2018, What a Great Year for PADT

Just a few more days before PADT’s Holiday break between Christmas and New Year’s Day. As much as we try to finish things up, 2018 is not going to bed without a fight. Everyone is busy. And that is what the entire year was like.

Some years you remember more than most, and I think 2018 will be one of the more memorable years.

We had a lot of new activities and made a lot of noise in the community. If you scroll through the list of milestones below you will see that we opened offices, won research grants, received awards, and added partners. And much more. We could have never achieved so much without our outstanding employees, supportive partners, and fantastic customers.

Three of those events stand out to me and are worth mentioning here in this final blog entry of the year.

The first happened at the start of the year when we launched ANSYS sales in Austin, Texas. We have been selling and supporting customers in Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico for decades. We have also been doing business in California for some time.  The addition of Texas was special because it was our first major growth east of the Rocky Mountains. Texas is culturally very much a part of the Southwestern US, and it felt right to add branch out there. And it has gone great.  We are reconnecting with people we knew through consulting, meeting new customers, and adding long-term ANSYS customers to our user family. It has been great.  And the Bar-B-Que is as good as everyone promised.

Texas was all about moving east.  The next important milestone was about moving up. Up into space.  We have been in the Additive Manufacturing business since we started PADT, and many of our customers have been Aerospace companies.  They have worked with us to make prototypes and tooling that helped them get better solutions into orbit faster. But never have they tried to fly structural 3D Printed parts. Until this year.

NASA, Lockheed Martin, Stratasys, and PADT worked together to put the right processes, materials, and Additive Manufacturing systems in place to allow Lockheed Martin to deliver next-generation 3D printed parts for NASA’s Orion deep-space spacecraft.  They manufactured a docking hatch door using Stratasys Antero 800NA material that is approved for flight. In fact, the plan is to take the spacecraft beyond the orbit of the moon as a test.  We are very proud to have played a role in making this happen.

The last achievement worth emphasizing is one of the awards we received. The ANSYS Technical Support Team from PADT was a Silver Winner of the 2018 Customer Service Department of the Year Award. A Silver Stevie.  Not only is this remarkable because it is national recognition for what our team does, it comes during the busiest technical support year we have ever faced. As ANSYS adds products and customers, the team’s job gets harder. And they step up to the plate (well, phone or email client) every day and satisfy customers. The reviewers at the American Business Awards stated: “PADT defines what premium customer service looks like.”   Great recognition for all of their hard work.

Some further highlights from the year are listed below.

As we rush to get things done and eat more holiday treats off the table in the hallway, we want to thank everyone who helped make this a memorable year.  All of us at PADT look forward to creating even more memories and establishing greater milestones in 2019.

PADT 2018 Highlights (with links for more details!):

February:

• PADT launches its Austin, TX office
• Eric Miller speaks at PHX Startup Week – “If you’re not scared, you’re doing it wrong”

March:

• Zeiss signs PADT as an authorized distributor of its Comet series
• Intermountain Healthcare – 3D printed organs
• MSU Denver Additive Manufacturing lab launched
• PADT intern wins NASA and ASME competition

April:

• NASA Orion Mission – covered by Wired, CNET and more
• PADT in the News:
  • NASA’s Orion spacecraft will include 3D-printed parts – CNET
  • NASA is to use 3-D-printed parts for the first time in outer space – CNBC
  • Finding True Innovators is Tough, But the Talent Pool is There! – Forbes

May:

• PADT’s ANSYS Support Team Wins a Stevie® Customer Service Department of the Year Award
• Rey Chu wins the AMUG Dino Award

June:

• PADT opens a 3D printing factory with Carbon
• PADT in the News
  • PADT Opens On-Demand Factory Using Carbon 3D Printers – ALL3DP
  • Carbon Partners PADT Opening 3D Printing Factory – 3DPrinting.com
  • Recognizing a 3D Printing Master, Rey Chu – Industry Today
  • InBusiness Magazine Podcast [4/1/2022: This podcast is no longer posted]
  • Figuring it Out Podcast

July:

• PADT partners with Nimbix
• World View talks Simulation with ANSYS and PADT

August:

• NASA awards a $127,000 STTR research grant to PADT and ASU
• PADT celebrates 2018 Colorado Additive Manufacturing Day
• PADT in the News
  • PADT 3D printing company [4/1/2022: This video is no longer available] – FOX 10
  • PADT and Arizona State University Awarded $127,000 3D Printing Research Grant from NASA – Additive Manufacturing Today

October:

• The SCA is awarded a U.S. Patent for SCA Product Line
• PADT ‘s QMS receives AS9100D + ISO 9001 certification
• PADT in the News
  • PADT Granted U.S Patent for Support Cleaning Apparatus – 3D Printing Industry
  • 3D Printing with Metals for Design Engineers, Explained – Design News

November:

• PADT in the news
  • Getting Metal 3D Printing Right the First Time with ANSYS Additive Print – ANSYS Advantage