Additive Snack

Simulation as an Enabler: Pan Michaleris & Erik Denlinger on the Evolution of Additive FEA

06 May 2026

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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

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13:00H | 21 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

01 Jan 1970

Fin de Semana

10:00H | 21 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

01 Jan 1970

Fin de Semana

12:00H | 20 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

01 Jan 1970

Fin de Semana

2ª PARTE | 06 ENE 2026 | EL PARTIDAZO DE COPE

01 Jan 1970

El Partidazo de COPE

3ª PARTE | 22 ENE 2026 | EL PARTIDAZO DE COPE

01 Jan 1970

El Partidazo de COPE

3ª PARTE | 04 MAR 2026 | EL PARTIDAZO DE COPE

01 Jan 1970

El Partidazo de COPE

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Additive Snack

Simulation as an Enabler: Pan Michaleris & Erik Denlinger on the Evolution of Additive FEA

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet

Other recent transcribed episodes

13:00H | 21 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

10:00H | 21 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

12:00H | 20 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

2ª PARTE | 06 ENE 2026 | EL PARTIDAZO DE COPE

3ª PARTE | 22 ENE 2026 | EL PARTIDAZO DE COPE

3ª PARTE | 04 MAR 2026 | EL PARTIDAZO DE COPE

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