Welcome to our Blog

More than a Blog, A Place to Learn, Share, and Laugh a Bit

We started an email newsletter back in 2002 as “The Focus.”  We kept that up for some time and then made the plunge into blogging around 2008. Over the years, thousands of students and engineers from around the world have told us that our blog is an invaluable tool to them. If you can’t find what you are looking for, don’t hesitate to contact us. 

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For the third year in a row, PADT participated in the annual SandFest at the Children's Museum of Phoenix. It was a great day for everyone, especially the kids who came out in huge numbers to play in...
Photo showing seven 3D printed polymer parts that demonstrate Stratasys equipment capabilities for creating small, colorful and intricate models for marketing communications.
Problem: Your higher-ups require you to show photos of several new products in your marketing-communications efforts, so they can start selling hundreds or thousands. Or, they want you to show th...
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Last year we signed up to take part in the SandFest fundraiser at the Children's Museum of Phoenix. As related in our blog post about last year, sand is not a forgiving medium. In that first attempt...
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What would five engineers do with a giant pile of sand, a bucket full of tools, five hours? Why build the mystical island of Paadet, of course! And, along the way learn a new aphorism, the power ...
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Tracking time has challenged the human race for centuries, resulting in some of the finest mechanisms ever crafted. From sundials and hourglasses to pocket watches and atomic clocks, we have marked t...
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While many examples exist of impressive texturing done on 3D printed Stratasys PolyJet printed parts (some wild examples are here), I have to admit it took me a while to learn that true texturing can...
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Where are you on your New Year’s resolutions? They often include words such as “simplify,” “organize” and “streamline.” They can be timely reminders to rethink how you do things in both...
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In 1925, when the automotive industry was rapidly growing in response to consumer and industrial needs, a group of independent auto parts resellers joined to form the National Automotive Parts Associ...
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PADT’s Austin Suder is a Solidworks CAD wizard, a NASA design-competition (Two for the Crew) winner and a teaching assistant for a course in additive manufacturing (AM)/3D printing. Not bad for som...
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There were Chevys and Fords, Porches and Harleys, Teslas and Acuras. Big trucks and little sports cars. And of course, there was pizza. Our first ever Motorsport Day was a blast. Mechanical enginee...

Upcoming Events

Jun 17
, 2025
Ansys Virtual Workshop - Fatigue & Durability Workflows with Ansys Mechanical & nCode
Jun 12
, 2025
Design and Test: Critical Links for Mission Success - Webinar
Jun 09
- Jun 11
, 2025
TechConnect World 2025
Jun 10
, 2025
Ansys Virtual Workshop - Hands-on Camera System Simulation with Ansys Speos
Jun 04
, 2025
Composites & Structural Optimization Updates in Ansys 2025 R1 - Webinar
Jun 03
, 2025
Smart Manufacturing and Operations Enabled by Simulation - Webinar
Jun 03
, 2025
Accelerate Electronics Thermal Workflows with Ansys Discovery and Ansys Icepak - Webinar
Jun 03
, 2025
Experience Stratasys Truck Tour - Denver Colorado
May 29
, 2025
Applying Digital Engineering across Space Mission Analysis and Design: Payload - Webinar
May 21
, 2025
Optics Updates in Ansys 2025 R1 - Webinar
Jun 19
, 2025
Digital Engineering for ePowertrain Development for Automotive - Webinar
May 15
, 2025
Applying Digital Engineering across Space Mission Analysis and Design: Satellite - Webinar
May 13
, 2025
Dynamic RF Interference: HFSS and STK for Antenna Array Control - Webinar
May 13
, 2025
Ansys Virtual Workshop - PCB Reliability with Sherlock
May 05
- May 08
, 2025
Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space Conference (NETS)
May 07
, 2025
Transforming Robot Arm Design with Topology Optimization - Webinar
May 07
, 2025
Meshing Updates in Ansys 2025 R1 - Webinar
May 01
, 2025
Applying Digital Engineering across Space Mission Analysis and Design - Webinar
Apr 29
, 2025
Design, Debug, and Test your Ansys Scade One Model - Webinar
Apr 29
, 2025
New NVH Tools & Workflows in Ansys 2025 R1 - Webinar
Apr 23
, 2025
Explicit Dynamics Updates in Ansys 2025 R1 - Webinar
Apr 22
, 2025
Ansys Virtual Workshop - ESD Simulation of an Electronic Device using Advanced Simulation Tools
Apr 16
, 2025
Accelerate Electronics Cooling Design with Ansys Discovery and Icepack - Webinar
Apr 15
, 2025
Virtual Workshop: Mastering PCB Thermal Analysis for Reliable Electronics Design
Apr 10
, 2025
2025 CFD Technology Trends: Leveraging AI, GPUs, and ROMs for Faster Engineering Insights - Webinar
Apr 10
, 2025
Experience Stratasys Truck Tour - Albuquerque New Mexico
Apr 08
, 2025
Electromagnetic Simulation in IoT Embedded System - Webinar
Apr 07
- Apr 10
, 2025
40th Space Symposium
Mar 27
, 2025
Launchpad to Success: Project Management Essentials for Startups Taking Ideas to Orbit
Mar 27
, 2025
Ansys 2025 R1: System Safety Analysis - Webinar
Mar 26
, 2025
Discovery Updates in Ansys 2025 R1
Mar 20
, 2025
Arizona Space Summit 2025
Mar 13
, 2025
Virtual Workshop: Advanced Antenna Design & Placement Simulation
Mar 13
, 2025
Ansys 2025 R1: Digital Twin - Webinar
Mar 12
, 2025
Ansys 2025 R1: Minerva - Webinar
Mar 06
, 2025
Ansys 2025 R1: Autonomous Vehicle Simulation - Webinar
Mar 04
, 2025
Ansys 2025 R1: Materials Information for Digital Engineering - Webinar
Mar 04
, 2025
Ansys 2025 R1: Embedded Software - Webinar
Feb 25
, 2025
Space Simulation Workshop
Feb 21
, 2025
Desert WAVE Underwater Robot Winners Panel
Feb 04
- Feb 06
, 2025
2025 Transformative Vertical Flight
Feb 04
- Feb 06
, 2025
MD&M West 2025
Jan 22
- Jan 25
, 2025
Arizona Photonics Days 2025
Jan 07
- Jan 10
, 2025
CES 2025
Dec 11
, 2024
YesPHX Winter Social 2024
Dec 11
, 2024
Tech the Halls
Dec 11
, 2024
Structural Updates (3) in Ansys 2024 R2 - Materials, Contact and Joint Elements, & HPC - Webinar
Nov 27
, 2024
Fluent Updates in Ansys 2024 R2 - Webinar
Nov 21
- Nov 23
, 2024
Optics Updates in Ansys 2024 R2 - SPEOS, Zemax & Lumerical - Webinar
2024 Governor's Celebration of Innovation
Structural Update in Ansys 2024 R2 (2) - Fracture, Linear & Non-linear Dynamics & LS-DYNA - Webinar
PADT30 | Nerdtoberfest 2024
2024 ADOT DBE & Small Business Conference
2024 Southern Arizona Tech + Business Expo
Maxwell & Motor-CAD Updates in Ansys 2024 R2 - Webinar
Sky's Not The Limit: The Power of SAF 3D Printing for Aerospace (re-run with live Q&A) - Webinar
Driving Innovation With SAF 3D Printing for Automotive - Webinar
Structural Updates (1) in Ansys 2024 R2 - Mechanical, Structural Optimization & Composites - Webinar
Wi3DP: Tour AM Labs at Arizona State University Polytechnic Campus
AZBio Awards
Materials Updates in Ansys 2024 R2 - Webinar
Rocky Mountain Life Sciences Investor & Partnering Conference
2024 AIAA Rocky Mountain Section Technical Symposium
Rocky Mountain Life Sciences Investor & Partnering Conference
New Mexico Tech Summit 2024
Turbine Engine Technology Symposium 2024
Discovery Updates in Ansys 2024 R2 - Webinar
Smart Product Innovation Just Got Easier - Webinar
New Technologies Workshop - Stratasys/PADT
AZBio Summer Reception
2024 CEO Leadership Retreat 
AZTC Q3 VIP Tech Mixer
Stratafest - Denver, CO
Experience Stratasys Truck Tour: Salt Lake City, UT
12th Annual Aerospace, Aviation, Defense and Manufacturing Conference
E-Mobility and Clean Energy Summit
RAPID + TCT 2024
RAPID + TCT 2024
Enabling 6G Technologies - Ansys Hosted Webinar
Structures Updates in Ansys 2024 R1 (3) - Materials, Contact & Joint Element - Webinar
RAPID + TCT 2024
Sky's Not the Limit: The Power of SAF 3D Printing for Aerospace - Webinar
TechConnect World Innovation Conference & Expo
TechConnect World Innovation Conference & Expo
Connect Updates in Ansys 2024 R1 - OptiSLang, ModelCenter & More - Webinar
Optics Updates in Ansys 2024 R1 - Lumerical, Zemax & SPEOS - Webinar
2024 Arizona MedTech Conference
Simulation World 2024
Experience Stratasys Truck Tour: Tucson, AZ
Simulation World 2024
Simulation World 2024
Experience Stratasys Truck Tour: Tempe, AZ
Fluent Materials Processing Updates in Ansys 2024 R1 - Webinar
Dynamic Simulation for Rocket Propellant Systems! - Webinar
Experience Stratasys Truck Tour: Albuquerque, NM
Experience Stratasys Truck Tour: Dallas, TX
Structures Updates in Ansys 2024 R1 (2) - Fracture, Linear & Non-linear Dynamics - Webinar
Experience Stratasys Truck Tour: Houston, TX
39th Space Symposium

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Most of our customers receive their support over the phone or via email. Customers who are close by can also set up a face-to-face appointment with one of our engineers.

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