# The Digital Warehouse: A Look Inside Additive Manufacturing w/ Melanie Lang

- Show: [The Manufacturing Executive](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive)
- Published: 2022-03-01
- Length: 20m
- Episode: 91
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-03-01-the-digital-warehouse-a-look-inside-additive-manufacturing-w-melanie-lang
- Listen: https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-manufacturing-executive#episode-cb5c4dc4-8d2e-401a-8781-e339a0010d6a

## Summary

Melanie Lang, Co-Founder and CEO of FormAlloy, discusses the evolution of additive manufacturing from prototyping to production, focusing on Directed Energy Deposition (DED) technology. She explains how DED uses laser energy and metal powder to build or repair parts layer-by-layer, enabling multimaterial solutions and large-scale builds without support structures. Lang highlights aerospace applications like rocket nozzles and heat exchangers, where DED combines copper alloys for thermal properties with nickel superalloys for strength. She also addresses the industry's shift toward viewing manufacturing as a 'digital warehouse,' where digital files replace physical inventory, though she notes that trust and certification standards are still evolving.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-03-01-the-digital-warehouse-a-look-inside-additive-manufacturing-w-melanie-lang#t=0) Introduction and Additive Adoption Trends
- [3:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-03-01-the-digital-warehouse-a-look-inside-additive-manufacturing-w-melanie-lang#t=218) How Directed Energy Deposition (DED) Works
- [6:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-03-01-the-digital-warehouse-a-look-inside-additive-manufacturing-w-melanie-lang#t=367) When to Use Additive vs. Traditional Manufacturing
- [7:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-03-01-the-digital-warehouse-a-look-inside-additive-manufacturing-w-melanie-lang#t=469) Building Trust and Certification Standards
- [8:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-03-01-the-digital-warehouse-a-look-inside-additive-manufacturing-w-melanie-lang#t=517) Hybrid Approaches and Toolboxes
- [11:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-03-01-the-digital-warehouse-a-look-inside-additive-manufacturing-w-melanie-lang#t=681) Additive as the Fourth Transportation Modality
- [13:08](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-03-01-the-digital-warehouse-a-look-inside-additive-manufacturing-w-melanie-lang#t=788) Aerospace and Repair Applications
- [16:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-03-01-the-digital-warehouse-a-look-inside-additive-manufacturing-w-melanie-lang#t=990) Advice for Manufacturing Leaders

## Topics

- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Design for manufacturing & NPI](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/design-for-manufacturing)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- FormAlloy (company)
- America Makes (company)
- Women in 3D Printing (company)
- Fast Radius (company)
- Gorilla 76 (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [AM at a Crossroads: Incodema3D Proves What's Possible at Scale](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2026-07-07-am-at-a-crossroads-incodema3d-proves-whats-possible-at-scale) (Additive Snack)
- [NASA Update: Master Class, Alloys, AI & the Future Engineering Generations](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2025-08-06-nasa-update-master-class-alloys-ai-the-future-engineering-generations) (Additive Snack)
- [A Space Roundtable with NASA, Rocket Lab, The European Space Agency, and TRUMPF](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2024-04-02-a-space-roundtable-with-nasa-rocket-lab-the-european-space-agency-and-trumpf) (Additive Snack)
- [Materials and Additive Manufacturing Beyond — Special IMTS Edition](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2023-01-24-materials-and-additive-manufacturing-beyond-special-imts-edition) (Additive Snack)
- [Additive Manufacturing (AM): New Materials Influence the Future](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2021-08-26-additive-manufacturing-am-new-materials-influence-the-future) (Additive Snack)

## Citing this page

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