3DPOD: Insight from 3D Printing Pros

6K Additive is roaring ahead with a recycling solution for metals. Their path from scrap to powder is helping the US to be more resilient, produce powder locally and perhaps be more cost effective and sustainable as well. But, what does 6K want to do? Where is it headed? What does it want to accomplish? How does it’s process stack up to others? And how will it go about it? Frank here talks us through their strategy, goals, plants, capacity, operations and the future role 6K wants to play at the core of the US defense and industry. This episode of the 3DPOD is brought to you by FacFox, where your next product starts as a file and ends as a custom-made reality. With instant quoting, rapid design feedback, and on-demand 3D printing, CNC machining, injection molding, and more, FacFox makes it easier to test out ideas, fine-tune every detail, and manufacture with confidence. Curious what your design could become? Upload it and find out.  

Scott Dunham models all the data at Additive Manufacturing Research. He has been predicting the growth of the 3D printing market in segments, materials, and applications for over a decade. We talk to Scott about his favorite applications and growth areas. Some of his insights and predictions may surprise you, but you’ll definitely enjoy this conversation. For much of it, we delve deeper into suppressors because Scott owns and tests them while having written a groundbreaking suppressor 3D printing report back in 2017 that predicted a lot of the growth in this market segment; a new 2024 report solidified his work in this area. This episode of the 3DPOD is brought to you by Materialise, a global leader in 3D printed medical software and devices, and additive manufacturing software and services. With decades of expertise, Materialise supports highly regulated and high-demand sectors, from healthcare to aerospace and beyond.  

Amolak Badesha has a habit of being ahead of the curve in GPUs and optics. So his outlandish and very futuristic claims in this podcast may seem crazy, but maybe the world will catch up with him. Orbital Composites is making large-scale composite structures, but its machines are also used for high-end bike shoes. The company wants to conquer space, and in this wide-ranging conversation we talk about all the implications and technologies that they’re working with. This episode of the 3DPOD is sponsored by EOS, a leading global partner for industrial 3D printing solutions in both metal and polymer. With decades of additive manufacturing expertise, technologies and partnerships, EOS empowers customers to innovate, differentiate and shape the future of manufacturing.

3D printed suppressors are one of the largest and fastest-growing applications in 3D printing. Our colleague Scott Dunham first wrote a report on suppressors in 2017, before the boom, and we released another in 2024. But why exactly are suppressors in demand? And how does one make a good suppressor? To answer that, we spoke with Sean Bernstein, a former US Special Forces soldier with over 12 years of service in the Marine Corps. We talk about his remarkable journey to mastering CNC and 3D Printing. We learn a lot about suppressor design and what is important about suppressors. His company, Irregular Design Group, is using OneClick 3D printers to make an outstanding suppressor, and the future looks bright. This episode of the 3DPOD is sponsored by EOS, a leading global partner for industrial 3D printing solutions in both metal and polymer. With decades of additive manufacturing expertise, technologies and partnerships, EOS empowers customers to innovate, differentiate and shape the future of manufacturing.  

Daniel Gidlund leads Freemelt, a company that has been steadily establishing its place in metal AM with open-source thinking and a clear technical vision. In this episode, he walks us through Freemelt’s evolution from a small Gothenburg startup to a company helping advance electron beam 3D printing. Daniel is genuine, grounded, and sharply focused on what comes next: more materials, deeper collaboration, and unlocking the full potential of Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion (E-PBF). Freemelt has come a long way since its early days, and Daniel shows us a company that’s maturing fast while staying true to its roots. This episode of the 3DPOD is brought to you by HP Additive Manufacturing Solutions, leaders in industrial 3D printing. With multi-jet fusion and metal jet technology, HP delivers speed, design freedom, and cost efficiency at scale, empowering manufacturers to produce sustainable and end-use parts and transform how industries innovate.  

AJ Strandquist is the CEO of the Würth Additive Group. From that pedestal he’s helping a $20 billion revenue 87,000 employee distribution company make its way in Additive. Würth’s 3D printing endeavors center around MRO, just-in-time production, selling parts, selling machines, being a platform and connecting companies. We talk about the 3D printing market, digital inventories, outsourcing, growing businesses and much more in this podcast. This episode of the 3DPOD is brought to you by HP Additive Manufacturing Solutions, leaders in industrial 3D printing. With multi-jet fusion and metal jet technology, HP delivers speed, design freedom, and cost efficiency at scale, empowering manufacturers to produce sustainable and end-use parts and transform how industries innovate.