Additive Snack

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Jun 2026

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Join host Fabian Alefeld and a range of guests as they discuss all things additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing news, with interviews and real-world stories to educate and entertain. Each episode, Fabian talks to AM experts, professionals in specialist fields, and 3D printing users from all walks of life to deliver a well-rounded view on the state of AM. Cut through the confusion surrounding polymer and metal additive manufacturing solutions with our digestible, down-to-earth discussions that deliver insights into common mistakes and best practice tips so you can get a clear understanding of AM — layer for layer. Whether you’re curious about 3D printing technology for the aerospace industry, a deep dive into post processing, or applications of injection molding — we leave no spare parts behind. We want to provide you with the additive insight needed to stay laser focused and leverage every opportunity 3D printing materials have to offer. Join us for an Additive Snack and we’ll help you and your business achieve growth and success through the latest developments in AM. No marketing B.S. and no product pitches. Just the education, inspiration and information you and your organization need to drive business growth, brought to you by global AM leader EOS. Get ready to feed your AM knowledge and find your path to success!

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June 2, 2026Episode 3457 min

The Manufacturing Comeback: Dean Bartles on Defense, AI, and the Next Industrial Revolution

Host Fabian Alefeld interviews Dean Bartles, President and CEO of the Manufacturing Technology Deployment Group (behind NCDMM, Advanced Manufacturing International, and America Makes), about manufacturing’s evolution, defense industrial base challenges, and additive manufacturing. Bartles recounts his career from shop-floor machining and industrial engineering to international defense manufacturing programs and 31 years through successive owners culminating in General Dynamics, then leading NCDMM and forming a parent organization to expand technology deployment. They discuss consolidation and contracting barriers that pushed small/medium firms out of defense, productivity gains from automation, reshoring momentum driven by tariffs and new investment, and workforce shortages and training pathways via trades, community colleges, and SME/Tooling U. Bartles highlights AI for process monitoring and adaptive control in laser powder bed fusion, the promise of low-cost desktop FFF for drones, the need for shared data and improved repeatability, and sustainability efforts including the Additive Manufacturing Green Trade Association. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 02:54 Dean Manufacturing Origins 04:18 Global Defense Career Path 06:05 Leading NCDMM and America Makes 10:44 Defense Base Decline and Industry 4.0 18:14 Reshoring and Global Models 22:17 AI Capital and Process Control 35:25 Open Data and Repeatability Challenge 38:24 Defense Adoption and Drone Boom 44:08 Workforce Pathways and Community Colleges 50:04 Sustainability and Greener AM 54:27 Closing ABL Always Be Learning

May 26, 2026Episode 331 hr 11 min

From Hypersonics to AI Workflows: How Ursa Major Is Scaling Rocket Production

Fabian Alefeld welcomes back Thomas Pomorski of Ursa Major to discuss developments over the past year across three focus areas: hypersonics, solid rocket motors, and in-space propulsion. Pomorski reports more than nine hypersonic missions flown with the reusable, ~80% 3D-printed Hadley engine and two successful test flights of the storable Draper engine with AFRL, plus progress on Ursa’s LINX solid rocket motor manufacturing approach using additive for tooling and cases to enable flexible “unit cell” scaling. They cover key hypersonics challenges around affordability and manufacturability and why a storable liquid rocket approach can reduce testing complexity. Much of the conversation focuses on AI’s current value in development: rapidly prototyping slicer features and scan strategies, building data-fusion and monitoring tools via EOS APIs, and enabling small teams to operate with much higher productivity, while noting production validation remains challenging.00:00 Welcome Back Thomas01:48 Ursa Major Year Update02:37 Hypersonic Flight Milestones04:05 Solid Motors and LINX05:21 Additive Scale Up Tools06:39 Hypersonic Cost Challenge11:58 Solid Motor Unit Cells15:37 Additive Geometry vs Supply18:01 AI in Additive Workflows24:33 AI Productivity Multiplier29:33 Live Claude Slicer Demo35:13 Prompting Claude Code36:35 Sharing Team Workflows38:40 Production AI Readiness42:20 Slicer Feature Results44:49 Closed Loop Optimization46:46 AI Built Web Monitor52:59 Automation Roadmap01:00:12 Verifying Hatch Strategy01:03:07 Advice For Students01:08:29 Wrap Up And Thanks

May 15, 2026Episode 3252 min

Printing Batteries, how AM is changing Battery Manufacturing and Performance

Fabian Alefeld hosts Karl Littau, CTO of Sakuu, to discuss why rechargeable battery manufacturing has changed little in decades and how Sakuu is rethinking it with additive approaches. Littau explains conventional thick-film slurry coating and stacked anode/cathode layers, noting heavy use of copper and aluminum and high costs driven largely by bill of materials. He outlines battery basics (anode, cathode, electrolyte) and contrasts lithium-ion with solid-state concepts, where solids replace liquid electrolytes but face commercialization challenges. Sakuu’s initial product targets electrode coating by shifting from wet, solvent-based processes to dry powder-bed methods, enabling powder reclaim/reuse, removing toxic solvents, reducing equipment size (e.g., long drying ovens), and potentially increasing throughput. The conversation also covers future possibilities like multi-material patterning, arbitrary shapes, bipolar designs that reduce metal, and broader impacts on EVs, grid storage, and electrification. 00:00 Welcome and Topic01:32 Why Batteries Need Change04:13 Cost Drivers Today07:53 Sakuu Additive Approach13:09 Battery Basics Explained18:30 Dry Powder Manufacturing26:10 Speed and Footprint Gains28:47 Scaling and Supply Chain32:27 Future Shapes and Structures35:42 Solid State Readiness37:48 Sakuu Origin Story40:31 Roadmap and Industry Impact42:34 Electrification Future Vision49:48 Wrap Up and Thanks

May 6, 2026Episode 3155 min

Simulation as an Enabler: Pan Michaleris & Erik Denlinger on the Evolution of Additive FEA

Fabian Alefeld hosts Pan Michaleris, founder of PanOptimization (PanX), and Erik Denlinger, co-founder and chief engineer, to discuss the evolution and role of simulation and finite element analysis (FEA) in additive manufacturing. Pan shares his background as a Penn State professor and entrepreneur (including a prior company acquired by Autodesk) and explains how simulation helps reduce costly trial-and-error builds by predicting distortion, temperature, stress, buckling, cracking, and recoater risks, while moving toward closed-loop manufacturing-to-design workflows and property prediction. Erik outlines PanX’s commercial capabilities - fast thermo-mechanical simulation for very large parts, distortion compensation, and dwell-time optimization - and describes proof-of-concept work on controlling melt quality and hardness via parameter modulation. They cover adoption in aerospace/defense and new space, qualification implications, integration with build-prep workflows (e.g., EOS/Velosis), and cautious, validation-focused views on AI surrogate models.00:00 Welcome and Episode Preview01:13 Meet Pan and Erik01:59 Pan’s Journey to PanX03:59 Erik’s Origin Story05:10 FEA History and the Elephant Test08:32 Why Additive Needs Simulation10:23 Closing the Design Manufacturing Loop14:33 PanX Today Core Capabilities17:30 From Distortion to Material Properties20:25 Making Simulation Usable for Engineers27:06 Workflow Integration and Automation29:44 From Failures to Design30:41 Who Uses PanX Today32:41 Simulation for Qualification35:17 Layerwise Parameter Control38:51 Why FEA Is Hard41:38 AI and Surrogate Models46:53 Future Material Tailoring48:37 Roadmap Workflow Integration52:27 Closing Thoughts and Wrap

April 10, 2026Episode 3059 min

The State of AM in Asia

Host Fabian Alefeld speaks with Japan-based additive manufacturing consultant Peter Rogers about the state of additive manufacturing across Asia Pacific. Rogers contrasts Japan’s advanced but risk-averse manufacturing culture - strong in incremental optimization, with slower certification (notably medical) and limited defense budgets - with faster-moving but smaller markets like Australia/New Zealand, where mining drives demand for rapid, remote part supply. They discuss China’s manufacturing scale and government support, its growing dominance in desktop FDM, and how low-cost Chinese metal PBF machines can win and retain service-bureau business despite Western strengths in quality and productivity. Singapore is highlighted for academia and MRO, while Korea spans shipbuilding, semicon, automotive, and defense. Southeast Asia is still production-focused with limited local R&D, whereas India is rising as an English-speaking engineering and R&D hub for global OEMs. Both see lowering costs and AI enabling broader, consumer-facing AM applications.00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro01:49 Peter Rogers Background03:32 Moving to Japan05:12 APAC Additive Overview09:23 China Manufacturing Dynamics13:27 Reshoring and Kaizen Mindset18:45 Traditional Skills vs Additive20:57 Japan Nearing Inflection Point25:06 Top APAC Applications29:02 Japan Korea Industry Mix30:31 China Scale And Funding33:18 FDM Race To Bottom34:27 Bambu Ecosystem Advantage36:53 Metal AM Price Expansion38:23 Chinese Metal Machines Case40:30 Competing On Productivity44:10 Southeast Asia Adoption47:06 India RnD Powerhouse49:46 Future Consumer Breakthroughs52:40 Japan Pushing DED Limits55:30 AI Lowers Barriers57:13 Wrap Up And Farewell

March 25, 2026Episode 2958 min

From Fashion to Metal AM: Scaling Additive Manufacturing into Production

Host Fabian Alefeld interviews Erin Mastroni, President and founder of I3D Manufacturing (founded 2013), about building one of the largest additive-focused contract manufacturers and the industry’s shift from prototyping to production. Mastroni describes moving from fashion retail and trend forecasting to an MBA in sustainable business, spotting production AM as a key trend, and launching a metal powder bed fusion business in Oregon with limited traditional manufacturing experience. She recounts early funding challenges, using SBA/New Market Tax Credits, and landing Blue Origin as an early customer, which helped establish I3D as a fast-moving development partner known for tackling difficult materials like titanium and new nickel alloys with EOS. I3D grew from 5 people and two machines to two campuses, ~30 machines, and 54 employees, is launching an internal “I3D Academy,” navigated a severe COVID revenue drop without layoffs, and was acquired in 2023 by BTX Precision (L Squared Partners), expanding into turnkey CNC and broader capabilities while discussing PE’s role, production scalability, and emerging AI opportunities.00:00 Podcast welcome01:47 Fashion to additive04:27 Funding and mission06:52 Blue Origin breakthrough08:27 Becoming a dev partner12:19 I3D today scale15:29 Growing talent academy17:05 Growth phases and pandemic20:22 Acquisition and turnkey expansion22:06 Private equity tipping point27:43 Private Equity Momentum28:41 Flow Driven Applications32:54 Supply Chain Use Cases35:12 Scaling Production Know How40:21 One Stop Shop Strategy43:14 Customers Get Smarter47:31 Next Wave Breakthroughs53:03 AI In Additive Manufacturing57:25 Closing Thanks

March 4, 2026Episode 2856 min

AI Update in Additive Manufacturing: Design, Process, Workforce and Industry impact

Fabian Alefeld hosts Duann Scott on the Editor Snack podcast to discuss how AI is evolving in additive manufacturing, moving from “AI-washing” and impractical text-to-mesh hype toward more capable tools using language models, visual language models, surrogate models, and emerging foundational models. Scott describes testing tools by trying to make them fail and highlights a recent success with the Raven plugin for Rhino/Grasshopper, which generated a parametric VESA mount and tripod adapter from minimal prompts, then iteratively added fillets and an isogrid structure and produced a printable part within hours. They discuss constraints like missing engineering training data and design intent, the promise of AI for toolpath and process optimization (including transfer of parameter knowledge across materials), and the role of the 3MF format in capturing toolpath and metadata to enable richer, searchable datasets. Scott previews CDFAM events in Barcelona, DC, and Tokyo and emphasizes that progress requires significant data work and investment. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 02:18 AI Hype to Real Progress 04:13 Testing AI Design Tools 04:46 Data Gaps and Design Intent 07:15 Two Paths for AI Design 10:15 Raven Grasshopper Breakthrough 13:17 Pushing Parametric Complexity 20:28 Limits of Black Box Optimization 22:40 Toolpath and Material Transfer 26:18 Alloy Discovery and Qualification 28:05 3MF Role Teaser 28:18 3MF Format Overview 29:17 Smarter Toolpath Extensions 32:31 Metadata for AI Training 35:43 Data Ownership and Synthetic Data 39:59 AI Impact on Additive 44:10 Workforce and Reshoring 47:22 What Is CDFAM 49:49 CDFAM Audience and Format 51:43 DC Event and Government 54:05 Wrap Up and Thanks

January 27, 2026Episode 2737 min

Beyond the Printer: Automation’s Role in the Next Generation of AM

In this episode of the Additive Snack Podcast, host Fabian Alefeld is joined by Oliver Elbert, Head of Additive Manufacturing at Grenzebach, to discuss the pivotal role of automation in scaling additive manufacturing. They delve into Grenzebach’s extensive expertise in industrial automation and its recent ventures into additive manufacturing. The conversation covers the challenges and benefits of automating post-processing tasks, increasing equipment efficiency, and optimizing labor dynamics. They also explore notable projects like the Next Gen AM and the Polyline project, highlighting how automation can significantly enhance production availability and reduce manual intervention. Oliver provides insights into the integration of automated guided vehicles (AGVs), robots, and job exchangers in additive manufacturing, and discusses the future potential of fully automated production environments. 00:00 Introduction to Additive Snack Podcast 00:18 The Challenge of Automating Additive Manufacturing 01:07 Introducing Grenzebach and Oliver Elbert 02:22 History and Evolution of Grenzebach 06:33 Grenzebach’s Entry into Additive Manufacturing 08:31 The Slow Adoption of Automation in Additive Manufacturing 14:34 The Dual Setup Station and Its Impact 19:25 Automation Solutions for Various Industries 23:52 The Future of Automation in Additive Manufacturing 24:48 Challenges and Opportunities in Automation 34:13 The Role of Humanoids in Industrial AM 36:20 Conclusion and Future Outlook

January 22, 2026Episode 2638 min

How AM is Supporting the Grid

In this episode of the Additive Snack Podcast, host Fabian Alefeld welcomes Kristin Mulherin, the Director of Additive Manufacturing Technology at Hubbell Inc., to discuss the creation and development of an additive manufacturing center of excellence within a 150-year-old corporation. Kristin shares her extensive journey through various roles in the additive industry, from Northrop Grumman to HP, and her significant input in initiatives like Women in 3D Printing. She discusses Hubbell's historical background and the strategic decisions behind establishing the AM center, including technology choices, cost management, and internal education to drive innovation. The episode covers specific applications, the challenges of shifting from prototyping to production, and the importance of cross-departmental education within the company to leverage the full potential of additive manufacturing. 00:00 Introduction to the Additive Snack Podcast 01:40 Meet Kristen Mulherin: A Journey in Additive Manufacturing 05:07 Kristen's Role at Hubbell Inc. and Industry Insights 06:11 Women in 3D Printing and Leadership 07:46 Building Hubbell Inc.’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence 15:25 Technology Stack and Future Plans at Hubbell 19:30 Exploring New Opportunities in Additive Manufacturing 21:38 Balancing Cost and Lead Time in Additive Manufacturing 22:08 Value Drivers in Additive Manufacturing

January 6, 2026Episode 251 hr 1 min

Education, Investment & the Additive Workforce with America Makes - Part 2

In the second part of this two-part episode series of the Additive Snack Podcast, host Fabian welcomes Dr. Edward Herderick, Director of Education and Workforce Development at America Makes, to discuss the maturation of additive manufacturing. They delve into the evolution of the technology, its impact on the industry, and the importance of specialized education to foster a capable workforce. Dr. Herderick shares insights on the integration of creative and engineering disciplines, the need for hands-on experience, and the role of the investment community in driving the industry's growth. The conversation also touches on the significance of industry partnerships in reshaping education, making additive manufacturing more accessible, and preparing the next generation of skilled professionals.01:33 The Evolution of Additive Manufacturing02:12 Integration of Art and Engineering05:00 Specialization in Additive Manufacturing08:44 Industry Trends and Workforce Development15:25 Additive Manufacturing in Education39:50 Hands-On Experience and T-Shaped Expertise50:55 Investment and Market Segmentation