Unless you’re a real insider, you probably don’t know how old 3D printing truly is. Most laypeople remember when 3D printing started making news headlines around the turn of the 2010s, but for people like Google’s Anne Pauley, our guest on the latest episode of Future Says, 3D printing’s roots run much deeper.

Pauley explains that 3D printing has actually been around since the 1980s, far longer than most suspect. But because patented technology is usually protected intellectual property for 20 years, it was mostly an insider’s game until the start of the 2000s. From there, it started catching on amongst professionals and amateur enthusiasts alike, best exemplified in the open-source 3D printing movement that gained steam from roughly 2005-2008. Today, within her current role doing key design work on Google’s Pixel products – including phones, earbuds, and a smart watch – Pauley says 3D printing is a staple of the design life cycle. “We use a ton of 3D printing in the design process; we prototype a lot of the parts, do iterative prototyping and assembly testing with it,” she says. In short, 3D printing is quickly becoming a key tool in the world’s most advanced design processes. 

3D Printing and Design for Manufacturing (DFM)

Pauley says that 3D printing gives designers another way to check their work and ensure optimal products. For example, simulation technology can help you build and test a device, but it can’t give you insight on more qualitative measures, such as how designs look or how they feel in the hand or pocket. Having tools that allow designers and manufacturers to assess both quantitative and qualitative aspects is what she says is the key to solid design for manufacturing (DFM) approaches. “DFM is simply about how to make a thing,” she says. “Essentially what you do is you look at all the materials you have available, all the processes you have available, and the part you want to make. From there, you determine what the right combination will be to achieve your desired outcome.”

DFM is especially vital for companies looking to sell complex products at high volumes. “When you’re making millions of things, it’s a whole different ballgame compared to if you’re only making dozens or hundreds or even thousands of something,” Pauley says. “You have to have every single little part of your design nailed down. Parts and assembly really have to be perfect.” 3D printing ensures nothing is overlooked before it heads out into the world. This is something she says her team working on the Pixel products takes particular pride in. “[The Pixel products] are really, really design oriented. Even on the manufacturing side, we’re frequently going back to our original design intent and ensuring we’re keeping close to what we want the design language to be,” she says. 

The Intersection Between Manufacturing, Design, and Materials Science

Beyond the technologies she uses, Pauley is well-positioned to speak on what shapes design processes from both a logistical and technological standpoint. Her unique background has situated her at the intersection of both design and manufacturing, giving her a holistic view of how products can be designed and manufactured and what limitations exist in each area. This encapsulates everything from structure, to positioning, to materials selection, and beyond – with the latter playing an especially important role in the face of global climate change. “I care a lot about sustainability – it’s a really complicated problem to tackle because so many things go into it,” she says. 

On the design and manufacturing side, she says introducing sustainable practices can be difficult since these fields are limited by the materials that materials engineers can create. Designers and manufacturers can’t simply use any materials they want when crafting a device designed to last for years or even decades. “It’s not a sustainable product if it breaks down before somebody’s done using it,” she says. “In addition, the way that we design products in order to disassemble and recycle the parts within them also contributes to how sustainable something is.” That said, she’s seen a greater focus on sustainability as her career has progressed, and believes this is a cause for optimism in the coming years. “I’m seeing more and more sustainable materials, which is an indicator of where things are headed.” She says that products like mycelium-based packaging, for example, can help reduce plastic use; other materials like this can further minimize our dependence on petroleum-based materials, and imperative for mitigating climate change’s worst effects.

Cultivating Community and Inclusion

But Pauley is also focused on things beyond the world of 3D printing and DFM. Specifically, she takes pride in creating community and mentoring other women in an overwhelmingly male-dominated industry. “I especially like reaching out to communities of women working in tech and 3D printing,” she says. She puts this into practice within her role as the San Francisco chapter leader of an organization called Women in 3D Printing. According to its website, the group seeks to “create, support, and promote a diverse, equitable, and inclusive – and thus more innovative – workforce” within the additive manufacturing industry. In her own words, Pauley says, “We’re just a very chill group of people who want to create more visibility for women working in the industry. As in many fields of tech, women are still a small percentage of the overall workforce. We do a lot of events – that are open to anybody – that give women the opportunity to speak and showcase their work in a space where they know they’ll be welcomed and celebrated.” She encourages anyone interested to explore the group’s event list to see how they can get involved.

Click here to listen to the full episode with Google’s Anne Pauley. To check out the rest of Future Says season five, visit https://altair.com/future-says. And be sure to subscribe to Future Says on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music/Audible, YouTube Music, and Podcast Addict.