; they're also shaping the future of 3D printing, making it an indispensable cornerstone of tomorrow's manufacturing.
LEAP71 has wowed us with their mind-boggling creations, working with industry giants like AMCM and the Fraunhofer Institute. While we've heard about parametric and generational design for at least a decade, LEAP71 has taken a quantum "leap" beyond existing 3D design software.
In this episode, we sit down with the masterminds behind LEAP71, who also happen to constitute the company’s entire workforce: Josephine Lissner and Lin Kayser. Together, we unravel how they're harnessing software algorithms to craft the next era of exceptionally complex physical products.
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In this episode, we will discuss two of the biggest additive manufacturing-related announcements coming from the Paris Air Show.
With these two major and highly strategic announcements, Oerlikon is consolidating its leadership in advancing metal AM part production for aero and space applications.
The company revealed it worked with Airbus to industrialize the AM process for serial production of antenna clusters, which resulted in a €3.8 million contract to additively manufacture these satellite components. In addition, Oerlikon AM and ArianeGroup signed a €900,000 order for the production of 3D printed sets of heat exchangers for the upcoming Ariane 6 rocket launcher.
Oerlikon is investing millions of dollars in developing a strong metal AM service offer that can cater to the extreme requirements of companies such as Airbus and ArianeGroup, even for the most safety-critical parts.
Executive Chairman Dr. Michael Seuss and CTO of Surface Solutions Sven Hicken are with us today to discuss the present and future implications of these deals for Oerlikon and the entire AM industry.
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In this week’s episode of the VM podcast, we conversed with Andy Jeffery, a serial entrepreneur with a long-standing history in the 3D printing industry that stretches back to the early nineties. Jeffery’s journey through the 3D printing industry offers a unique narrative - encompassing the founding of companies, exploration of diverse materials, and an ever-evolving interest in sustainability.
Jeffery’s first venture into 3D printing was with a company called Specific Surface, which was one of the first licensees of the Binder Jet 3D printing process from MIT. This marked the beginning of Jeffery’s 3D printing career and spurred him to found numerous companies thereafter, with each new endeavor drawing on his initial experiences.
However, Jeffery’s restless entrepreneurial spirit wasn’t quelled, and his interest in wood led to the establishment of Forust, in 2019. Despite the global pandemic, Forust caught the attention of Desktop Metal and was acquired by them within a year. Jeffery’s work with Forust ignited his interest in sustainability and circular economies.
His current venture, Marvel Labs, focuses on sustainable materials like sawdust, coffee grounds, and seaweed. These materials offer innovative solutions for 3D printing and encourage circularity in the manufacturing process.
Join us as we delve into this absorbing conversation with Andy Jeffery, a pioneering figure who has reshaped the contours of 3D printing over the last few decades.
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Our guest in this episode is Franco Cevolini, CEO of CRP Technology. CRP is a very interesting company because it has been active in the AM industry for well over two decades and has built unique expertise in both AM production services and advanced AM powder materials.
Services are offered mainly via polymer PBF technologies, such as SLS and HSS, catering to advanced automotive and aerospace users. Materials are offered under the Windform brand of CFR/GFR composite powders.
In both cases the main target is not just prototyping but small production series, limited editions and preproduction. As Cevolini explains, CRP Technology supplies production series destined for the automotive, avionics and aerospace markets that, together with industrial applications make up the company's primary customer base.
The green conversion that the automotive sector is experiencing, and towards which the aerospace sector is also heading, requires materials and new transformative technologies.
In this sense, additive manufacturing and its composites can make a difference: the right 3D printing technology combined with the right composite allows greater freedom in design, affecting the efficiency of time to market, allowing companies to achieve better performances. In Aerospace, the future is represented by the increase of more and more affordable nanosatellites. Many manufacturers of microsatellites are already using composite materials and 3D printing to build their structures bearing, and the trend is increasing.
All this has enabled CRP Technology to live its best year ever. Listen to the podcast to learn how and what Windform AM materials and CRP Technology AM services can do for your AM business and applications.
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In this episode of the VM Podcast, we catch up with Chad Beamer, Applications Engineer managing the US-based application center for Quintus Technologies, the global leader in high-pressure technology.
Quintus designs, manufactures, installs, and supports high-pressure systems in three main areas: densification of advanced materials, sheet metal forming and high-pressure processing for food and beverage innovation, safety, and shelf life.
The company has delivered over 1,900 systems to customers within industries from energy, medical implants, space, aerospace, automotive and food processing. The company is headquartered in Västerås, Sweden, with a presence in 45 countries worldwide.
Today we going to learn exactly what Quintus Technologies does, what Chad Beamer does and, perhaps more importantly, how this relates to additive manufacturing.
Among other things we are going to discuss the latest innovations in Quintus' Hot Isostatic Pressure (HIP) technologies and systems, how these processes can bring significant benefits to parts produced via metal PBF but also all other metal AM processes, from metal binder jetting to DED and cold spray, and which are the most significant areas of application.
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Using a process that in some way is similar to high-end industrial material extrusion, ValCUN produces parts directly using liquid metal. Developed with a fully automated production chain in mind, the Molten Metal Deposition (MMD) process is ideally suited for any factory floor, without complex intervention and interruption of current workflows.
This approach reduces manufacturing lead times, easy and affordable operation, and is cost-effective, environment-friendly production. ValCUN's patented MMD technology reduces investment and operating costs by using safe-to-handle feedstock material instead of metal powders and working without high-energy lasers.
To learn more about the potential of ValCUN's upcoming metal 3D printer, its market strategy and supported materials, we speak with Co-founder Jonas Galle, a mechanical engineer with experience in the aerospace industry and a passion for mechatronics, PCB design, data acquisition & processing, production methods and design.
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It’s been an intense start of the year for 3D printing, with tons of news coming out, our Automotive AM Focus eBook, the MIDO eyewear show in Milan and the AMS conference in New York City already in the books.
But it never stops in additive and today we are here with Ido Eylon CEO of 3DM Digital Manufacturing, to talk about a technology that is going to change the way polymer laser powder bed fusion – the process commonly known as SLS – works, for the better and forever.
You may not yet be familiar with 3DM. We visited this Israeli startup last December to learn more about its unique laser technology. Founded in 2016 and trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange since 2021, the company recently emerged from stealth and it is now ready to scale by offering something truly unique in the polymer L-PBF global landscape: a quantum cascade laser (QCL) technology that can deliver industrial-grade printing quality, with any thermoplastic material, at a significantly lower printing cost compared to existing technologies.
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No metal AM hardware company has been able to gain rapid adoption in the aerospace segment as Velo3D. The company started just a few years ago and it has already grown into a publicly listed entity on track to reach nearly 100 million in yearly revenues.
Its machines are used to produce many of the most high-profile rocket engines and rocket engine parts, with growing applications in aviation and in the energy segment. They are used by innovative startups like Launcher, space pioneers like SpaceX, and aerospace giants like Honeywell, just to name a few.
Now Velo3D wants to keep growing and bring its success stories into new markets, expanding into new application areas such as the energy industry and new international markets such as Europe.
This innovation is truly non-stop and today we have the opportunity to speak about how the company has experienced literally skyrocketing success by addressing two key challenges in metal powder bed fusion: efficiency and repeatability.
And we get to hear how they did it from the company’s founder and CEO, directly from the Velo3D’s HQ in Silicon Valley, Benny Buller.
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Additive manufacturing has a special place in the space beyond our own planet. It has emerged as a clear enabling technology for an entirely new generation of commercial companies targeting orbit, deep space, the Moon, and Mars.
That’s why I could not be any happier to welcome today’s guest, Tim Berry, Head of Manufacturing at Launcher. Launcher is one of the clearest examples of the amazing results that a space startup can achieve by using AM to bring its innovative ideas to life.
Tim is bringing his extensive experience as the former Head of AM at SpaceX, a company that in many ways showed the world that commercial space was possible and did so by heavily implementing AM for engine development and manufacturing early on.
Tim’sexperience merges rapid, low-cost aerospace production with innovative, high-volume metal 3D printing, launch vehicle production, and crew-rated spacecraft integration during his 8+ year career at SpaceX. His CV speaks for itself
From 2013 to 2019, as Falcon 9 Stage 2 Lead, he led a multidisciplinary team performing a wide array of production processes, from structures to final integration, to manufacture 90 upper stages that supported Falcon 9 missions, while significantly improving quality and exit rate.
From 2019 to 2021, as Dragon 2 Crew and Cargo Integration Supervisor, he managed a large team of leads, engineers, and technicians responsible for building the integration system that produced eight Dragon Crew and Cargo spacecraft during his tenure.
Finally, as the Manager of Additive Manufacturing, he oversaw all Production and Development Additive Manufacturing including Applications, Processes, and Operations Engineering as well as Technician and Scheduling teams. Here he managed a massive fleet of printers spanning 4 platforms producing hardware for all SpaceX programs and forming one of the highest volume AM labs in the world.
Now Tim is starting a new era at Launcher, for himself, as the Head of Manufacturing, and for the company, which is among the most successful already in the next generation of AM-driven space startups. Today we get to ask him what comes next.
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Today’s episode brings together two companies that represent at the same time, the history and the future of additive manufacturing: AM Flow and Midwest Prototyping.
Midwest Prototyping is a leading AM service provider that started in 2001 with the purchase of a desk and one stereolithography machine. Both of these shared an office with founder Steve Grundahl, who is our guest today.
Steve got early exposure to rapid prototyping technology while studying at the University of Milwaukee’s School of Engineering in the early 1990s. Although his exposure to this technology was during its development stage, he never lost his fascination with it. As industries began adopting it as a valid option for rapid prototyping and product development, Steve took the opportunity to start his journey as a business owner.
Fast forward to 2006 and the company had built a new 18,000-square-foot facility with anticipation of future growth. In 2008, Midwest Prototyping acquired longtime competitor Manitowoc Prototypes adding even more rapid prototyping capacity. More acquisitions followed, leading to the ability to offer 6 distinct 3D printing technologies on over 40 machines with more than 40 materials.
More recently, Midwest Prototyping became part of the Prototek Group further growing the overall AM capabilities and continuing its acquisition strategy with ProtoCAM. Suffice to say that now the company has massive production capabilities and that’s exactly where AM Flow comes in
Last year Midwest Prototyping took its next step toward a fully automated additive manufacturing production plant with end-to-end product tracking and tracing by installing the AM-VISION and AM-SORT, in the AM-Flow production line at their Blue Mounds production facility.
The company is one of the first clients of AM-Flow using AM-Flow’s vision technology. This moment marks the first step to the brand new, next-generation VISION and SORT. With these production modules, Midwest Prototyping can automatically recognize, sort, and route their daily volume of SLS, MJF and SLA prints, in only seconds per part. With the placement of the AM-VISION and AM-SORT, fully MES integrated, the production workflow has become completely paperless.
Also here to tell us what AM Flow can do for AM companies with large production requirements is Carlos Zwikker. He has 20 years experience as an International Research-Based Consultant and joined Philips as a strategy & insight executive in the Philips Lifestyle Incubator, a corporate venturing unit of Philips.
Here, Carlos, entered the Additive Manufacturing market in 2006 as he co-managed several start-ups, including AM service provider Shapeways. In 2018 he joined the management of AM-Flow where he is responsible for global sales and marketing.
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Today’s NDT technologies, based on CT or X-ray scans, are costly and extremely difficult to use. But one company, Theta Technologies is changing all this by introducing a new NDT system based on nonlinear acoustic technology. How does it work and what will this mean for today’s and tomorrow’s digital additive manufacturing production workflows?
Today we have the opportunity to ask this to the Chief Executive Officer of Theta Technologies, Steve Butler. He is a private investor in Theta Technologies and has been a non-executive director since December 2012.
An aeronautical engineer by education, he has over 30 years of experience in the commercial and defense aerospace markets. Before moving into general management, he majored in international commercial negotiations both up and down the supply chain. He has led a number of SMEs including Claverham (sold to UTC in 2004) and more recently Sogeclair Aerospace UK.
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Space is the “initial” frontier for AM. One of the industrial segments where AM production made the most sense from the very start and where AM has helped enable the development and growth of a new, vibrant commercial space industry.
Today we get to speak with one of the companies driving this new age of space across many segments. The Satellite Applications Catapult is one of a network of UK technology and innovation companies that aim to drive economic growth through the commercialization of research. The company’s aim is to support the UK industry by accelerating the growth of satellite applications and contribute to capturing a 10% share of the global space market predicted by 2030.
Exploiting the innovation potential in the UK industrial and academic communities, SAC is a focal point where small and medium enterprises, large industries and end-users can work together with researchers, to challenge barriers, explore and develop new ideas, and bring these to commercial reality.
Our guest for this episode, Mike Curtis-Rouse is Head of Access for Space for the Satellite Application Catapult. In this role, Mike leads a multi-disciplinary team of engineers, technologists, and analysts with mission heritage in spacecraft, launch and operations combined with expertise from the automotive, manufacturing and the maritime sectors. The ambition is to ensure that the UK sits in the vanguard of this new era, being competitive in technologies including propulsion development and testing, In-Orbit Servicing and Manufacturing (IOSM), devolved operation centers, space situational awareness, and solar energy from space.
He works with many launch vehicle companies across the world and is heavily involved in the UK’s launch and spaceport program. Prior to Catapult, Mike worked for Reaction Engines Ltd, the European Space Agency, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and CERN.
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Today’s guest is Markus Seibold. For those who don’t already know him, Markus has led the AM service and production activities at Siemens for over 10 years.
His deep understanding and contagious passion for additive manufacturing as a transformative technology have enabled him to work at some of the most significant cases for AM industrialization, through Siemens’ internal AM factories and through the acquisition, internalization and expansion of the Siemens Material Solutions business.
Markus is now embarking on the next phase of his professional career in the world of AM as Co-founder of MakerVerse, an innovative online platform that aims to become the leading one-stop shop for industrial-grade quality Additive Manufacturing, ultimately making industrial AM ubiquitous.
How will they accomplish this, especially for the most demanding customers such as energy and aerospace companies? That’s exactly what we are here to find out today.
MakerVerse will leverage the experience built at Siemens Energy. Under Seibold's leadership, Siemens Energy developed into one of the world-leading users of Additive Technologies. With 50+ M-PBF machines, Siemens Energy has one of the biggest installed printer fleets in the world.
As part of Siemens Energy’s strategy to become both a super-advanced user as well as a leading service provider, Markus led the acquisition and integration of Materials Solutions in 2016. Since 2017 he served as VP of Additive Manufacturing and accomplished a 10x growth in business volume with Materials Solutions, serving both Siemens Energy and 3rd party industries, such as Aerospace, Automotive and Machinery & Equipment.
Markus holds a PhD from Technical University of Munich in Production Management, a MBA from University of Georgia and a Diploma in Management Information Systems from University of Regensburg.
With MakerVerse, Markus is pursuing his passion to support the growth of the Additive Industry by innovating not only the technology, but also by applying and scaling new business models. MakerVerse is backed by Siemens Energy, Zeiss and Financial Investors such as NinepointFive.
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At 3dpbm, we have been following Xerox’s venture in AM ever since the company decided to invest to develop a new liquid metal printing process, invented by a New York startup called Vader. After nearly 5 years, a system based on this unique technology, the ElemX, is ready to enter commercialization.
Our guest for this episode, Arjun Tekalur is the Director of Engineering at Xerox and is the best person to help us understand how Xerox’s liquid metal printing works and if we will ever be able to say, “Xerox me that metal part”.
Arjun is an experienced researcher and skilled engineering professional with 15+ years of experience in manufacturing, corporate strategy, research and innovation, and higher education. At Xerox, he manages the team responsible for systems integration of ElemX 3D printers.
In his career he has created high-performance teams focusing on digital design and rapid qualification; managed portfolio encompassing research and applied technologies in advanced manufacturing, digitization, material and process qualification; and developed strategy to innovate and monetize digitization (tech road map creation, identify key gaps, create workflows).
Arjun is passionate about technology, innovation and digital transformation. He also holds an MS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics from the University of Rhode Island.
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Welcome to a new episode of the 3dpbm Pulse Podcast, where we get to speak with the additive manufacturing industry’s innovators and decision-makers about their technologies and the businesses they’ve built.
And in this particular case “built” is the perfect word: our guest for today is Henrik Lund-Nielsen, founder and General Manager of COBOD International. COBOD is a globally leading company within the 3D construction printing segment. The company has been constantly – and deservedly - making headlines in both the construction and 3D printing press.
Our research team at 3dpbm has been looking at the construction 3D printing market since it began to form almost a decade ago. Only a handful of startups were present then. Today our 3dpbm Index global directory lists nearly a hundred companies, including 52 construction hardware manufacturers and 77 construction service providers.
As in many young, high-potential market segments, sometimes operators make bigger claims than they can deliver.
COBOD printers, on the other hand, have already completed many of the most high-profile 3D construction projects. Among others, they’ve 3D printed The BOD, the first 3D printed building in Europe, in 2017. They also completed Europe’s first two- and three-story buildings – when most people still thought it would be impossible to 3D print multi-story houses. In 2019 COBOD also printed the world’s first 3D printed wind turbine tower for GE Renewables.
This is why we asked Mr. Lund Nielsen to join us and help us really understand this industrial segment.
From 2015 to 2017, as the project manager for a government-supported project, Lund-Nielsen led a 3-year research project into the global State of the Art of 3D construction. Prior to founding COBOD, he worked with conventional 3D printing for several years and prior to that he was the CEO of a Danish group with 1.000 employees and 14 daughter companies.
He has a master’s in economics from Denmark and an MBA from the US. He is a frequent speaker on 3D printing and 3D construction printing. In 2020 was recognized as one of the 10 most influential executives within the entire AM industry.
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Welcome to a new episode of the 3dpbm Pulse Podcast. Today we are going to do something a little different. We are going to meet the team behind RICOH 3D. The company is not new. We’ve been following RICOH’s moves into the world of AM since at least 2015 when RICOH launched its first industrial SLS system, the RICOH AM S5500P. Since then, RICOH 3D’s AM activities have evolved and continue to evolve in many different directions, including services, composites, and even metal 3D printing.
We are going to learn more about all that is happening with three of the key figures behind RICOH 3D’s AM activities in Europe.
Our guests today are:
Mark Dickin, Additive Manufacturing & Moulding Engineering Manager at Ricoh 3D. He heads up Ricoh’s European additive manufacturing and molding business and has over 20 years of experience in manufacturing. Mark first heard the molding business was moving into 3D printing and he immediately identified the synergies between the two technologies and provided the holistic approach needed to maximize the full product development cycle. He became more and more involved in additive manufacturing projects and now leads the 3D team, with a focus on strategic partnerships and R&D initiatives.
Richard Minifie, Senior Additive Manufacturing Engineer at Ricoh 3D. He is one of the founding fathers of Ricoh’s European 3D printing function, after joining Ricoh in 2001 originally as part of the Design and Development department. Richard’s background in design means he is perfectly placed to support customers with ‘Design for Additive Manufacturing’ principles – from design consultancy to CAD modeling to part optimization tools. For customers looking to increase part strength, reduce weight or amalgamate assemblies, no design job is too complex for Richard.
Enrico Gallino, Senior Engineer - Material Specialist at Ricoh 3D. He is an experienced Material Scientist, with a Ph.D. in Material Science and a background in the energy, cosmetic and steel industries. He speaks three languages and provides dedicated project management and supports customers in identifying the best solutions for their additive manufacturing needs; developing new applications and unlocking the full potential of additive manufacturing through Ricoh 3D’s services. Enrico is also at the forefront of establishing relationships with material manufacturers and partners along the AM supply chain to identify, test and validate new solutions.
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Our guest is James DeMuth, CEO of Seurat Technologies, one of the most fascinating new companies to emerge, targeting metal additive mass production. Seurat has received a lot of media attention lately because it looks to introduce one of the most innovative and disruptive new technologies we have seen, taking along lessons learned from nuclear fusion studies.
James holds an Master degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University with a focus on energy systems and high-temperature gas dynamics, and a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Santa Clara University. He has co-authored 83 patents and 13 academic publications in the fields of additive manufacturing and power generation.
Prior to founding Seurat, James was at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory where he worked on the Laser Inertial Fusion Energy project. Working on one of the most advanced machines ever created by humans, he co-invented and developed the core of Seurat's breakthrough Additive Manufacturing technology, Area Printing
Seurat Technologies recently closed a $21M Series B extension with investments Xerox Ventures and SIP Global Partners, bringing total funding for the company to $79M. What makes Seurat’s vision for massively scaling metal AM even more credible is that his background focuses on how to efficiently handle and precisely direct huge amounts of energy.
In this podcast we will understand more about the company’s unique proposition for highly scalable metal AM via Area Printing technology and how this could lead to more sustainable mass manufacturing of metal parts.
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Our guest for today is Christian Staudigel, co-founder and managing director of Headmade Materials. The company, headquartered near Würzburg, in Germany, invented and is now launching the new and interesting Cold Metal Fusion platform for metal 3D printing.
Christian studied Mechanical Engineering at the DHBW Stuttgart and Advanced Materials and Processes at the Friedrich-Alexander-University in Erlangen-Nuremberg. He also completed the Executive MBA program at the Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg.
Together with co-founder and managing director Christian Fischer, they invented Cold Metal Fusion technology during their work at the SKZ – The Plastics Center research institute.
One way to think of Cold Metal Fusion is as a hybrid technology that combines the strengths of binder jetting, plastics powder bed fusion and MIM processes. In fact, the founders started with injection molding and found a way to build a bridge in between MIM and SLS laser sintering.
In doing so, they understood the potential of the existing installed base of thousands of running SLS printers available worldwide and that these systems could be converted into metal printers. They have since expanded the initial idea to launch an entire platform to enable industrial manufacturing, working in stealth mode with key players in the AM field behind. Now they have come of stealth and into the open.
Headmade Materials just became part of the AM Ventures Fund, and today we have the opportunity to speak with Christian Staudigel to learn more about how the technology works, their business models and their expectations for future growth in high volume metal AM production.
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