# AM as a Moat: How Annihilator Created a Competitive Advantage in Broadhead Manufacturing

- Show: [Additive Snack](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack)
- Published: 2026-08-25
- Length: 1h 08m
- Episode: 40
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2026-08-25-am-as-a-moat-how-annihilator-created-a-competitive-advantage-in-broadhead-manufa
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/270c9192

## Summary

Brandon Brodie, co-founder and CEO of Annihilator Broadheads, explains how a failed elk hunt inspired the creation of a broadhead with a unique 'scoop' design that creates high-pressure and low-tension wound channels. After validating the concept through plastic prototypes and an improvised Instant Pot wind tunnel test, Brodie faced severe supply chain failures with investment casting and metal injection molding suppliers, leading to massive scrap rates and lost dealers. To save the company, he brought metal laser powder bed fusion in-house, learning to operate 5-axis CNC grinding and metal printing to achieve tight tolerances and enable complex geometries like the Katana broadhead. Brodie outlines how this additive manufacturing moat allows for rapid innovation, new product lines, and future contract manufacturing partnerships.

## Chapters

- [0:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2026-08-25-am-as-a-moat-how-annihilator-created-a-competitive-advantage-in-broadhead-manufa#t=6) Introduction: Brandon Brodie and Annihilator Broadheads
- [2:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2026-08-25-am-as-a-moat-how-annihilator-created-a-competitive-advantage-in-broadhead-manufa#t=121) The Elk Hunt Origin and Initial Concept
- [6:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2026-08-25-am-as-a-moat-how-annihilator-created-a-competitive-advantage-in-broadhead-manufa#t=403) Prototyping with Boise State and the Instant Pot Wind Tunnel
- [14:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2026-08-25-am-as-a-moat-how-annihilator-created-a-competitive-advantage-in-broadhead-manufa#t=858) Performance Validation: Steel Drum, Accuracy, and Fluid Dynamics
- [33:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2026-08-25-am-as-a-moat-how-annihilator-created-a-competitive-advantage-in-broadhead-manufa#t=2011) Manufacturing Failures: Investment Casting and MIM Disasters
- [40:46](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2026-08-25-am-as-a-moat-how-annihilator-created-a-competitive-advantage-in-broadhead-manufa#t=2446) In-House Metal Additive Manufacturing and Learning Curve
- [46:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2026-08-25-am-as-a-moat-how-annihilator-created-a-competitive-advantage-in-broadhead-manufa#t=2763) The Katana Broadhead and Future Innovation

## Topics

- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Annihilator Broadheads (company)
- Boise State University (company)
- Instant Pot (product)
- Katana (product)
- EOS (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [083: Benefits of Additive Manufacturing for New Inventions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2021-07-07-083-benefits-of-additive-manufacturing-for-new-inventions) (Product Startup)
- [The Arrival of High-Volume Metal Additive Manufacturing w/ James DeMuth](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2026-04-07-the-arrival-of-high-volume-metal-additive-manufacturing-w-james-demuth) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [Shop Talk Live 17: How Your Hand Tools Are Made](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2012-10-11-shop-talk-live-17-how-your-hand-tools-are-made) (Shop Talk Live)
- [37: Goop Machine](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered/2018-04-10-37-goop-machine) (Thoroughly Considered)
- [Dylan Lundberg | Protolabs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-08-05-dylan-lundberg-protolabs) (Being an Engineer)

## Citing this page

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