The Story of a Distributed Manufacturing Response Led by Stratasys Direct

In October 2024, a major hurricane struck the U.S., leaving destruction in its wake—including the disruption of a critical injection molding supply chain for a top automotive manufacturer. With production at a standstill and losses mounting by the hour, the company turned to Stratasys Direct, one of the world’s largest additive manufacturing service providers, for a solution. Justin "Bud" Runquist, VP of Sales and Marketing at Stratasys Direct, led the charge in mobilizing an emergency manufacturing response. They quickly recognized that meeting the demand—500 parts per day, with the first shipment needed within seven days—required a network approach and reached out to trusted partners, including DI Labs, to expand capacity.

The response from the additive manufacturing community was overwhelmingly positive. Manufacturers across the industry stepped in, demonstrating the power of distributed manufacturing: a collaborative, decentralized approach that allows for rapid scaling.

In this episode of Solutionology Stories, hosts Carl and Brian Douglass sit down with Bud to talk about the challenges, innovations, and impact of this inspiring story and how it can be a blueprint for additive manufacturing's role in times of crisis and beyond.

00:00 Welcome Bud
02:31 Line Down!
11:00 Quality Standards for Distributed Manufacturing
15:21 Pushing Use Cases for Volume Production
25:34 A Tipping Point for Additive Manufacturing

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More about DI Labs: https://dilabs.cc/

More about Stratasys Direct: https://www.stratasys.com/en/stratasysdirect/

Welcome to the latest edition of our Solutionology Stories newsletter and podcast featuring insights from our client, Jamie Duininck the CEO of Prinsco, Inc. He's a third-generation owner and leader of a family business that provides water management solutions to the agricultural, stormwater, residential, and onsite markets. Jamie is a creative, out-of-the-box thinker who is well respected across his company and industry for his leadership, candor, and ability to build relationships that have positively impacted his company's opportunities for growth and success.

In this episode, Jamie shares the formula he's developed and used over his 28-year career to successfully drive innovation and embrace change. His perspective offers valuable lessons for anyone seeking to make a lasting impact in their field.

00:00 Welcome
01:25 A Journey From Sales to CEO
03:06 Driving Innovation
11:10 Pro4 Story
20:34 Rewarding Relationships
21:38 Lessons on Leadership

Learn more about the Pro4 product development story, listen to Solutionology Stories Episode #26.

See the Pro4 case study: https://youtu.be/Tg1A12zf1DI

Learn more about Prinsco: https://ww.prinsco.com

Learn more about DI Labs: https://dilabs.cc

Join us behind the scenes of DI Labs' largest product development and launch program to date, powered by a digital-first approach. Spanning eight years, this transformative journey began in 2015 with a rough business plan. It culminated in 2024 with the launch of a groundbreaking four-model product portfolio for Prinsco, a leader in water management solutions. Our guests on this episode of Solutionology Stories are Jason Ahrenholz, Prinsco's Director of Engineering, and Judd Effinger, Prinsco's Onsite Sales Manager.

Prinsco set out to disrupt a monopolized market by introducing a high-performance product alternative in the onsite septic industry. Achieving this vision required an unprecedented commitment to resource allocation, leadership alignment, and long-term success—all underpinned by a digital mindset.

As Prinsco's development partner, DI Labs utilized cutting-edge digital manufacturing techniques, including additive manufacturing, to innovate, prototype, and create a full-scale model for prelaunch marketing. Tune in to discover how this digital approach enabled breakthrough solutions and redefined product development success.

00:00 Intro
03:24 Market Opportunity
7:47 Injection Molding to Thermoforming
15:41 Back to Injection Molding
24:06 Market Launch
31:01 Project Takeaways

Watch an on-location report from the testing pit.

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Learn more about DI Labs: dilabs.cc

Our Solutionology podcast shares behind-the-scenes stories of projects and problem-solving using a digital mindset. In Episode #25, Carl Douglass, DI Lab CEO, and Brian Douglass, DI Labs COO, have an in-depth discussion about quality with Hannah Kinder, DI Labs Production Manager.

Quality can be a touchy subject in additive manufacturing because it often seems ambiguous and expectations can be wildly different between each client and project. Brian states that quality, which is considered a deliverable, and a digital mindset, which is a state of constant transition, can feel like oil & water. That’s because when people think of quality, they think of standardization and repeatability - not constant change.

As the industry continues to evolve and mature, having a digital mindset is critical to our success, especially when it comes to quality. DI Labs is in a constant state of transition to new levels of performance, capabilities and standards of quality. As Hannah said in the wrap-up, change is inevitable especially if you want to be better. And we always do.

Listen to the full episode to learn more.

Chapters & Episode Topics:
00:00 Intro
01:02 Structure of quality
01:27 Digital mindset and quality - oil and water
03:15 Quality is a tradeoff
04:06 Definitions of quality
05:50 Culture supports quality
07:51 Our ISO9001 onboarding process
11:53 Understanding client expectations
15:45 How quality drives scrap rates
18:59 Scrap from 10-25%
19:11 Current improvements

More Solutionology Stories Podcast Episodes: https://dilabs.cc/podcast/

What is a digital mindset, and how does it add value to the product development, design, management & manufacturing process?

In Episode #24 of the Solutionology Podcast Carl Douglass, P.E. and Brian Douglass from DI Labs dig into this topic.

Brian starts by providing a simple definition of a digital mindset from the DI Labs perspective. "A digital mindset is a way for us to stay flexible throughout a process or project... so that we're not locked into a preconceived bias... it's the ability to create rapid changes and store them in a quick and lightweight format like digital..."

Carl then quotes an article from the Harvard Business Review by Tsedal Neeley and Paul Leonardi called, "*Developing a Digital Mindset." Under the section "Change as a Constant" he reads:

According to change management theory, organizations move from a current state to a transitional state and then on to a future state... In a digitally driven world, however, there is no endpoint to the transitional phase.

This excerpt resonated with Brian and Carl due to the never-ending state of transition, which is a mindset they embrace. Listen to the full episode to hear more.

**Find the full article here.

At DI Labs, we've been applying a digital mindset for a long time and now help clients build it into their programs and products, leading us to what's next! Stay tuned to learn more about the custom-designed Solutionology Sessions we'll be offering to companies interested in mobilizing their teams with a digital mindset.

More about DI Labs: dilabs.cc
Find more episodes of the Solutionology Podcast on YouTube.

What does it mean to have a digital mindset and how does it open up possibilities in product development and manufacturing? On this episode of the Solutionology Podcast, Carl and Brian share DI Lab’s journey in creating a consumer product line that has grown exponentially by leveraging the power of a digital mindset and manufacturing process. It allowed us to approach the market without the constraints of traditional manufacturing, accelerate our product launch, and give us a competitive edge through customization.

We started by solving a very specific problem which quickly revealed unexpected market demand and an opportunity to create a wide spectrum of products and variations. Our technology tools include the HP Multi Jet Fusion for printing and the AMT PostPro for finishing.

00:00 Intro
00:34 Welcome - we’re in a different space
01:13 Product owners and manufacturers
01:51 Product development & testing
02:36 Solving a problem
05:21 Mass customization workflow
07:17 Segmenting the market for variations
08:57 Maximizing value with a digital mindset
09:56 The tools needed
10:57 What we’ve learned

Recently, Carl and Brian Douglass were guest experts on a Webinar hosted by MasterGraphics and Mindfire. We are posting this as an episode of the Solutionology Podcast with their permission. Access the original posting here.

Could you elevate your Approach with a Solid Plan from the Experts?

Challenge the status quo by asking yourself: Is your current additive manufacturing plan truly optimized, and how can you elevate it to new heights of success?

Prepare for enlightening insights as our experts share their valuable knowledge. You'll hear from 4 expert panelists:

• Carl Douglass, CEO, DI Labs
• Brian Douglass, COO, DI Labs
• David Rosendahl, President & Co-Founder, MindFire Inc
• Kevin Carr, President, MasterGraphics

In this session, our panelists will analyze and exchange insights on:

• How embracing Additive Manufacturing can reshape your product development approach, fostering agility and sparking creative ingenuity.
• Why having a structured process for product development through Additive Manufacturing is not just advantageous, but essential.
• How aligning your additive manufacturing strategies with your business goals can drive growth, boost efficiency, and amplify your competitive edge.
• Whether you're a business owner, product manager, or industry professional, this webinar offers valuable insights and practical strategies for anyone seeking to enhance their additive manufacturing prowess.

In this mini-episode of the Solutionology Podcast, we’re addressing some of the most common questions we get about volume production using additive manufacturing. In fact, these questions were the driving force behind a technical presentation that Carl Douglass, DI Labs CEO, created and will be delivering at the Medical Device and Manufacturing tradeshow in Minneapolis. We’re just getting warmed up and hope to see you there!

Common questions about volume production with additive manufacturing:

• What types of applications and projects are the right fit?
• What reasons should drive the decision to use additive?
• What reasons should drive the decision NOT to use additive?
• What does the production part approval (PPAP) process look like?

Takeaways from Carl’s presentation:

• To successfully leverage additive for production, build it in early
• High-tolerance parts are possible
• Additive shouldn’t be considered the end-all-be-all
• Additive can be a superpower if used in the right applications

Related Content:

• MD&M technical presentation details
• Article in "Plastics Today" about the presentation

Chapters & Topics:
00:00 Intro
00:15 Welcome
00:40 MD&M presentation takeaways
02:27 Go & yield applications for additive
04:51 Organizational limitations
05:34 Need a champion and stakeholders
08:28 Keys for successful production
09:27 Developing a production part approval process
11:37 Validating biocompatibility for medical device
13:35 Biggest shortcomings in preparing for additive
14:06 See you at MD&M

More about DI Labs:
https://dilabs.cc/