Formnext Wrap Up + Robotics in Fast Company and a "Product Video"

Welcome to the Industrial Innovation Advocate! I do this for you, people. By the way, it's not the only thing I do. If you're an industrial tech company that needs to establish credibility or interest from investors, prospects, partners or talent, I can help you craft the right stories to help you scale or enter new markets.

This week as we approach Thanksgiving in the U.S., I give thanks to Formnext - Where ideas take shape for giving me all the 3D printing news I could possibly want. Also, the "next big things" in robotics and automation from Fast Company. And a consumer products social video that is worth a discussion even for you B2B marketers. It's a lot but I think you'll enjoy it.

Formnext Still Cool, But Do Changes Loom?

Formnext in Frankfurt is additive manufacturing's biggest annual event, filling multiple halls with vendors all over the world and encompassing practically every application you can think of, from medical modeling to jewelry to jet engines. It will be interesting to see whether that diverse model continues to work, but here's three new items out of the show worth noting:

Leading Minds Consortium: An array of just about every big industrial 3D printing company has come together to try to collaborate in advancing industrial applications, starting with creating a common language framework for 3D printing. Participants include Materialise , Ansys , EOS , HP , Nikon SLM Solutions , Renishaw , Stratasys , and TRUMPF (apparently no Nano Dimension or the companies it is acquiring). Currently, companies use different language to describe essentially the same things, and the group hopes to reduce the confusion that practice creates. That's just a starting point. The consortium also wants to tackle the talent shortage, perceived high costs, and sometimes complex integration issues. This collaboration need has been a particularly loud message from Materialise CEO Brigitte de Vet-Veithen while everyone else has been busy consolidating.

Siemens Xcelerator Marketplace: 西门子 Xcelerator is focused on scaling additive manufacturing solutions faster and more successfully with partners, with a particular focus on open, interoperable technologies. At Formnext, the company said LEAM Technologies GmbH has joined the ecosystem, providing large-format AM and light-based welding technology to print extremely strong plastic materials for applications in aerospace, defense and energy. It also added VLM Robotics , whose hybrid robotic solutions can perform printing (Directed Energy Deposition, Cold Spray), welding, control and milling tasks.?Stratasys also joins the marketplace.

3D Printing Nerd Live was back at Formnext as Joel Telling got hands on for us on the show floor. You can watch yourself, but things to look for: At 0:22, see Stratasys TechStyle 3D printing on textiles for a cool pocket square. At 0:50, xolo shows you their take on desktop volumetric printing, which is fast and easy enough to print right on the show. DLP without the layers basically. At 2:00, you can learn about neural bioprinting and bioink with Axoloti Biosciences. Lots more fun stuff over three hours.

Meanwhile, 3DPrint.com 's Joris Peels says some of the vendors at the mega festival for additive put in a poor performance and some of the vendors need to step up their game.

Many exhibitors seemed completely disengaged, with staff who clearly didn’t want to be there and made no effort to interact with the public. If you don’t care about your product and spend the day on your phone, looking jaded and exhausted from doing nothing—like a 16-year-old slouched on a living room couch—why should I care about you or your company? ... Walking around these stands can feel like visiting the DMV. If I wanted to see bored people scrolling Instagram, I'd take a bus ride instead.

Still, he gives praise to colorFabb , Stratasys , and HP for doing a great job of showing and explaining a variety of compelling 3D printing applications. I was at Stratasys when we made the shift to really lean into telling those application stories in the booth. Of course, it's fun to have some entertaining parts or cool equipment but the wow needs to come from bringing these use cases to life in ways that really move people to think about doing manufacturing differently.

Machina Labs has received recognition from Fast Company as one of the "Three Next Big Things in Robotics and Automation for 2024." The company gets the nod "for getting a robot to do a blacksmith's job." Specifically, it highlights the use of robots to quickly shape sheet metal stock into large complex parts, which Machina calls "Roboforming."

Machina describes its Robotic Craftsman as an agile manufacturing platform integrating 7-axis robots, autonomous sheet loading and fixturing, and advanced AI process models and closed-loop controls to enable many manufacturing processes at the click of a button.

In addition, the company's "Roboscanning" capability involves a robot-mounted laser scanner that creates a 3D map of the surface of the part and then Machina software compares this to the CAD model to determine accuracy across every dimension. Deviations are then compensated for in their AI-powered process model to optimize the next manufacturing iteration. "Robotrimming" involves autonomously manipulating cutting tools to remove material, drill holes, and trim the part geometry from the surrounding sheet.

Machina Labs raised $35 million last fall in a Series B from 英伟达 's venture capital arm and Innovation Endeavors . At least as importantly, the company signed a $1.6 million contract with the U.S. Air Force early last year for metal tooling. According to Defense One, the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center has one of the Robotic Craftsman units, and the Air Force is hoping it can help them lower the cost of replacement parts and move production closer to where it's needed. The company added my former Stratasys colleague Ronen Lebi as its chief business officer this year.

Analyzing a Product Video for $85,000 Piece of Equipment

Time to discuss a new product video. It's B2C sure, but it's also a complex sale, so let's continue. Volvo came out with a branded video in Europe a couple months ago to promote their new EX90 all-electric vehicle. What's their brand stand for? Safety for families, right? Great, keep that in mind.

Here's the video on YouTube.

They also published vertical for social media. It's received 1.1 million views so far on Instagram, along with 41k likes, 2,101 comments, and over 6,000 shares. 6,000 shares! People wanted everyone to see this. I found another Instagram Reel from Volvo that's received a somewhat comparable 731k likes, but only 561 comments and 520 shares. As Guillaume Huin , senior marketing director at McDonald's, observed on X, it breaks lots of rules. Too long for social (3:46), over-produced, kind of cliche. But...

Representative comment:

You just made me cry and totally made me want a Volvo. I am a Jeep guy btw which is even more insane."

Also this exchange:

kevinbparry: "Didn't think I'd have a morning cry over a car ad, but here we are. Bravo

Volvo Cars: "Has it inspired you to take a test drive in one of our latest models?"

kevinbparry: "Yes, I can say that it makes me think you care enough to want to be the safest car people can drive. This matters."

Two points to make here:

1. If you have a story with drama that your audience can relate to, you don't need to make it short. People will just enjoy it. Remember the Apple sustainability video we discussed in an earlier edition? Five minutes!
2. Someone on X said, well any automaker could spend the money to make this video. Sure they could. But it only works this well for Volvo. That's because it reinforces what their brand uniquely stands for (customer entry points: safety, family, life change), which makes it authentic, which leads to those kinds of comments. Whatever your brand stands for (assuming it's what you want), lean into it. Don't just move on to something else.

I don't even have to remind you this is a very expensive product and nobody stood in front of a white board to explain its features and benefits. Something to think about.