Why Some Products Have Soul and Others Don't with Mike Laut

Send us Fan MailPart 1: Building a Design Firm Around Craftsmanship and LongevityMike Laut, founder and president of Laut Design in Raleigh, shared how a freelance operation started from his college apartment at NC State grew into one of the region's leading industrial design firms. Throughout the conversation, Mike emphasized the value of craftsmanship, durability, and thoughtful design, drawing parallels between classic machine tools, family-owned manufacturers, and successful modern businesses. He discussed his passion for restoring vintage milling machines and lathes, believing that older equipment often embodies a level of quality, simplicity, and pride that is missing from many modern products. Mike also highlighted the importance of company culture, surrounding himself with talented people, and only working with clients who share similar values. His philosophy centers on creating products that solve real human problems while building a business designed to last for generations. Part 2: A Potential Industry DisruptorAfter Mike's interview, Brent and Joris discussed the newly announced Formlabs large-format SLS printer, which dramatically increases build volume while entering the market at a price point far below traditional industrial powder-bed fusion systems. They explored how Formlabs is leveraging years of printing data, thermal monitoring, and software development to address some of the biggest challenges in SLS manufacturing, including print consistency and failure detection. While both hosts expressed excitement about the machine's potential to make industrial additive manufacturing more accessible, they also raised questions about first-generation reliability, material limitations, cooling times, and the long-term economics of Formlabs' powder ecosystem. The consensus was that the release could significantly disrupt established players such as HP, EOS, and Farsoon by lowering barriers to entry and making high-volume powder-bed printing attainable for smaller businesses, service bureaus, and healthcare applications such as prosthetics and orthotics. Special thanks to Advanced 3D for sponsoring this episode.Support the show