From Fashion to Metal AM: Scaling Additive Manufacturing into Production

Host Fabian Alefeld interviews Erin Mastroni, President and founder of I3D Manufacturing (founded 2013), about building one of the largest additive-focused contract manufacturers and the industry’s shift from prototyping to production. Mastroni describes moving from fashion retail and trend forecasting to an MBA in sustainable business, spotting production AM as a key trend, and launching a metal powder bed fusion business in Oregon with limited traditional manufacturing experience. She recounts early funding challenges, using SBA/New Market Tax Credits, and landing Blue Origin as an early customer, which helped establish I3D as a fast-moving development partner known for tackling difficult materials like titanium and new nickel alloys with EOS. I3D grew from 5 people and two machines to two campuses, ~30 machines, and 54 employees, is launching an internal “I3D Academy,” navigated a severe COVID revenue drop without layoffs, and was acquired in 2023 by BTX Precision (L Squared Partners), expanding into turnkey CNC and broader capabilities while discussing PE’s role, production scalability, and emerging AI opportunities. 00:00 Podcast welcome 01:47 Fashion to additive 04:27 Funding and mission 06:52 Blue Origin breakthrough 08:27 Becoming a dev partner 12:19 I3D today scale 15:29 Growing talent academy 17:05 Growth phases and pandemic 20:22 Acquisition and turnkey expansion 22:06 Private equity tipping point 27:43 Private Equity Momentum 28:41 Flow Driven Applications 32:54 Supply Chain Use Cases 35:12 Scaling Production Know How 40:21 One Stop Shop Strategy 43:14 Customers Get Smarter 47:31 Next Wave Breakthroughs 53:03 AI In Additive Manufacturing 57:25 Closing Thanks

You can listen to From Fashion to Metal AM: Scaling Additive Manufacturing into Production online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

From Fashion to Metal AM: Scaling Additive Manufacturing into Production is an episode from Additive Snack by Fabian Alefeld.

This episode is 58:46 long.

This episode was published on Mar 25, 2026.

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