VoxelMatters Podcast VoxelMatters

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 several
world’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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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.

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.