![Alison Mendoza [Source: Women in 3D Printing]](https://fabbaloo.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/alison-mendoza_result_img_5eb098b3bf0c8.jpg)
Alison is a Business Development professional with diverse experience in Commercial Aviation, Aerospace MRO, and Additive Manufacturing (AM).
Over the past decade, she has spent time in various roles at Emirates Airline, AeroTurbine, Honeywell Aerospace, and GE Additive. Alison holds a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Linguistics and a Master of Business Administration with a focus in Aviation from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
She now works with The Barnes Group Advisors as the Business Leader for Additive Manufacturing Training Services and manages www.additivealison.com, an online journal and informal blog designed to help generate awareness of additive manufacturing. She recently was on our #3DTalk panel on aerospace.
Nora Toure: Alison, could you let us know about your background and what brought you to 3D printing in the first place?
Alison Mendoza: My background is in Commercial Aviation and Aerospace MRO. I spent the first couple of years of my career in Commercial Aviation, living in Dubai and working with Emirates Airline. Upon repatriation back to the US, I took a position with AeroTurbine, an aircraft end-of-life solutions provider, also (at the time) a subsidiary of AerCap, one of the worlds largest aircraft lessors. I spent several years working with AeroTurbine before I left to join Honeywell Aerospace, where I was first officially introduced to 3D printing.
My team had a request from a major airline for a spare part that was last manufactured over 30 years prior. There were no used spares in the marketplace to overhaul and sell, so we had to prep to start a new manufacture of the part. We were able to source all the custom tooling we needed to move forward, but one of our suppliers quoted us a long-lead time on a critical tool.
An intranet search led me to Don Godfrey and the Honeywell Aerospace Additive Manufacturing team and several days later our problem was solved. That was a pivotal moment for me and my career. Shortly thereafter, I joined the sales team at Arcam, which later became GE Additive. I spent several years with GE prior to joining The Barnes Group Advisors in March 2018.
Nora Toure: What was your very first experience with 3D Printing?
Alison Mendoza: I recall reading an article in SpeedNews about the ability to use Arcam’s EBM to 3D print Titanium Aluminide low-pressure turbine (LPT) blades. This must have been around early 2014. I shared with my colleagues and added Arcam to my “must watch” list. My memory of this article is what prompted me to do an intranet search at Honeywell when I was searching for tooling solutions several years later.
Read the rest at Women in 3D Printing
Elizabeth C. Engele (Lizzy) is a designer for social good, and a founder of MakerGirl.