Scaling 3D Printing and Making Manufacturing Fun Again, with Blake Teipel of Essentium

Macro Micro Michael Marco & Startups at the Edge (M4Edge)

Where else will you find a podcast on 3D printing that references cassette tapes and cowboy hats???

In this new episode of our 3D Printing series, we talk with Blake Teipel, CEO and cofounder of Essentium. Blake is perhaps the best person to explain how the success of 3D printing relies on the synergy of machines, software and materials. He started as a design engineer, went back to school for a PhD in materials science, and then set out to create 3D printing solutions that can better solve the hard design problems faced by engineers.

Before co-founding Essentium, Blake worked at two large industrial companies, John Deere and Caterpillar. Based on this experience, Blake concluded that the primary advantage of Essentium’s 3D printing solutions had to be speed: only speed can allow 3D printing machines to produce large numbers of parts at lower cost, and make them economically competitive at large scale against traditional manufacturing techniques. For Blake, this is the secret sauce that will allow 3D printing to play an increasingly large role in industry.

In the episode, we discuss cybersecurity, and how Essentium uses software to check the materials and the production protocols, including for example the extrusion temperature, so that the parts produced can be certified, protecting against counterfeiting (and without using blockchain, to Michael’s great satisfaction and relief…)

We also discuss how 3D printing will transform global supply chains, shifting production closer to the ultimate consumers. While at the moment this has supported reshoring of manufacturing to the US, as in emerging markets wages rise and consumers get wealthier, we should see more production move closer to these increasingly attractive developing markets.

An important note: don't forget to stick around for our Ricky's Reports from the Edge segment, at the end of the show.