Some time has passed, but my first AMUG definitely lived up to the hype.

It was great catching up with familiar faces and meeting new ones, but the real value was the learning. One of my biggest takeaways came from the keynote by Steve Fournier of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. and Scott Sawyer of Divergent Technologies.

Not because of the technology itself - but because of how they approached adoption.

When Additive Becomes a Pitch

• Most additive manufacturing conversations start the same way:
• Features
• Benefits
• Design freedom
• Part consolidation
• Speed

Every company and every machine have something that stands out. Don’t get me wrong, that’s valuable. But these are also the easiest things to talk about. They’re not the conversations that change a business.

A Different Starting Point

What stood out here was simple: They didn’t start there. Instead, they started by challenging the idea itself. Divergent had already proven their additive-driven, software-defined manufacturing model in automotive. Their platform integrates:

• Design software
• Additive production
• Automated assembly

All within a fully digital manufacturing system.

Expanding Into Aerospace - Without Assumptions

The next step was expanding into aerospace and defense through their partnership with GA-ASI, specifically around unmanned aircraft systems.

On paper, it made perfect sense:

• Lightweight structures
• Complex geometries
• Performance-driven design

All strong fits for additive.
But they didn’t assume it would translate.

They Pressure Tested It

Instead of building a case for why additive should work…They focused on where it might break.

They asked:

• What carries over from automotive?
• What doesn’t translate?
• What still needs development?
• Where does the process fall short under new demands?

Because aerospace brings:

• Different requirements
• Different risk tolerance
• Different qualification standards
• Different expectations for performance and reliability

The Mindset Shift

• From selling the technology → to validating the application
• From proving upside → to exposing risk
• From excitement → to discipline

This is where additive stops being interesting…and starts becoming business-critical.

Where Projects Actually Succeed (or Fail)

This approach forces a deeper level of thinking:

• Beyond the machine → into the workflow
• Beyond a single part → into repeatability
• Beyond a pilot → into production

It does three things:

1. Challenges assumptions early
2. Aligns teams faster
3. Prevents investment in solutions that won’t scale

Because this is where most additive initiatives either gain traction or quietly stall out.

The Questions That Actually Matter

It’s easy to find parts that look like a good fit:

• Consolidated designs
• Reduced assembly
• Lightweighting

But that’s just the starting point.
The real questions come after:

• Can the material meet long-term requirements?
• Can the process support production volumes?
• Does post-processing become a bottleneck?
• Will teams actually adopt and design for it properly?
• Can the business support it beyond a pilot phase?

If those answers are unclear…The project is already at risk.

Pressure Testing Isn’t Negative, It’s Necessary

This level of scrutiny isn’t pessimistic. It’s strategic.

• If the idea fails early, you save time, money, and resources
• If it survives, you move forward with something that can scale

How We Approach It at M5D

At M5D, this is how we approach additive:

• ·Not just where it fits
• But where it holds up under real conditions
• Not just what it can do
• But what it can’t

Because the goal isn’t to force additive into the process.

The Real Goal

The goal is to find where it actually works and build from there.

That’s what drives real adoption.
Not hype. Not features.

 But applications that survive the test. 

Evaluate Where Additive Actually Works

If you're exploring additive manufacturing, the biggest risk isn’t choosing the wrong machine—
it’s moving forward without validating the application.

At M5D, we help teams pressure test additive before they invest.
Schedule an Additive Assessment here, Zach Carr

Zach Carr
zcarr@m5d.com
(312) 982.426

I almost can't believe I am writing this but I just got back from attending my first live conference since the COVID pandemic hit us!  I was fortunate enough to attend the 2021 Additive Manufacturing Users Conference (AMUG) where the leading users of additive gather to share their knowledge, expertise, and updates on best-in-class additive manufacturing processes.  There is too much to share in just one blog so I will have more follow-up blogs but wanted to start with what the experts noted as the trends they saw in 2020.  In one of the sessions, industry leaders outlined what they believe will be the next areas of success around 3D print in 2021.  Here are my notes from what was presented...

BASF - Noted that they are seeing more traditional injection molding companies looking to leverage additive manufacturing and leveraging 3D print to augment their traditional services.  Historically because of the volume and material needs that injection molders require they have been slower to adopt Additive Manufacturing technologies but BASF believes advancement in materials and throughput will increase the adoption.

www.forward-am.com

DMG Mori - Stated they believe automation around 3D print, enhanced reliability, and improved quality assurance processes will be key for additive.   Much like the notes above from BASF, they believe adoption will also increase as the materials improve for both metal and composites.  In addition, more hybrid systems will be leveraged to take advantage of both traditional and new manufacturing technologies.

www.dmgmori.com

Dyndrite - Believes that software solutions have lagged 3D print technology and 2021 will be the year software makes a big step forward to catch up.  With the explosion of manufacturing data, software will need to be developed to run 3D printers more efficiently, quickly and to leverage data better.  The need for technology-agnostic front ends will be another improvement as manufacturers will leverage various 3D print technologies.  

www.dyndrite.com

Essentium - Predicts the continued rise of full-scale production, improved leveraging of 3D print for supply chain resiliency, and the development of materials to solve specific applications versus a general material solution.  The trend for true additive manufacturing that occurred in 2020 will continue into 2021.

www.essentium.com

ExOne - Beyond just the overall desire for 3D metal parts, they see the demand for more metal materials will increase along with the desire to implement additive processes to satisfy green initiatives. There will also be a continued leveraging for metal print for light-weighting and part consolidation.  Metal certainly has a strong future.

www.exone.com

Take these as my notes and I encourage you to visit each of their websites to see what they are focused on.  Overall I believe the message was consistent, it's not only about the print technology but the processes utilized both before and after printing.  Design processes and technologies will continue to evolve to better leverage and prepare data for printing.  The post finishing processes will be improved to support a true manufacturing process for both producing parts in quantity but with quality assurance.  Throw in materials development and I believe 2021 will be another step forward to true additive manufacturing.  

As always, if any of the directions I noted above resonate with you (or does not) please reach out as I am always curious to hear real-world feedback.

Lastly, I encourage you to check out the Additive Manufacturing User Group - www.amug.com
The Additive Manufacturing Users Group's origins date back to the early 1990s when the founding industry users group called 3D Systems North American Stereolithography User Group.  Today, AMUG educates and supports users of all additive manufacturing technologies.  If you are at all involved in 3D around production, this is a group you should support and join.