Additive Manufacturing (AM): Injecting Agility and Innovation into Product Development

Many people mistake failure as a shortcoming of additive manufacturing (AM). In many cases, it is more about the time and effort needed to learn entirely new processes. AM is an enabler of agility. It is helping organizations become more agile and solve problems more effectively. For the past few years, AM has helped companies work around supply chain challenges. By exploring AM as a stop-gap solution, you can overcome temporary disruption, but you can also discover long-term solutions to manufacture more effectively.

In this episode, Host Fabian Alefeld speaks with Rich Stump, co-founder, and CCO of Fathom, an on-demand digital manufacturing service provider that recently announced it is going public. Rich, and Fathom, have been at the forefront of the AM revolution for more than a decade. Rich describes how Fathom has evolved alongside AM's capabilities. We talk about how Fathom is helping its customers learn how to design for AM, how gateway applications can help new companies adopt AM, and where the AM industry and Fathom are headed in the future. Rich shares insights that only a true additive manufacturing leader could know.

The Additive Snack Podcast is brought to you by EOS.

Key Takeaways:

[1:53] Rich describes his journey through different technologies to arrive at additive and advanced manufacturing and the life-cycle of Fathom.

[7:45] Rich explains how Fathom is unique in the AM arena.

[9:32] An impressive example of how Fathom met a unique customer need using 12 different manufacturing processes with a critically short timeline.

[12:29] The agility of AM allows companies to reduce their product development timelines.

[14:16] Fathom’s outcome-focused approach allows clients to see how AM can enhance their product development and manufacturing processes.

[17:51] Rich and Fabian discuss the future workforce of AM, gateway applications that can accelerate AM’s widespread integration and the role of AM in alleviating supply chain challenges.

[25:59] Rich’s guidance to those interested in incorporating AM into their manufacturing process — start with a simple application.

Shareables:

“I'm passionate about this industry and how we can think differently to use new technologies to solve interesting problems — to accelerate and innovate the product development process.” — Rich Stump, Co-founder, and CCO of Fathom on The Additive Snack Podcast

“It’s about using additive alongside traditional manufacturing, to solve the right problem for the right application. We are technology neutral.”— Rich Stump, Co-founder, and CCO of Fathom on The Additive Snack Podcast

“Today, more than ever, we have access to technologies at price points and ease of use that in the past were either very expensive or very hard to use, which brings a lot more agility to the whole product development process.”— Rich Stump, Co-founder, and CCO of Fathom on The Additive Snack Podcast

“Find an application that is an easy win and then build upon that. You have to build the culture of adoption, and in order to do that you have to change the mindset of the organization to adopt a new manufacturing process.” — Rich Stump, Co-founder, and CCO of Fathom on The Additive Snack Podcast