#004: Alex Kingsbury - The Future of AM, Laser Beam Shaping, Marketing Tech with The Diffusion of Innovations Theory and Advice for Women Breaking into the 3D Printing Industry Bold Visions

In this episode Joe speaks with Alex Kingsbury. Alex is a well-known additive manufacturing technical expert and has worked in metal additive manufacturing in technical, leadership, and advisory roles for the last ten years. She is currently the Market Development Manager for nLIGHT, a leading provider of high-power semiconductor and fiber lasers. In this role Alex leads nLIGHT’s Additive Manufacturing business, facilitating the adoption of lasers that provide the next breakthrough in quality and productivity in additive manufacturing.

 

Prior to nLIGHT, Alex has held leadership positions at CSIRO and then RMIT University, both in Melbourne, Australia. Additionally, Alex maintained a private consultancy, Additive Economics, to provide expert, strategic advice to investment firms, company boards, and government agencies on the commercialization of and investment in advanced manufacturing technologies. More recently, Alex has been co-creator and occasional guest of ‘Printing Money’, a podcast on finance and investment in the additive manufacturing industry. Alex is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds a Bachelor of Engineering from RMIT University.

In the beginning of the episode Alex explains some of the the tech behind nLight lasers and what it means for the additive manufacturing industry. She tells the story of how she got into the 3D printing industry which eventually brought her to the US from Australia. Alex shares insights on the psychology and finances behind marketing and adoption of new technology—specifically the Diffusion of Innovations Theory. Then towards the end Alex offers perspective and advice for women wanting to get into 3D printing and the STEM fields in general.



Timecodes

00:00 Introduction

03:05 nLight and Lasers

08:22 Beam Shaping Lasers in Additive Manufacturing

13:47 Alex's Career Path

16:54 Alex's experience in media and podcasting

19:44 nLight and moving to the US

28:16 Diffusion of Innovations and Barriers to Adoption

33:57 Finances of 3D Printing

39:48 Tech Alex is exited about

48:07 Advice for Women in 3D Printing and STEM

55:43 Closing Remarks and Contact Info



Resources

NLight: https://www.nlight.net/

AFX Laser: https://www.nlight.net/programmable-rackmount-single-mode-fiber-lasers

Gaussian Beams: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaussian_beam

CSIRO: https://www.csiro.au/en/

RMIT: https://www.rmit.edu.au/

Diffusion of Innovations Theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QnfWhtujPA

DfAM: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_for_additive_manufacturing

SPAC: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special-purpose_acquisition_company

Arno Held: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arno-held/

AM Ventures: https://amventures.com/

Summary of Arno’s keynote at AMS 2024: https://3dprint.com/307039/charting-the-future-3d-printing-investments-at-ams-2024/

DED: Directed Energy Deposition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jAyUQJoAr8

Laser Powderbed Fusion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wrxef_4DL_g

Binder Jet 3D Printing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhxSrWuzIdA



Alex’s Contact info

Website: https://www.nlight.net/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexbkingsbury/





Raconteur Animation is a studio that helps disruptive tech and industrial hardware companies launch new products confidently with stunning CGI product movies



Website: http://raconteuranimation.com

Email: howdy@raconteuranimation.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joerule/