Technology Selection: Keep It Simple and Reliable

Meet Cameron Peahl, Global Additive Manufacturing Strategy Manager for Industry 4.0 & Program Manager for I4.0 Digital Factories at Eaton

Cameron Peahl, Global Additive Manufacturing Strategy Manager for Industry 4.0 & Program Manager for I4.0 Digital Factories at Eaton, brings over 12 years of hands-on experience transforming how one of the world's largest power management companies approaches additive manufacturing. "It's a cultural journey through Industry 4.0. It's not a technology journey," Cameron emphasize, highlighting a fundamental truth many organizations overlook.

Manufacturing leaders face a critical challenge: how to adopt emerging technologies like additive manufacturing without falling into expensive pitfalls or creating unused "paperweights" collecting dust in factory corners. The misconception that 3D printing can simply replace traditional manufacturing processes has led countless organizations to failed investments and disillusionment. Meanwhile, those who dismiss additive entirely miss transformative opportunities for operations support, rapid prototyping, and product innovation.

Cameron's path at Eaton began as a manufacturing engineer on the factory floor in Rhode Island, progressing through quality roles before leading the company's Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence. His team achieved an industry first: putting a 3D printed part in a commercial aircraft fuel system. This journey taught him that successful additive implementation requires understanding where the technology genuinely adds value versus where conventional manufacturing remains superior.

In This Episode

This episode explores Eaton's four-pillar strategy covering prototyping, operations support, supply chain resiliency, and superior production. Cameron shares why operations support has delivered unexpected massive returns, how to select reliable technology that teams will actually adopt, and why investing in organizational culture trumps technology purchases. His practical advice helps manufacturers avoid common mistakes while building innovation engines that transform workplace engagement and deliver measurable ROI.

• Understanding Eaton's four-pillar additive manufacturing strategy covering prototyping, tooling, operations support, supply chain resiliency, and superior production at scale.
• Why supply chain resiliency through direct part replacement is the most challenging pillar and often leads to failed implementations.
• How operations support with 3D printing has delivered massive unexpected value and transformed factory culture.
• The importance of selecting reliable, easy-to-use additive systems that don't become barriers to adoption across diverse global factories.
• Balancing investments between additive and traditional manufacturing methods by understanding where each provides genuine value.
• Key roles and mindsets needed when moving from prototyping to production, including systems-level thinking and design.
• Lessons from aerospace component development on why part consolidation and performance improvements create better business cases than cost reduction.
• Current materials innovations improving layer adhesion and Z-strength that unlock new opportunities for additive manufacturing applications.
• How AI enables real-time factory insights, closed-loop process control, and autonomous manufacturing operations for additive and beyond.
• Building innovation-driven organizational cultures that embrace technology adoption, accept calculated failures, and pull for digital transformation initiatives.

• 60 Minutes segment on 3D-printed houses

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