{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Additive Snack","title":"Simulation as an Enabler: Pan Michaleris & Erik Denlinger on the Evolution of Additive FEA","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/f7ba9d25\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3340,"description":"Fabian Alefeld hosts Pan Michaleris, founder of PanOptimization (PanX), and Erik Denlinger, co-founder and chief engineer, to discuss the evolution and role of simulation and finite element analysis (FEA) in additive manufacturing. Pan shares his background as a Penn State professor and entrepreneur (including a prior company acquired by Autodesk) and explains how simulation helps reduce costly trial-and-error builds by predicting distortion, temperature, stress, buckling, cracking, and recoater risks, while moving toward closed-loop manufacturing-to-design workflows and property prediction. Erik outlines PanX’s commercial capabilities - fast thermo-mechanical simulation for very large parts, distortion compensation, and dwell-time optimization - and describes proof-of-concept work on controlling melt quality and hardness via parameter modulation. They cover adoption in aerospace/defense and new space, qualification implications, integration with build-prep workflows (e.g., EOS/Velosis), and cautious, validation-focused views on AI surrogate models.00:00 Welcome and Episode Preview01:13 Meet Pan and Erik01:59 Pan’s Journey to PanX03:59 Erik’s Origin Story05:10 FEA History and the Elephant Test08:32 Why Additive Needs Simulation10:23 Closing the Design Manufacturing Loop14:33 PanX Today Core Capabilities17:30 From Distortion to Material Properties20:25 Making Simulation Usable for Engineers27:06 Workflow Integration and Automation29:44 From Failures to Design30:41 Who Uses PanX Today32:41 Simulation for Qualification35:17 Layerwise Parameter Control38:51 Why FEA Is Hard41:38 AI and Surrogate Models46:53 Future Material Tailoring48:37 Roadmap Workflow Integration52:27 Closing Thoughts and Wrap","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/27ZYLdyZ8MHWZlxUWh87sIQyB5ttPhwcP3_CmUBDsv0/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzE2NDk0LzE3MDU5/NDgwMjItYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}