Speaker 1 (00:00):
Solutionology is about being unyielding with perseverance to get to the solution.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
To not give up and to constantly drive for better. So even when we deliver a hundred percent, I want to deliver 110 next time.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
And for me, the constraints of that project are the most important because that’s what drives us to a solution. It’s all about painting a picture and getting all the details in.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
How do we develop a tool that helps share our journey, educate others, and bring more light to the realities of additive manufacturing? The Solutionology podcast.
(00:34):
Welcome to the DI Labs Solutionology podcast. This is going to be an interesting one. We’re exploring a lot of different topics. We’re not going super deep into any one topic, but we’ve got some interesting things to share. We’ve got some really cool textured parts that we’re going to talk about. And then we’re going to go sort of broad spectrum and talking about some of the initiatives that we’ve got underway at DI Labs today and in the near future, really ambiguously, of course. And then talking about the reframing of our podcast and our continued journey moving forward and sharing our experiences.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
It’s weird. It’s like at DI Labs, there’s a lot of change that occurs and we’re really hungry for new things. It’s like this podcast has changed. That’s really weird.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Yeah. Well what’s really weird is this lasted for four weeks this way.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Yeah, it is a long time.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
And it is October. So every October we can do this.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Yeah, I don’t think anything’s lasted four weeks-
Speaker 3 (01:42):
No.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
…without evolving or getting better or something.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
These are the white nylon 12 parts. Yes. So these are parts that we’ve generated. They’ve been designed by us, engineered, designed by us, and then also aesthetically textured, run through our manufacturing process, smoothed so they have a sealed surface. So they’re ready to go out there.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
So what are they? They look like handles or something.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
These are automotive replacement parts. We have everything from carbon fiber, to leather, to alligator style texture skin, topographical surface texturing, dimples, everything in between.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
So this is something we should definitely talk. You had mentioned talking about patterns and surface textures, this is something we should definitely talk about on a future episode. But this is a project that you’ve also been working on probably another 20 or 30 hours a week. I don’t know how many other projects you’ve got like that. This is another project that you’ve been working on that we’ve recently started and we’ve been in the depths of using a new technology to produce white parts.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Yeah, it’s pretty exciting. We’re working through the process and onboarding or testing out what results can be and then the additional applications that will be supplied with that, whether that’s for automotive or for medical, flowing through all of those potential applications and then adding the texturing on there. So you almost don’t even know that it’s additively manufactured because it’s just so clean and consistent. It’s pretty exciting.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
So I believe we’ve tried making these parts on the SLS, our US, SLS powder-based system, and these aren’t that. So why wouldn’t we just make these on the SLS machine? There’s probably two parts to that. There’s two answers there. From a manufacturing standpoint, why not the SLS?
Speaker 2 (03:55):
We’ve had challenges with onboarding the SLS just due to some of the workflow.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
So could we get this sort of resolution on the SLS machine?
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Not currently. Not currently. Based on our testing side by side, they’re not equal.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Why else would we not run these on the SLS?
Speaker 1 (04:17):
This feels like a trick, like a test quiz.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Well, I think it’s… No, we don’t onboard. We don’t take the time to onboard a technology that just replacing something we already have. There has to be some attribute to it that gives us the capability to serve a client need that we hear today, and that’s the whole reason of bringing on these new technologies.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Yeah I mean, for medical device components, white is a preferred material and a lot of cases it’s required. A white that can be sterilized. It’s obvious to see whether or not that it’s been contaminated is really critical. So for medical device applications, white’s really important and there’s obviously consumer applications where white is important or colors, solid colors are important, and white is a great base to produce solid colors. And the surface texture that’s on these parts is just incredible. So whatever technology we’re using to make these, it’s really cool. Did I answer your question, right?
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
Yeah. Medical applications, medical device where we have to meet the regulations for those parts that are going into the doctor’s hands, that is really important for us with these white parts. And that and the resolution is really interesting for us to take on this new technology.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Well It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out for sure. So you’ve got your hands… Well, everybody’s got their hands full, but you’ve got your hands full right now it seems like.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Yeah, it’s a lot of fun to be able to be a part of all of these onboarding once we’ve agreed to bring them in and learn them all and become proficient in some cases in weeks, which is kind of crazy to think about. But at the same time, it’s just a part of what we do at DI. It’s kind of ingrained of us to always be, just continue to push the boundaries and it’s almost normal. And some weeks just feels like it’s another thing that’s just rolling through and it’s not even crazy.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Well, I’m sure there’s just three of us here and there’s no way that just three of us are bringing this magic to life. So rolling through the weeks and not having it be completely unbelievable as a result of the rest of our team, which we have just a great team of really engaged and dedicated individuals that help, they follow us down these paths of what may be viewed as madness as we’re bringing on technologies and doing it rapidly. We’ve got a great team backing us up. And without them, we’re certainly couldn’t do what we have here.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
No, no. We’d be toast. In fact, not only they follow us as we start to go down those paths and then they take the lead and then carry that journey off onto its fork in the road, so to speak. So you’re absolutely right. There’s no way that any of this could be on the table if it weren’t for the rest of the team.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
They all have to wear these accelerate shirts and some days it can be intense to continuously accelerate your innovation.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
I think we need more shirts by the way.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
It’s exciting. Some days you feel like you’re being chased and other days you feel like you can’t run fast enough because the people are already ahead of you. So it is a great team and I really appreciate being able to do all these projects because of the team just pulling everywhere.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Another great reason to expand the podcast to be broader than the Fortis campaign because bringing our team members on and talking to them, getting their perspectives and feedback for some of the things that DI Labs is doing, it’s going to be pretty important for us as we move forward too. I can already think of some episodes that would be fun and interesting to do. There’s all kinds of ideas that have just come up in this episode alone. There’s a lot that we can cover here in the coming weeks and months. Some of it we’ve touched on here. Some of it we haven’t even began to talk about yet. Other projects that are sort of confidential at DI Labs that we will be able to start sharing more and more about and a lot of exciting things on the horizon. There’s a lot of exciting things on the horizon within the industry and there’s a lot of exciting things that we’re leading at DI Labs.
(09:11):
And for me, it really makes me jacked up to get up every day and be a solutionologist and to be solving problems. And it’s neat to think about the fact that we came up with the word solutionologist and then we defined it so that we could help communicate to others what that means. Solutionology, the way that we define it is the artful science of advanced problem solving located at the intersection of critical thinking and creative reasoning. The belief that there’s always a solution and that one does not rest until the problem is solved, often resulting in something that didn’t already exist in the realm of possibility.
(09:53):
So that’s what we practice every day. And what I really appreciate about this and the way that we’ve defined it is it’s not just engineering. It’s not just taking a technical approach, but there is an artful… There is an artful aspect, there’s creative reasoning. And talking about our team and the diversity that we’ve got from the group that we’ve got pulled together, it’s like, man, there is something really, really powerful there. Thinking about everything from the extreme creative to the extreme technical end of things. So it’s pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
It’s like blowing up the box. There are no confines except for what you’re willing to accept to not give up and to constantly drive for better. So even when we deliver a hundred percent, I want to deliver 110 next time and just continuing to just always be doing better. And just that.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Solutionology for me, I love painting the picture of a project or a problem, and I want to know what’s in each corner and what’s in each crevice. And I want to define that thing. And for me, the constraints of that project are the most important because that’s what drives us to a solution that’s the winner. So for me, I want to paint the picture of the constraints. I want to know what each of those details are, and then I want to start problem solving about how do we fill the expectations so that we get to the end with the right thing. So Solutionology to me is the way that I view it, it’s all about painting a picture and getting all the details in and then making sure that we’re aligned with our clients and solving the problems that live in between.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Yeah. Well, I see you both practice that every day. So as you define what it means for your role and for you, it’s clear that that is what you breathe. And I think for me, and I think for all of us, Solutionology is about being unyielding with perseverance to get to the solution. And that’s something that we all three of us demonstrate probably from our parents, that anything can be, you can solve any problem with enough effort and perseverance and thoughtfulness. And when you think about things that way, it almost becomes like a game. How do I get to solve this problem? And we do that every day. It varies from business problems. How do we expand our business and do it sustainably to technical problems and how do we create this new product for our customer and make sure that it’s injection moldable, and also economical. So those, that unyielding perseverance is a key component that I think, I don’t think, I know, I’ve seen everybody that’s at DI Labs demonstrate, which is really cool. And then of course, that combination of the art and engineering and creative aspect of things.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
It’s neat to be at the place we are today to be able to support our clients with the sort of thinking and thought process that we founded our company on. And we’re really passionate about solving the problem in the right way and not overworking it, but finding that perfect blend, whatever that… It sometimes doesn’t feel that way, but the perfect blend of keeping it simple and solving the problem.
