Greg it was a real honor! You're welcome back anytime!

Thanks for this interview. Glad to hear of a service like Xometry.

My thoughts exactly. Although in the beginning I was sure Joko was the guy on the left. Because he looks more geeky I guess ;)

Xometry provides horrible service and materials. Most of the aluminum i get from them is far out of spec its not even usable.

@@ottoglenewinkel7702 Have you found an alternative supplier or do you persist in the hope that matters improve?

Howdy! That's definitely a good question and one I have asked about for years. The good news is that investment in software is happening and there are certain platforms that are getting better at 1) predicting the outcome before building (e.g. "digital twin), 2) potentially pre-deforming the geometry input so the outcome is closer to the CAD, and 3) use in-process monitoring to provide feedback and potentially compensate for deviation during the build. Why is this so hard for 3DP? Because you are starting with a smaller material and then fusing or bonding it in a way to build the part. With machining, you have a material that remains stable--for the most part--as you precisely cut away from it. With 3D printing, you denature the base material and it is formed layer by layer. There are a lot of considerations from the complex mix of geometry, orientation, process, parameters, and the environment for the print and how it changes during the printing process. Geometry plays a huge role in expectations of a print, where heat from a thick feature could affect the wall thickness of a thin feature. Or, for particularly thin features or knife-edges, the feature just may not even be able to be made as designed due to the deposition process of printing. I hope that in a couple years my explanations change from NET SHAPE to metaphors more similar to machining when talking tolerances and expectations --- it's 90% a software issue.

Regarding slicers and STP files. Again, it's software-driven. Mesh files like STL have been the base of 3D printing since their invention in 1984. It has been carried along and it is about time for a change. File types like 3MF are exciting because they can hold curvature as well as A LOT more information about the part for 3D production. I would love to build parts directly from parametric CAD. Check out nTopology to see what they are able to do with this because you can modify the model and export slicing data directly from your solid model, yielding better data for the printer.

I love your work Rafael! Keep up your podcast!