This original article is from The Best of Additive Manufacturing 2023 Special Edition

The growth of additive manufacturing (AM) in recent years has been astounding. And much of the success has been fueled by the cooperative tight-knit spirit pervasive throughout our community, which we must continue to foster to spark further advances.

The technology itself is still relatively new, marked by a steady stream of innovations and breakthroughs from pioneering people, companies, and organizations. This makes networking among peers and exchanging ideas with other leaders even more important than it is for professionals in more established fields.

TIPE 3D Printing, a global virtual conference held in January, is a great example. SME and Women in 3D Printing co-sponsored the immersive three-day event, which featured a lineup of more than 120 women speakers. While all the presentations were informative and inspiring, the networking opportunities were just as important, providing the perfect environment to connect and engage with an unprecedented group of thought leaders—including keynoters Marisa Lago, Under Secretary of Commerce-International Trade for the Dept. of Commerce, and Bogi Lateiner and Anne Pauley from Girl Gang Garage.

The abundant opportunities and almost limitless potential of 3D-printing also are underscored by the two leaders—Carolyn Seepersad and Ahmed El Desouky—profiled in Voices AMplified. In addition to their own impressive accomplishments, Carolyn and Ahmed’s AM journeys are proof positive of partnerships and giving back to the greater AM community.

At The University of Texas (UT) at Austin, Carolyn and her team are exploring—and in some cases inventing—emerging technologies such as reactive extrusion (REAM), volumetric powder bed fusion, and high-viscosity stereolithography. Similar to fused deposition modeling, REAM is much faster and flexible than desktop printers: It took less than three minutes to print UT’s iconic but complex Longhorn logo with the process.

It’s not surprising that Carolyn was appointed the director of UT’s Center for Additive Manufacturing and Design Innovation (CAMDI) when the facility opened in 2020. Bringing students, researchers, and faculty together under one roof, CAMDI expands the school’s commercial AM capabilities. 

Ahmed also has no shortage of experience or success. In fact, he’s been in on the ground floor to help several companies launch their AM journeys, including stints at Eaton and Carpenter Technology before joining N.Y.-based Veeco Instruments Inc. in early 2021 as director of Additive Manufacturing. At Veeco, he’s helping the 75-year-old company apply the latest AM technologies to processing systems used in semiconductor and compound semiconductor manufacturing. Such applications could help solve current supply chain problems in the semiconductor industry. But there are also steep challenges, such as designing printed parts that can meet strict clean room specifications—even the tiniest speck of dirt or a sub-micron-sized particle can wreak havoc a few months into a product’s lifecycle.

That’s why it’s so important to have experienced pros such as Ahmed and Carolyn in leadership positions, and sharing their insights with others to continue to grow AM.

Meet Stacey DelVecchio

Stacey DelVecchio, F.SWE is President of StaceyD Consulting, focused on the business of additive manufacturing. She is a technical advisor with the SME’s Additive Manufacturing Technical Community and a previous industry peer review panelist for Oakridge National Labs Manufacturing Development Facility. DelVecchio is a sought-after speaker on the value of additive and has been quoted in numerous technical magazines on 3D printing. Prior to launching her own consulting business, she was the Additive Manufacturing Product Manager for Caterpillar Inc. where her team leveraged the technology in all spaces, including new product introduction, supply chain and operations. Her team focused on deploying the technology by working with Caterpillar product groups on design for additive. DelVecchio also managed their Additive Manufacturing factory.

In her 30 years in industry, most of which was at Caterpillar, DelVecchio held numerous positions in engineering and manufacturing. In addition to her additive manufacturing work, her other notable experiences include the build and start-up for a green field facility in China, hose & coupling world-wide engineering management, new product introduction management for Cat Fuel Systems, and management of the project management office for Caterpillar engines. DelVecchio also developed an engineering pipeline strategy to ensure the best engineering talent is available to meet global enterprise needs.

DelVecchio holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Cincinnati. She is a Past President of the Society of Women Engineers and has received the society’s Advocating Women in Engineering Award. DelVecchio is a past vice-chair of the Women in Engineering Committee for the World Federation of Engineering Organization where she represented the American Association of Engineering Societies and is championing global expansion of the Society of Women Engineers. In 2021, DelVecchio edited her first book, Women in 3D Printing: From Bones to Bridges and Everything in Between.