Additive Manufacturing, Then & Now: A Conversation with Alex Oster, Autodesk

Additive Snack · 17 Jun 2025 · 1h 28m · Episode 14

AI in practice: 4 real uses of AI described

What this episode covers

Alex Oster, Director of Additive Manufacturing at Autodesk, traces the industry's evolution from his early days at the German service bureau FIT and the founding of Netfabb to Autodesk's acquisition of the company. He details the strategic consolidation of specialized CAD, CAM, and simulation tools into the unified Fusion 360 platform, emphasizing its role in lowering barriers to entry for metal additive manufacturing. Oster discusses the market split between high-end custom machines and affordable low-cost systems, and explains how AI-driven surrogate modeling and process monitoring are transforming simulation workflows.

AI in practice

Where this conversation describes AI being used to build or deliver a product. Part of the AI in practice tracker.

Engineering & simulationAutodesk Navisoftsimulation results in like 50 milliseconds

Autodesk acquired Navisoft to integrate surrogate modeling into Fusion, allowing engineers to get simulation results in milliseconds instead of hours by training a circuit model on previous simulation data.

“you can use these 100 results and train a circuit model, and from then on for a similar cars. You get the simulation site in like 50 milliseconds. Wow. It's like, it's like predictive mode of surrogate modeling is crazy and we change a lot of engineering work for us.”

Alex Oster · Hear it at 1:03:20

Engineering & simulationAutodesk Fusion (with 1000Kev app)

Users can optimize parts and perform topology optimization directly within Fusion via the 1000Kev app, enabling them to make parts work that previously did not work.

“we have an App Store, where there's a 1000 Kevin app where people can from Fusion. can optimize their parts and do the 2 bus optimization. And I mean, the customers we have, we also recently launched our customer history. It's really amazing. I mean, basically just make parts work that didn't work before.”

Alex Oster · Hear it at 1:03:20

ManufacturingEuler (AI monitoring system)

Euler uses AI and standard cameras to monitor powder bed processes, identifying issues that create part defects and predicting failures before they occur, integrated into Fusion.

“They made the best powder bed monitoring system that I have ever come across. So they use AI from standard cameras to see issues that you create in a part of it. And that gives you much more insight and equality in the process.”

Alex Oster · Hear it at 1:10:02

Engineering & simulationAutodesk Fusion (Smart Tution)

Fusion allows users to simulate parts and locally reduce laser power based on interlayer temperature data to improve heat distribution and reduce distortion.

“you can basically simulate your part, and then for each layer, you get the interlay temperature, so you know when your part gets too hot. Yeah. Basically, you can then reduce it. Sure, it's not only a layer basis. It's like a localized thing. You can locally reduce power, for example, and then get like a better heat distribution in your part.”

Alex Oster · Hear it at 1:00:17

Mentioned

Companies
Autodesk, EOS, SLM Solutions, Formlabs, Microsoft, Ansys, Euler, Navasto, 1000Kev
Products
Fusion 360, Netfabb, SolidWorks, Moldflow

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