Additive Snack

Fabian Alefeld interviews certified prosthetist/orthotist and EastPoint Prosthetics VP Brent Wright about his career path into O&P, his shift from being anti-digital to adopting scanning and additive manufacturing, and the impact on patient care and global access. Wright describes traditional fabrication workflows (casting, plaster positives, vacuum forming thermoplastics for orthoses, and carbon fiber/resin layups for prostheses) as artistic but time-consuming, hazardous, and lacking records. 
His digital journey accelerated after a Guatemala trip with Life Enabled highlighted the need to scale care; he focused on scanning, digital modification, and later powder-bed fusion, moving toward SLS with materials like PK5000 and TPU. He emphasizes pressure casting for prosthetic sockets, the value of digital records for insurance, and how AM can change socket “dynamics” to improve comfort and heal wounds. 
The discussion also covers RADii’s data-driven fitting approach, Life Enabled’s mix of traditional and 3D-printed solutions (including pediatric feet), modular “kit” concepts for developing regions, and barriers to sensors/actuators in the US due to reimbursement.

02:33 Brent Origin Story
09:30 Why Go Digital
11:17 Scaling Global Access
17:32 Traditional O&P Workflow
20:02 Casting And Fabrication Steps
24:07 Digital Workflow And Scanning
33:22 Benefits Of Digital Records
36:36 Flexible Liner Heals Wound
40:47 RADii Data Meets Craft
46:06 Life Enabled Model
01:01:50 Democratizing via Manufacturing
01:08:01 Sensors vs Simplicity

Fabian Alefeld sits down with Sean Whittaker, founder, president, and CEO of Incodema3D, to discuss the company's journey from a sheet metal prototyping business to one of North America's largest metal additive manufacturing operations. Sean shares why he invested in metal AM early, how Incodema3D built a production-first business model, and what it takes to scale additive manufacturing beyond prototypes.
The conversation explores the evolution of Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) technology, the importance of vertically integrated manufacturing, and how improvements in machines, materials, software, and Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) are making production at scale a reality. Sean also discusses growing demand driven by reshoring, defense, aerospace, and energy applications, Incodema3D's specialization in aluminum thermal management components and high-volume Inconel production, and how AFM Capital's investment is accelerating expansion through new equipment, automation, and future U.S. manufacturing sites.

Episode Chapters
01:41 Sean's Origin Story 
05:13 Taking the Leap into Metal Additive Manufacturing 
07:05 From Prototypes to Production 
08:07 The Advantage of Vertical Integration 
10:54 The Maturity of Additive Manufacturing and DfAM 
15:46 Thermal Management, Inconel, and Consumer Applications 
19:21 Defense, Energy, and Replacing Cast Components 
21:28 Accelerating Growth with AFM Capital 
25:49 Cycle Times, ROI, and Production Flexibility 
30:07 Automation and Building the AM Workforce 
34:50 Reshoring, Expansion, and the Future of Production 
39:50 Wrap-Up

Fabian Alefeld interviews Omar Mireles, Director of Manufacture and Materials at Space Nuclear Power Corporation (Space Nukes), about his career spanning NASA, Oak Ridge, and Los Alamos and how additive manufacturing (AM) reshaped space hardware development. Omar describes early exposure to SLS prototyping, graduate work in nuclear materials and propulsion, building nuclear materials labs at NASA Marshall, and later leading AM efforts for liquid rocket engines and refractory metals.  
He explains how AM accelerates iteration, enables complex geometries, part consolidation, and weight reduction, and where traditional methods still dominate depending on production rate. The conversation covers refractory metal challenges (supply chain, oxygen sensitivity, post-processing, inspection) and nuclear reactor basics, generations, and regulatory barriers to AM adoption. Omar outlines Space Nukes’ goal of delivering safe, affordable, reliable power anywhere in the solar system, noting heat rejection as a key space constraint, Krusty’s 2018 test heritage, potential AM roles in heat exchangers, and an aggressive ~2-year flight timeline depending on regulation and mission. 
02:26 Omar Early Motivation 
03:08 NASA Co-ops and First AM 
07:59 Stirling Radiation Research 
20:07 Refractory Metals AM Lab 
21:31 Los Alamos to Space Nukes 
25:14 Did AM Change Space Race 
31:46 Where AM Flies Today 
37:41 Rocket Engines Print vs Traditional 
41:15 Refractory Alloys Challenges 
46:39 Where Refractories Make Sense 
47:05 Will Refractory AM Grow 
49:39 NASA Metal AM Handbook Origins 
56:37 How Nuclear Reactors Work 
01:13:02 Additive Manufacturing in Nuclear 
01:18:31 What Space Nukes Builds 
01:19:36 Why Space Nuclear Power Matters 
01:25:20 Why Space Needs Nukes 
01:37:47 Krusty Test Proof 
01:41:18 Heat Rejection Challenge 
01:49:25 Timeline and First Missions

Host Fabian Alefeld interviews Dean Bartles, President and CEO of the Manufacturing Technology Deployment Group (behind NCDMM, Advanced Manufacturing International, and America Makes), about manufacturing’s evolution, defense industrial base challenges, and additive manufacturing. Bartles recounts his career from shop-floor machining and industrial engineering to international defense manufacturing programs and 31 years through successive owners culminating in General Dynamics, then leading NCDMM and forming a parent organization to expand technology deployment. They discuss consolidation and contracting barriers that pushed small/medium firms out of defense, productivity gains from automation, reshoring momentum driven by tariffs and new investment, and workforce shortages and training pathways via trades, community colleges, and SME/Tooling U. Bartles highlights AI for process monitoring and adaptive control in laser powder bed fusion, the promise of low-cost desktop FFF for drones, the need for shared data and improved repeatability, and sustainability efforts including the Additive Manufacturing Green Trade Association. 
 
00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 
 
02:54 Dean Manufacturing Origins 
 
04:18 Global Defense Career Path 
 
06:05 Leading NCDMM and America Makes 
 
10:44 Defense Base Decline and Industry 4.0 
 
18:14 Reshoring and Global Models 
 
22:17 AI Capital and Process Control 
 
35:25 Open Data and Repeatability Challenge 
 
38:24 Defense Adoption and Drone Boom 
 
44:08 Workforce Pathways and Community Colleges 
 
50:04 Sustainability and Greener AM 
 
54:27 Closing ABL Always Be Learning

Fabian Alefeld welcomes back Thomas Pomorski of Ursa Major to discuss developments over the past year across three focus areas: hypersonics, solid rocket motors, and in-space propulsion. Pomorski reports more than nine hypersonic missions flown with the reusable, ~80% 3D-printed Hadley engine and two successful test flights of the storable Draper engine with AFRL, plus progress on Ursa’s LINX solid rocket motor manufacturing approach using additive for tooling and cases to enable flexible “unit cell” scaling. They cover key hypersonics challenges around affordability and manufacturability and why a storable liquid rocket approach can reduce testing complexity. Much of the conversation focuses on AI’s current value in development: rapidly prototyping slicer features and scan strategies, building data-fusion and monitoring tools via EOS APIs, and enabling small teams to operate with much higher productivity, while noting production validation remains challenging.
00:00 Welcome Back Thomas
01:48 Ursa Major Year Update
02:37 Hypersonic Flight Milestones
04:05 Solid Motors and LINX
05:21 Additive Scale Up Tools
06:39 Hypersonic Cost Challenge
11:58 Solid Motor Unit Cells
15:37 Additive Geometry vs Supply
18:01 AI in Additive Workflows
24:33 AI Productivity Multiplier
29:33 Live Claude Slicer Demo
35:13 Prompting Claude Code
36:35 Sharing Team Workflows
38:40 Production AI Readiness
42:20 Slicer Feature Results
44:49 Closed Loop Optimization
46:46 AI Built Web Monitor
52:59 Automation Roadmap
01:00:12 Verifying Hatch Strategy
01:03:07 Advice For Students
01:08:29 Wrap Up And Thanks