#46 Dan’s 3D printing highlights

Podcast – Additive Insight

On this week’s episode of Additive Insight, The TCT Group’s outgoing Head of Content Daniel O’Connor gets his turn in the hot seat as the editorial team bid a fond farewell and gather his thoughts on eight years in the additive manufacturing (AM) industry including the biggest trends, changes and technology developments.

From starting out with “Thingi Thursdays” and Buzzfeed-style listicles on TCT Magazine’s Personalize brand amid peak “3D printer in every home” hype to travelling the world covering some of the most prolific adopters of additive for series production, we talk through Dan’s first articles, his favourite stories on the road (including a few now infamous travel mishaps), and what he believes have been some of the most significant advancements to happen to the industry throughout his AM career.

Reflecting on a valuable piece of AM insight shared by 3D printing consultant Dr Phil Reeves, Dan said: “I think we can all sit and do a cost analysis of 3D printing and say ‘oh I’m not sure if it covers the cost’ but it only doesn’t cover the cost when everything goes to plan and coronavirus is an example of that. When something doesn’t go to plan, 3D printing can step in and that is absolutely priceless for a manufacturing industry, to be able to say, ‘We’ve got this car on the line, we haven’t manufactured the arm rest, what are we going to do?’ The suppliers gone under, ‘Well we can 3D print it and have it done.’ … I think the ability for 3D printing to keep manufacturing going is absolutely astronomical.”

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