The Lattice (Official 3DHEALS Podcast)

Episode #83 | Ceramics, Conferences, and the Future of 3D Printing With Craig Rosenblum

• 3DHEALS • Episode 83

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When EOS president Glynn Fletcher declared "3D printing is cool, but cool is not a business model" at Rapid TCT 2025, he captured the evolution across the additive manufacturing landscape. In this eye-opening conversation with Craig Rosenblum, president of Himed, we explore how the industry matures beyond technological demonstrations toward practical, sustainable applications.

Craig brings a unique perspective as both a materials science expert and the leader of a 35-year-old biomaterials company (Himed) that has adapted to incorporate 3D printing into its portfolio. He walks us through the shifts he observed at North America's largest 3D printing conference, where the atmosphere has noticeably changed from previous years' technology showcases to focused discussions on industry-specific solutions.

The conversation reveals fascinating developments, from the MIT startup creating "gravity-defying" materials through Rapid Liquid Printing in hydrogels to the reality behind AI buzzwords in additive manufacturing. We discuss how the ecosystem surrounding 3D printing is expanding, with increased participation from supporting industries like materials suppliers and testing laboratories, who recognize their crucial role in advancing the technology.

Perhaps most compelling is the emphasis on collaboration over competition. As Stratasys CEO Yoav Zeif noted, "The competition is status quo" - a recognition that advancing additive manufacturing requires collective effort across sectors rather than siloed approaches. This collaborative mindset particularly resonates in healthcare applications, where improved patient outcomes provide a powerful shared purpose.

Whether you're a 3D printing professional, healthcare innovator, or curious about how manufacturing is evolving, this conversation offers valuable insights into an industry at an inflection point - moving from what's possible to what's useful, from technological spectacle to sustainable transformation.

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About Pitch3D

Speaker 1:

Hi there, welcome to episode 83. In this episode of the Lattice podcast, we're fortunate to have Craig Rosenblum, president of HyMID, to share his experience from the Rapid TCT 2025 conference calcium, phosphate-based biomaterial products, surface treatments and lately, the company has a growing role in 3D printing, especially ceramic 3D printing, and that's how Craig and I crossed paths a few years ago when he signed up to be our New York 3D Heals Community Manager. Hey, craig, hey, good to see you.

Speaker 2:

Good to see you.

Speaker 1:

How are you?

Speaker 2:

I'm doing well. You just had an event that you hosted out in San Francisco for an in-person Beauty Heals event. I know we're here to also talk about Rapids, so there's a lot to discuss since our last time speaking.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, since our last time speaking, yeah, well, I would say the event in San Francisco was very memorable and it kind of like a lot of flashbacks, memories, because I was recounting on the people that I met during that I invited during the events. They're almost every single chapter of 3D Heels was represented by a speaker and I plan to write a little bit about that experience of this 10 years of getting people together, meeting people. You know where are we today and I think every major conference sometimes you meet up with old friends and see some new things that's happening, trends and stuff like that, every single conference. I would say, kind of give you that If you go to a conference, you know regularly. So we certainly are going to talk about TCT because I know initially this is our plan. But I think it will be very helpful, craig, that you can just tell us why you were there and what is Hymed.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely Well. Always great to chat, always great to chat, always good to discuss the industry and how things are changing. My name is Craig Rosenblum. I'm the president of HyMed.

Speaker 2:

Hymed is a biomaterials company that was established long before 3D printing.

Speaker 2:

We've naturally adapted and recognized where we fit into the marketplace as far as different calcium phosphate biomaterials that we produce traditionally that are used for biomedical surface treatment or to produce orthobiological devices such as bone cements and bone fillers.

Speaker 2:

But as the industry has evolved in our 30 years of operation, folks have approached Hymed in recent years identifying ways that they can incorporate our materials for post-processing in additive manufacturing, a term that if we were having this conversation five or 10 years ago, people would be scratching their head saying wait, you mean you can't just print something and go to market with it. Yes, post-processing is a thing, but we also have found applications for incorporating our materials into direct 3D printing opportunities with the Bioceramic Center of Excellence that we've established at Hymed capabilities. But also check in, as you said. You know conferences are great for meeting new people, but they're also good for seeing colleagues that you know you only get to see once or twice a year and there were quite a few really valuable keynote speeches that I thought were interesting to get a sense of how the industry is progressing, and I'm sure we'll talk about all of that today.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely. I mean just, let's just rewind a little bit. Since we're on the subject of HyMet, I just saw on your front page that you have an article talking about the history started with HyMet as only one or two people in a room. And now, 30 years later, it's a much bigger company, yeah, so.

Speaker 2:

HyMet stands for HyTemco Medical Applications. So in the early 90s, yeah, so Hymet stands for Hytemco Medical Applications. So in the early 90s Hytemco our subsidiary. They focused on surface treatment for non-medical applications, predominantly aerospace and military and whatnot. And in the early 90s, folks reached out to Hytemco inquiring about plasma spray coatings for hydroxyapatite and different inorganic coatings, and no one in the organization knew anything about hydroxyapatite.

Speaker 2:

Google was not at our fingertips, the way that we've all come to love this day and age. So Hymed was established through a joint venture with New York University, and our two founding members, you know, essentially initially had to identify were we going to produce hydroxyapatite ourselves and or were we going to outsource this material and use the material acquired from elsewhere for for surface treatments? And ultimately it was a very murky field. No one really knew much, to be honest, about hydroxyapatite. The article that you just referenced was something that we published in 2021, our 30th year in business. Amazingly, next year will be our 35th year in business. So it's always interesting to see you know what was conceptualized for a startup. For every startup that is a success. There are startups that, sadly, are not successes.

Speaker 1:

Majority of it.

Speaker 2:

For sure, but in this particular instance, kudos to the two fellows that co-founded the organization and the developments that progressed there afterwards. I think it's a very healthy field, not just 3D printing, but specifically the biomaterials that we're involved in.

Speaker 1:

I do have to mention, Craig, that you weren't even born when this company was founded.

Speaker 2:

Oh, that's not true, I was.

Speaker 1:

Okay well.

Speaker 2:

I was not to put you.

Speaker 2:

I was also in the majority of folks not being able to spell hydroxyapatite. I was learning my ABCs. I was four or five years old, let's say. But yes, no, it was. It was a different ballgame. There's no doubt about it. You know, I think that point in time also, you know, thomas Registry was how the organization tended to. You know, get people to. You know, get a reputation out there and spread the word. As I said, there was no internet. You know, I think the majority of leads that we had generated in the early days was folks reaching out to the organization through referrals. When you have a good product, I'm always a believer that referrals are the best way to grow and you know that's what 3D Heels does a great job right. Networking, although networking 35 years ago was very different from networking today.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely Well. So you're definitely young for being a president of a company but also representing a newer generation of leaders in the space, and I believe that you're one of those initial person who's really bringing 3D printing concept to the company. Is that correct or am I missing something?

Speaker 2:

No, I think that's accurate. You know, I started material science at Johns Hopkins University and, be honest with you, when I applied to university and maybe in this instance I'm dating myself on the negative end Many universities did not even have a material science degree. A lot of universities I remember applying it was a concentration within biomedical engineering. So for me, I've always been interested in the materials. I'm the type of guy and I'm sure this will come up in our conversation today you know, as we start to talk, you could see the wheels in my head turning as I'm trying to understand how something works or why one material was selected over another. So the appeal for 3D printing to me in many instances is understanding why certain applications are more appropriate in others. Obviously it's a cool technology and we'll talk about that and some interesting words of wisdom from the C-suite opening meetings.

Speaker 2:

But I've gravitated to, you know, wanting to keep the. You know things that make Hymed unique and you know what makes us unique in this space. How are we established? I think you know our values are very consistent from where we were 35 years ago, but again, it's a completely different market space. Yeah, the organization is trying different things. The technology is growing in ways that we never really thought of. So I'm a firm believer of you know keeping the conversation going and you know things will work out, but you know kind of follow through in the natural progression of how the industry is evolving.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I love it that Jaime is adjusting himself as strategies with the changing world. So now let's go talk about this conference that you just attended, tct Rapid in Michigan. Right, it was happening in Michigan. I have no idea where it is, sorry.

Speaker 2:

No, you're absolutely right. So Rapid announced last year. They announced this is the largest North American 3D printing conference in all of North America. So I think it's important for those listeners to capture that Rapid is a tremendous conference. So a couple of years ago they announced every three years it seems like they're going to cover Central, east Coast and West Coast, so last year LA, next year will be Boston, so 2025, it was in Michigan. You could wonder in the month of April why Detroit, michigan, it was freezing. It was, you know. I think maybe Canada wasn't happy with the tariffs and there was a lot of wind. Oh my God, yes, I forgot about that.

Speaker 2:

Yes, but no. The conference itself. Other than the fact that it's very challenging dressing and packing when you're traveling, not sure what the highs are going to be and, you know, hoping that the lows aren't as low as what it says, the conference itself was wonderful. I do think the location in Michigan, both being able to appeal to those folks in the Motor City where manufacturing is very prominent, and also centrally being located, I would think that it's the easiest of the three destinations for everyone to get to.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I didn't realize how close Canada Canadian border was to Michigan. I visited a couple of times and you can just cross the bridge and get to a different country, which is, I actually used to actually my hotel, usually to be in Canada, and then I crossed the bridge to come to the Michigan conferences. I've done that.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, we could see Canada just looking over where the Huntington Convention Center, where the conference was held, I know University of Waterloo exhibited. I'm sure that there were some folks from Canada that did make the trip to attend, but yes, it is quite close.

Speaker 1:

So you said this is a wonderful conference and you mentioned a couple of things, but let's just start with the keynotes and the speakers. Any highlights that?

Speaker 2:

memorable moments thousand exhibitors You're talking about. You know 200 speakers, 400, excuse me 15,000 attendees, 400 exhibitors, you know. So there's people with all different backgrounds, not just into industry, 3d printing. But I think for an event like this, the keynote really sets the stage, kind of sets the tone. So there were a series of four representatives from some of the larger, more successful companies, like Stratus, and it was really quite a remarkable address.

Speaker 2:

I really thought that it was the EOS president, glenn Fletcher, that really set the tone with what he said. He said that 3D printing is cool, but cool is not a business model. So the question is, you know, how do we take this cool technology, something that we're all passionate about, for those listeners spending time out of their personal schedule to listen to a podcast about 3D printing, I think they're in the agreement. We think it's cool, but how do we take this cool concept and make it into a cost effective model that, you know, for those of us that are in business, can adapt this technology and allow for the business to succeed in a proper manner? Yeah, so I thought that was really an important thought that resonated with me. You know some other thoughts. You know the conversation in that opening meeting discussed. You know the type of technology that that we're talking about and how is that technology transferable, right? So in previous years when I've attended rapid, I felt that every exhibitor was just trying to flex their muscles and show how cool their technology was. So I would have a conversation with an exhibitor, or you know someone that was giving a talk and you know I walked away in the moment saying like, wow, that is really cool. But for PyMed, or just for me personally, representing 3D Heels, or just, you know, representing an interested engineer wanting to learn, I would walk away from the conversation both enthused about the technology but wondering, okay, well, where do we go from here? And I always kind of feel like an empty feeling, not sure of where do we progress.

Speaker 2:

I thought that this year's conference both the speeches as well as just the organic conversations that were to be had there were a lot of companies that were in attendance that their business model is not just based on 3D printing. I'm talking about materials, test labs, powder manufacturers, you know, so on and so forth. You know, you know folks that are in the supply chain that very much are involved in 3D printing because material challenges have found them, but their business model is not just based on 3D printing, and I think those support suppliers recognize the role that they play, and there were more of them than I can ever recall at previous years, so I thought that that was a really encouraging change. Again, I think the event has evolved in a positive way. I think that it's transformed into more again, more industry-specific solutions. If I look at my notes and think of some of the topics in that introductory keynote, it's really more so obsessing about collaboration right With 3D printing or any cutting-edge technology, what's really important today might be common knowledge.

Speaker 2:

Tomorrow and you get into this conversation of you know, competition, and I know something that you don't know, and I think it was Yoav, the CEO of Stratus, that really put it best the competition is status quo Right. We as an industry. 3d printing is still a relatively small fragment of what manufacturing in 2025 looks like. So you know his words of wisdom were emphasizing. You know that the unfortunate occurrence would be that if, in subsequent years, we're not making incremental advancements because we're not collaborating in the way that we should be, we're not identifying industry specific solutions. You know that was something that again resonated with me. You know, not focusing too much internally, but also just looking at the movement as a whole and being able to continue in the direction that you know. Things seem to be organically, but maybe at a speed that you know some folks expect it to be a little bit quicker.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, you know, I heard this word, this word, collaboration, quite a few times in several different conferences. I think obviously it's a very positive, intended concept. You know, for example, HiMed and 3Dd heels. We collaborate pretty well, we're very synergistic. The question is how and what are the specifics are? Did you hear any specifics about? You know, for example, how do, how does Stratasys plan to really collaborate, you know with, with people who want to work with them? Yep.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, well, I mean, I think I'm going to fall back on something that Yoav had said at AM Strategies. I think he was the keynote for this year and when I attended the event last year, he also was the keynote and I thought it was interesting the way that that event was presented, much like Rapid, where you're just talking about bio 3D printing, right You're talking about 3D printing across many different industries.

Speaker 2:

So the fact that the way that we collaborate is folks in manufacturing for aerospace communicate with folks in medical defense, can speak with folks that are more on the consumer side. You know, the consensus seems to be that many of the challenges that we're observing, while the grass might seem greener in industries that don't have to deal with the FDA, for example, at the end of the day, I think that there's a lot of commonalities that we're all having to deal with. So the ability to collaborate, it was actually materialized. The CEO Bridget, who, yeah, she says that a lot, she definitely said that a lot and I way that you know, if you think about how that event was done, they had say a topic, maybe the afternoon session focusing on post-processing, and this was not just medical post-processing. They had a representative from three or four key sectors representing post-processing from their perspective.

Speaker 2:

I would say that, fundamentally, that's probably the easiest way to run a conference which is broad enough for multiple sectors. But realistically also, why have the same conversation in four or five different breakout rooms when, in actuality, being cost effective with 3D printing is a conversation that we all need to be involved in, while the budget for these different markets is different. It's part of the same movement, so I thought that that was the way that collaboration was emphasized, as well as, again, it being more of a complete show, as I said, with more support. Suppliers in attendance recognizing their role in 3D.

Speaker 1:

The ecosystem. It sounds like they're bringing more and more ecosystem of the entire industry in closer together, which is a really good sign. I also know that we're kind of in a down cycle for 3D printing industry itself, and I definitely started to detect a lot of humility in conversations where, you know, instead of talking about hyper-aggressive growth, now is to kind of reflect on what we have done and how we have grown, and now let's grow more logically, in a realistic fashion, and so, yeah, you do need to have conversations with people that you didn't talk to before to figure out what applications is good.

Speaker 2:

That's my thought I agree completely and I think there is a strong university contingency also at conferences like this, and I know that there's quite a few students and faculty that do follow in on 3D Heals. So, you know, I think there's probably more of a connotation of collaboration at the research level, whereas maybe in industry the connotation or the stereotype is you know, you know you have patents and things that offer protection. I still think that the field is still in its early days and we're all doing ourself a disservice, in my mind, if we don't have the broad conversations. As an industry, you know, we should be rooting for each other as far as the overall growth of the movement. Far as the overall growth of the movement, there's plenty of opportunities, in my mind, for each individual business to be successful without infringing on individual business.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I mean don't be a criminal. That's the bottom line. I mean we don't want to work with criminals, but a healthy competition, welcome. It helps everybody grow to be better, to create better products. So what did you in this ginormous show? How do you navigate?

Speaker 2:

I mean, and then how do you systematically figure out how to?

Speaker 1:

best spend your time. Yeah, we could easily have a podcast just dedicated to that question. Yeah, but I also want you to also sorry, I want to serve a multi-purpose here. Can you also tell us what booths are the best? I mean other than Hyman? I'm sure Hyman is the best booth, but what booth really attracted your attention and what technology really did a great job at the show?

Speaker 2:

Sure. Well, I'll answer your first question by correcting something that you just said in your second question. Hyman did not exhibit. Oh, ok, sorry.

Speaker 1:

I conference.

Speaker 2:

As I said, giving a talk hanging out with companies that we're closely collaborating with, but not not being tied down to a high med booth, allowed for me to navigate the floor a little bit easier and speak to companies that I thought was were interesting. So your question of how do you navigate a show like this, you know it's obviously a great question. You know in advance the weeks leading up to the show. Many conferences come up with apps and you can be intimidated. But you could also plan ahead by looking at the long A to Z list of exhibitors that are going to be there. And you know when you look at a list, especially for Rapid, there's so many startup companies, right? So sometimes, looking at the name, if you're just looking quickly through the list of 400 exhibitors, the name you know. For a company like Stratasys, for example, you know that's got to connotate, you know something that you'll likely know about what that business is all about and what they do and if that's something that you're interested in in speaking with them. But for smaller companies, you know, maybe it's not quite clear. Certainly there's brief blurbs that are readily available on the, on the app to square to look at initially, but I like to just walk the floor without an agenda. Obviously, there's people that I most certainly want to to meet with, from contacts that I've established or folks that I've established recent dialogue with, but I just walk the floor from row one to row 40 or however many rows that there are. So a word of advice for someone that's getting ready to do this get comfortable. Yes, you're going to be on your feet a lot. I walk around and it's interesting to see how companies present themselves right. You know I walk around and it's interesting to see how companies present themselves Right. In some instances, maybe they have so many taglines that it clouds what the message is that they're trying to get across. I think simple is better from a marketing side. But you know, I plan out the event in advance. I try to flag on the app which companies I'm interested in speaking with. I walked through.

Speaker 2:

Naturally, a crowd attracts a crowd, so I could tell you Formlabs. They were trying to demonstrate the strength of their 3D printing materials and there were all sorts of people crowded around their booth with 3D printed hammers and 3D printed nails yes, they were allowed to bring in hammers to the conference and one group was trying to use a 3D printed hammer and a regular now to see how strong the hammer material was. And then the reverse was true for another group that was using a standard hammer and a 3D printed now to evaluate the toughness and other material properties of some of their 3D printed resins. So you know those types of quirky.

Speaker 2:

You know exhibits that naturally allow for people to win prizes and feel a sense of satisfaction when they walk away. You know that that attracts people to the booth. So I think a lot of companies, especially at conferences like Rapid, where at the end of the day the coolness prevails, right Um to show off their neat technology. Um, you know, being able to um walk the floor open-minded in my mind, uh, not be overwhelmed but at the same time, be receptive to seeing things that maybe you did not originally have flagged in your uh is advice that I would offer and so what are the cool things?

Speaker 1:

you may not be very big booth or getting the hammers on nails like what are some of the cool stuff that you saw? You'd be like wow, I never thought, I've never thought about this, or this is very um life-changing yeah, um, so everyone was talking about a company called RLP.

Speaker 2:

Are you familiar with them? No, okay, rlp. So I have to say, when word got over to me maybe it was because it was the end of the show and I was tired I thought that they had said RIP. But no, rlp. The opposite, yes, the complete opposite. So I'm talking about rapid liquid printing.

Speaker 2:

So their tagline is materials that defy gravity. They have a system this is a startup company from MIT, so they're located in Massachusetts and they just released the levity printer. So these are materials that defy gravity for gravity free 3D printing. So they're literally printing inside of a hydrogel Super interesting. They had a very slick-looking booth, which, again, the coolness prevails. At the end of the day, we're all humans. That marketing factor, I think, is really important. But the application for some of these materials and I'm looking at my notes here they had some materials that were specific for inflatable medical components and some multi-material also, where they were trying to show the flexibility of these products. So that was something that I thought was pretty neat and it's nice to see a startup company at that showcasing some of these material properties being able to print directly within hydrogel.

Speaker 1:

Well, have you heard of this bioprinting method called the fresh bioprinting method?

Speaker 2:

No, I have not.

Speaker 1:

It almost sounds exactly like that, except it's for bioprinting. They have a gel bed. I think the materials are different, probably, but I'm going to look it up more to see what the differential is between these two. Is they have a gel bed? I don't. I think the materials are different, probably, but I'm gonna look, look it up more to see what the differentials between these two.

Speaker 1:

And that is out of uh, karnak melon and it's been, and it's been around for decades the concept of have a bath of material that's uh, that has some kind of viscosity and then so that you can actually, is this extrusion based printing, or is this, yeah, so actually the concept in itself. I wonder what the patterns are on this Could be potential lawsuit. I'm just kidding, but time for me to do some research, and thanks for letting me know about this very impressive startup. It sounds like they've already got their fundings and teams all together.

Speaker 2:

That's right. So I was reading about them after the fact and apparently they did exhibit at some conference, maybe 2017 or so. So pre-pandemic oh.

Speaker 1:

OK.

Speaker 2:

But this was their first time exhibiting at Rapid and, like I said, there was quite a big crowd. So they were not on my list. Originally, I'd never heard of them, but they were handing out small little goodies and people were walking around, you know, talking about them. One thing that I should also say, jenny, which I was really surprised with there's a lot of people that attend these conferences for 3D printing, not just representing industry, whether it's health care or other. There's a lot of hobbyists that are at these types of conferences.

Speaker 2:

There were several booths that were really geared up for 3D printing, specific for folks that maybe sell their product on Etsy. I thought that was very interesting. Yeah, it's some booths that you know they were trying to showcase the different colors, the wide color spectrum of what they had, and again, they tried to make it very like spin the wheel, get a coin, take the coin, play a game, win a prize, get more coins. So very incentivized. But you know they had some really slick advertising and you know giving out free samples at conferences usually is a success. So I was really surprised, though, to see that and it made me wonder.

Speaker 2:

Naturally, there might be folks that are at this conference representing their company, and what they do in their free time on their own is anyone's guess, but I suppose that you could have folks that attend these conferences, you know, simply because they're interested in it from a hobby perspective. Yeah, you know one thing I will say about rapid and just getting to the conference we spoke about the central location. Yeah, admission is free of charge. It is a conference that you know they really work hard to try to appeal to. You know potential, you know attendees some conferences, and I think this was something that you had discussed in your last podcast pertaining to AOS yeah, of a conference for, say, orthopedic surgeons. You know, sometimes those conferences are unfortunately a little bit harder for a student or for someone that's first starting out to get to. But kudos to Rapid and the business model that SME has established no-transcript.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, a couple of comments on the hobbyist side of things. First of all, I think 3D printing is an amazing creative tool, just like computers and stuff. You can really be creative and if you're a designer, have a lot of imagination. This is an incredible tool. The reason why we have I'm guessing have so many hobbyists nobody's making a whole lot of money yet, um, so maybe that's why I mean, I would say, technically speaking, 3d hills is my hobby, but people have. People really enjoy what it represents. The industry represents the ability to think out of the box, uh, to do things differently, and also technology that's clearly still growing. You know new things coming out every day.

Speaker 2:

Basically, yeah, I mean, I think you know, at the end of the day, we all want to learn. I would think, right, you know you attend a conference. You know, regardless of what your primary objective is, the goal is to leave that conference knowing more than you did before you. So you know, being able to attend a conference, like I said, open minded, meet new people, speak with maybe some folks that you do know, but predominantly over a screen, in a virtual manner, but I think that there was a lot of excitement. There was a lot of enthusiasm. Again, it started with the keynote. As far as that uplifting positivity, hey, we're heading in the right direction, but these are things that we still need to see happen in order for better days to continue to evolve.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so in the last couple of weeks I've been reading some articles and it just seems like every 3D printing articles now want to add the word AI to it. While you were at the conference, is there such actually real trend that companies are increasingly using AI? To increase their productivity or innovations.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I had a feeling you were going to ask about this. I was planning on bringing it up, if not, but I specifically spoke with Materialize and 3D Systems like a journalist at this conference. Like I said, without exhibiting, you know, walking the floor, I should give you.

Speaker 1:

You know what I should give you a 3D Heels hat next time. Yeah, that'd be nice I think people will be more receptive if you have our hat.

Speaker 2:

I could tell you I introduced a lot of people to 3D heels even without the apparel on me. But you mentioned AI, right?

Speaker 1:

It's a nice looking hat, don't you think?

Speaker 2:

It is a very nice looking hat. Ai is the buzzword right and again, the industry right. We all want to be cool, even in industries where maybe cool is not the term. But I think, for me, when I had those conversations, we've all been doing AI in one form or the other. Even before, ai was the term right, and that was something that 3D Systems was quick to remind me in my conversation there right.

Speaker 2:

So you know, we're always looking for ways that we could shorten the product development lifecycle. We're always looking for ways that we could identify, you know, things that we've learned from previous developments and you know, what can we take away from what materials worked, for example, what materials did not work. You know, when it comes to the manufacturing cycle and just the supply chain in general, you know these are. You know it's evolving naturally as the tools that we have to our avail grow. You know, maybe we're able to be more efficient in how we evaluate which business is best suited for us.

Speaker 2:

But you know, materialize gave a really fascinating talk specific to AI and you know, again, I think it's important that there's a lot of times that people are saying that they're doing something because maybe marketing thinks that's how they want to portray their organization. But in actuality the vibe is maybe a little bit different. Or you know, ai is not the buzzword that encompasses that. But when you say that your company is doing AI and 3D, then you don't just come across as cool, you come across as extra cool because of those words.

Speaker 1:

I certainly hope so. I know exactly what Materialize is doing in terms of AI strategies. It's very concrete and demonstrable. But I'm not really sure with 3D system, how 3D system utilize the new technologies.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, they had a placard, you know, right behind the gentleman that I was speaking with and while we were talking about something completely different, I happened to walk by and listen to a conversation that the representative was having with two other folks and started to eavesdrop before I chimed in myself. But I asked him. I said you know, what is that AI? He said, like AI development. And I personally think that they used AI because they only had so many characters that they were able to fit in on this big stanchion. That was, you know, a freestanding aspect to their booth.

Speaker 2:

But he was the one he said that, hey, we've always been looking for ways that we could, you know, make improvements to how we print, say, when it comes to the orientation of how an object is printed, right on its side versus, you know, in a different manner. And I've had conversations with 3D systems, for example, for post-processing, right, and, you know, are there ways that they could maybe increase the method of how they perform their print that would eliminate the need to post process? Well, yeah, we're doing AI to evaluate that huge company has performed in many different geographic locations to try to make for a more efficient assessment of what the technology is that your company can adapt and figure out if that's an improvement that you would like to explore and, if so, what benefit does it provide. So we just did AI right there. I think that we're having a conversation to assess and make improvements. It doesn't always have to be AI, don't get me wrong. Ai is great, but I think we talk about AI in ways that it expands what it actually is.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I mean, if I purchase a third-party SaaS tool that use AI, I mean, technically speaking, my company is also using AI speaking, my company is also using AI. But I think everybody in 3D printing really hoping to see one day people like me who have very limited technological expertise can just pick up a printer, design something and it just come out the way I want it to be, you know, with much less tinkering and guesses and disappointments, and eventually gave my printer away. You know that sort of thing.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I do think when it comes to designing, right, you know, if you're looking to design a new device and if the belief is that 3D printing is the most logical way to design that new device, you know there are ways that you can, you know, be efficient in that you know conversation and figure out, okay, well, what's unique about my device, what can I do that's different from you know another device that's out there? And or how can I assess an optimal device? Right, the design that is. So there are definitely ways. I mean I use AI to read literature, right, like you can upload multiple papers and quickly assess if what you're trying to innovate has already been established. So, again, it's a really useful tool, no one's denying that. I think it's probably too powerful than we at sometimes want to admit. But as far as just in its infancy, the idea of using AI for 3D, you know I'm all for making improvements, but at the same time, I feel that you know many of these conversations are taking place, even if AI is not, you know, spearheading them.

Speaker 1:

Right, and also most of the money going to what we're talking about, like in AI right now they're in large language model. I mean, we have a bunch of other different types of artificial intelligence and machine learning processes that utilize for making physical goods and robotics and all that stuff. It's not really I don't think the bulk of the money is going there. It's mostly like chat, gtp, you know that kind of stuff, you know, uh, that kind of stuff. So now we, we chat a little bit before the conference of. You know, I'm kind of want to. You know, I think previously, when I talked to other people attending these international conferences, people always almost in the last two years, almost every year people talk about the presence of chinese companies. Um, what is, what is it like this time around, especially given the current geopolitics?

Speaker 2:

well, again, I I think that for an event that is, uh, in north america, there's quite a few companies that are international that that attended, um specific to companies in china. Um, I can't remember any specific conversations that I had. Um, you know, as far as you know, getting into discussion as far as what the market is in China for some of these technologies. You know, I have more examples that I could share, just as far as companies in Germany and other geographic locations, yeah, but I don't know. Are there any companies in particular that you're following in China that you're wondering about?

Speaker 1:

You know, there are a couple of metal 3D printers that I think the Chinese companies are formidable, but I don't remember the name. At the moment they supply their internal 3D printed implants and I think more and more European designers and manufacturers are leaning towards them, but I don't really have concrete data. Like I said, and whenever we talk about the Chinese printers, people always have pricing pressure relative to the other companies in North America and Europe both. So it's always kind of interesting as where they are. I mean, a couple of years ago, when I talked to one of their media influencers in 3D printing, they were very much floored by North America and European 3D printing technologies. I mean they're like there's no way we're there yet. So I'm just kind of curious what the sentiment is. Is China catching up on the technology side? Because they certainly are investing. From a government perspective, a strategic perspective, I'm not sure our government or EU is actually investing enough to be competitive.

Speaker 2:

Right, yeah, yeah, I think I mean just to comment on the international representation at this conference. I thought that there were a lot of folks that traveled quite a bit distance. I spoke to quite a few people that had never even been in the US before. Oh, wow, I thought it was interesting. Yeah, where are they from? So I, in particular I'm thinking of a conversation that I had with Amorea Technologies, so they're based in Germany, and I kind of sympathized when I realized that Detroit nothing against Detroit, but again, that weather was quite cold and if that was my first time in the US, it might be my last time in the US.

Speaker 2:

But a newer company. They were at the Discovery Zone, which is where the first time exhibitors are located. They have this innovation section preaching to how innovation is the backbone of 3D printing, and they thought that it would be valuable. It seems to lump many of these startup companies together. They thought that it would be valuable, it seems to lump many of these startup companies together, but you know, I think there's a lot of reception that they feel based on, you know, conversations that they've had virtually, and again, the fact that I think we were all pleasantly surprised with the overwhelming attendance from students and researchers, the overwhelming attendance from students and researchers, and I think, even though you know, those types of conversations at a conference are more in line with collaboration efforts rather than immediate business gratification.

Speaker 2:

I think most folks were quite pleased with that. So, again, I think the idea of sharing ideas, uh, the ideas of being able to understand what other markets in other geographic locations are working on and kind of comparing and, and you know, contrasting I I think it was a healthy level of discussion. But, uh, specific to the the china question that you asked, I didn't really get get a sense of one way or the other.

Speaker 1:

Okay, I guess it's a good thing if you didn't get anything negative.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I mean, naturally we could start to talk about tariffs and what that looks like for.

Speaker 1:

We should talk about it. Let's talk about it, because I have no idea where it's going.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I don't think anyone does. I mean, here we are today recording this podcast, the middle of April, so people might be listening to the podcast where maybe there's more clarity in months or maybe even years there afterwards, but we're expecting now for there to be a delay of at least three months. So that'll take us, say, to the beginning of the third quarter. But until then, what I see and what I heard at the conference is that, as an extension of how people have acted the past five years since the pandemic with supply chain uncertainty, there's a desire to stockpile on critical materials that are acquired directly internationally or that are manufactured with components that are residing from international sources. So stockpiling is something that we do. Stockpiling is something that we receive as a critical supplier for so many in this space. It'd be an interesting conversation I don't think that it's come up, naturally, jenny, in any 3D Heals webinar, right, in terms of tariff, yeah, and what kind of effect that has on the supply chain.

Speaker 1:

I didn't even know what tariff was until this year. Okay, I think most common people don't know what the hell is happening, sure, and I think it's actually time for me to perhaps write a blog to explain what tariff is, and it's actually not as easy as it is shown in the media, and also, currently all the tariffs are on the fiscal goods, and we're not even talking about digital services and a bunch of other things that we definitely has a huge surplus over other country, which is a good thing.

Speaker 1:

So, yeah, I think, um, yeah, I just learned about it this year. So, no, we never talk about it. And, uh, you know, my vision for the world is, you know, a un, basically united nation. Collaboration has always been our operational. You know style and I loved it. You know where people from different countries with different health care systems can talk about how they can help each other to solve their problems with economic and technical constraints, because I, you know, to me our common enemy is mortality, disease and pain and suffering, not all the other things that you know politicians care about.

Speaker 2:

So I mean so it's a different kind of goal.

Speaker 1:

You know what I mean.

Speaker 2:

Oh, I certainly know what you mean, and here we are talking about one of those buzzwords collaboration, right, and I think you know the idea, especially anyone that's in the 3D printing space for health care, right, you know you have to be in it for the right reason, right, while there's, as we said, opportunity for everyone to maybe not everyone, but there's opportunity for many people to be successful, you know there has to be a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction and pride, knowing that what we're doing, you know in many instances, is benefiting patient care, right. So you know doing, you know in many instances, is benefiting patient care, right. So you know this, you know, I think in that respect, you know, hopefully we're able to, as a society, come to a time that we're all, you know, pulling the rope in the right, in the same direction, for the right reason, really more of a with positive nature in mind for the right reason, really more with positive nature in mind.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I think that eventually we will come to the same table and start to collaborate again. That's my hope and that's my optimistic belief. It is always good to see this kind of conference happening, because nobody is trying to fistfight everyone in the conference. Everyone is very polite and very friendly, welcoming kind of thing.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, for sure. And I think again, 3d Heels, just as an extension, and the lattice, it's really an extension of wanting to learn from each other, wanting to understand how different trends in the industry, things that we maybe see or read about, but being able to hear directly from those experts in our field. And, again, I think, if you have a proper business model and are able to overcome those obstacles that you really have no control over and in this instance, tariffs is one of them, right.

Speaker 1:

Out of your control. Yeah, it's like taxes. Taxes is a way of tax, you know here we are again.

Speaker 2:

It's April 15th, right? So I just right on time, right, right on time.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so well, thank you very much, craig, for this incredibly insight, for this amazing event that I kind of having FOMO at the moment that I didn't get to go. Hopefully next year. Well, next year is going to be Boston, my favorite city, that's right. But, it's also going to be cold. April is not going to be. It's better, but not not there yet.

Speaker 2:

That's right. Yeah, april in Boston isn't going to be too much different from April in Detroit, maybe the windshield won't be quite there, but it's pretty windy out in San Francisco, so I sense a comeback Maybe, if we're looking ahead to 2027, with the West Coast due, maybe they'll select Northern California.

Speaker 1:

I hope so. You know honestly, if you're the event organizer and you want a local collaborator, I'm here and I actually kind of like our new mayor. We just got a new mayor in San Francisco and is really hopefully getting the crimes and stuff like that under control. That's great and really reinvent our beautiful city.

Speaker 2:

That's great. I was in San Francisco a couple of times last year. I know you and I had the pleasure of meeting after so many years of virtual conversation. Yeah, I really like San Francisco. Obviously, there's a lot of really neat 3D printing technologies that are originating there, so I would be rapid.

Speaker 1:

And it's also the closest to the birthplace of Silicon Valley, where all the VCs grew up.

Speaker 2:

Yes.

Speaker 1:

Just kidding. But yeah, we have a lot of the highest concentration of venture capitalists, definitely in the Bay Area, no question about it.

Speaker 2:

Let's make it happen.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, hopefully we're just going to promote our podcast and hopefully somebody's going to listen to this episode.

Speaker 2:

Sounds wonderful to me.

Speaker 1:

Thank you, Craig. I'm going to stop recording now.

Speaker 2:

Thanks, Craig. I'm going to stop recording now. Thanks, Jenny.