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AMUG Newsletter October 2016

By October 19, 2016December 7th, 2016

October 2016

President’s Report

In the march to the 2017 AMUG Conference, we’ve reached another milestone: registration is now open!
To register for the event as an attendee, sponsor or exhibitor, head on over to the AMUG website,
www.am-ug.com, where you will see a fresh, new look and simple navigation. There you will also find timely information regarding the conference agenda, hotel accommodations and volunteer opportunities.

Sponsors and exhibitors will play a key role in the 2017 AMUG Conference experience. These companies, representing equipment manufacturers, materials suppliers, ancillary equipment and software, will bring their technical experts to the Chicago conference for in-depth technical discussions with AMUG members. Amazingly, only two weeks into registration, the Diamond Sponsor suites are fully reserved and the platinum sponsorships are at 50% capacity. We have industry’s support; now we need yours.

AMUG gets its strength from member participation, so register now and make plans to actively participate. With our member support, the 29th annual AMUG conference is shaping up to be the best-ever!

Steve Deak
AMUG President

Call for Speakers and Workshop Trainers

We continue to enhance and modify our conference presentation tracks and hands-on workshop sessions to meet the needs of novice and advanced additive manufacturing users. This year we will once again expand our track sessions, and we will integrate topics throughout the Diamond and Platinum Sponsor sessions to build a more fluid and comprehensive experience for our attendees.

We have the structure; now we need the contributors. Please consider participating as a speaker or workshop trainer. The call for speakers page lists tracks and track leaders. To be considered, simply submit an abstract to the leader of the track that you feel is the best fit for your content. If you do not find an obvious track for your topic, please contact Gary Rabinovitz, at Chairman@am-ug.com. The track leaders will review the submissions and make recommendations to the AMUG Agenda Committee, which will approve the final topic and speaker lineup.

Paul Litchfield
Ware Solutions LLC

Please note that presentation slots will fill up very quickly for the 2017 AMUG Conference, so please contact the track leaders ASAP with your abstracts.

2017 AMUG Conference Tracks and Leaders

Carl Deckard to Receive Innovators Award

After much deliberation, AMUG has selected Carl Deckard as its 2017 Innovators Award recipient. Carl, who is Structured Polymers’ co-founder and chief technology officer, conceived and developed the Selective Laser Sintering technology while at the University of Texas at Austin. The technology was licensed to what became DTM Corporation, which was later acquired by 3D Systems.

The concept of Selective Laser Sintering took shape while Carl was an undergrad. He then pursued it for his master’s degree and Ph.D work. Carl then co-founded Nova Automation, which was later renamed DTM Corp. With the launch of the Sinterstation 2000 in 1993, Selective Laser Sintering moved from the research labs into industry. In 2012 Deckard teamed with Jim Mikulak and Vikram Devarajan to found Structured Polymers, a material company focused on improved materials for Selective Laser Sintering and other powder bed fusion additive manufacturing processes.

Carl will join us at the AMUG Conference where he will be in the spotlight for the third annual Innovators Showcase. This “fireside chat” interview will give conference attendees an opportunity to get to know the man behind the technology and gain guidance from his decades of experience in the additive manufacturing industry. Following the onstage chat, Carl will be presented with the Innovators Award.

Carl Deckard
2017 AMUG Innovators Award recipient

Reservations and Registrations

Conference Registration
Register for the conference before February 11, 2017, for just $795.00. The registration fee covers just about everything other than transportation and lodging. For details, visit the registration page.

Hotel Reservations
AMUG has negotiated a room rate of $149/night (plus tax) at the Hilton Chicago. With the event’s structure and flow, you will definitely want to stay at this property. Stay elsewhere and you may miss out on some of the day-long networking and socializing that the AMUG Conference is known for. To reserve your room, visit the Hilton Chicago page on our website.

Hilton Chicago

Thinking of Food (already)

At the AMUG Conference, we feed you often and well. To do that, meal planning starts well in advance of the event. For 2017, Tom Sorovetz, event manager, has a creative idea for one of the evening meals.

For the last several years, the conference’s Thursday-night event was a barbeque, which everyone enjoys. However, for 2017 we will change things up a bit. Since the AMUG Conference is an international event, we would like to make Thursday night an international dining experience. To make this happen, Tom Sorovetz asks that attendees consider sending him a favorite family recipe. When you do, please submit it in English with imperial measurements; include a description of the tasty dish; and note the origins of the recipe (e.g., parent or grandparent).

Tom and the Hilton Chicago’s executive chef will review the submitted recipes and select several to be showcased at our Thursday night meal.

Email Tom at eventmanager@am-ug.com

International dining at AMUG
Share your family recipes

Advanced Manufacturing Canada Show

AMUG will be in Booth #202 at the Advanced Manufacturing Canada (AMC) show held in Toronto from November 2-3, 2016, in the Toronto Congress Centre. Several AMUG members will be speaking at the conference and some of our sponsors are exhibiting at the show. Mark Barfoot, past president, will be at the AMUG booth and would love to touch base with you to get your thoughts on what you’d like to see at this year’s AMUG Conference.

If you are a current AMUG member, please make sure you direct anyone you know that is going to the show to stop by and find out what AMUG is all about. If you have yet to register, AMUG can get you a 50% discount for AMC. Please contact Mark Barfoot, pastpresident@am-ug.com, if you need the link to get the discount.

We hope to see you there!

Visit AMUG at booth# 202
Advanced Manufacturing Canada (AMC)
November 2-3, 2016
Toronto Congress Centre

SPONSOR NEWS

BASF

Actively Committed to Additive Manufacturing

BASF has been active in the rising market for additive manufacturing, and we see exciting changes that will enable growth. New entrants to the market are positioning themselves with open material platforms while printing technologies are becoming faster, less expensive and more capable. At BASF, our goal is to provide you with innovative materials to help you produce resilient and functional parts, both for prototyping and production. To support your efforts, we have committed to a dedicated business unit, Application Technology Center and R&D organization.

After the successful launch of a PA6 for laser sintering during last year’s AMUG Conference, we used your feedback to develop innovative materials for several 3D technologies that will be introduced at the 2017 AMUG Conference. BASF is committed to enabling your success and unlocking the true potential of 3D printing.

Renishaw

Diamonds in Chicago

Renishaw, one of the world’s leading engineering and scientific technology companies, is pleased to return to AMUG as a Diamond Sponsor in 2017.

For over 40 years, the company, with headquarters in the UK, has been delivering breakthrough innovation to industry. Renishaw was a (pioneering) user of AM, for the manufacture of its dental restorations and in its rapid prototyping, prior to becoming active in metal AM system development and production in 2011.

Renishaw understands the challenges and potential of AM and is developing a network of international Solutions Centers where firms who are considering adopting AM, as a production process, can gain hands-on experience with the technology. Further, adopters can understand how it may best fit into their own manufacturing chains.

Renishaw has Solutions Centers operating in Canada, the United Kingdom, India and Shanghai. Later this year, the company is expanding its US operations with a Solutions Center opening within its new 133,000 square foot facility in West Dundee, Illinois, near Chicago.

Renishaw Solutions Center, Chicago, Illinois (artist's rendering)

Renishaw Solutions Center
Chicago, Illinois (artist’s rendering).

Stratasys

3D Printed Production Tools for the Automotive Industry

The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) found 3D printing transformative to the automotive manufacturing industry. 3D printing is increasingly used to build tooling for assembly and production at reduced cost and minimal material consumption. Stratasys built upon CAR’s findings in a new white paper to uncover the potential of lower-cost tools in automotive production and learn how additive manufacturing eases the shortage of tool and die facilities.

As additive manufacturing capabilities evolve, so will its adoption within the automotive industry. The white paper, “Assessing the Potential of Additive Manufacturing for Lower-Cost Tools in the Automotive Industry,” explores the possibilities and offers evidence of notable opportunity in 3D printed tooling. For more, get the new Stratasys white paper here.

Automotive manufacturer Solaxis 3D prints lightweight manufacturing aids with FDM technology.

3D Systems

Idaho Steel Accelerates Innovation with 3D Systems SLS 3D Printing

Idaho Steel is using the 3D Systems ProX® SLS 500 3D printer to advance production timelines while furthering product innovation and improving overall part quality. By incorporating 3D printing into its design and manufacturing process, the food processing equipment provider has reduced a former month-long manual process into an automated one that can be completed in less than a week. Now, a piston that was once made up of multiple assembled components can be printed in a single run, eliminating the weak and damage-prone zones of former assembly sites.

Idaho Steel reports an overall boost in productivity and manufacturing innovation following the introduction of its ProX SLS 500. By assigning structurally complex jobs to the 3D Systems ProX SLS 500, Idaho Steel can reallocate manpower and machine time to accomplish more in a day.

Idaho Steel part from ProX SLS 500.

Watch this video to learn more and read the full case study on 3dsystems.com.

Carbon

Carbon Announces New Strategic Investors Including GE Ventures and BMW

Last month Carbon announced an extension of its Series C, bringing total funding to $222 million. New investors include BMW Group, GE Ventures, Nikon and JSR, as well as existing investors. The new funding enables Carbon to accelerate production to meet worldwide demand for its M1 printer and offer its proprietary CLIP technology internationally.

New partnerships with Nikon and JSR, experts in the areas of metrology and chemical manufacturing, respectively, further enhance Carbon’s ability to break new ground in the additive manufacturing and chemical materials space.

With support from so many remarkable companies and collaborators, Carbon will further its commitment to continued innovation across hardware, software and molecular science, and empower the world’s most innovative designers, engineers and business leaders to produce the products of the future.

Check out our progress at www.carbon3d.com for the latest in our materials, technology, and hardware.

Metal AM

AM Material Selection for the Production of Injection Molding Tooling

As one of the first major markets for metal AM products, the importance of the tooling industry has long been recognised. There is still, however, limited information available on what mechanical properties can be expected for the various materials used. This report in the current issue of Metal AM magazine, by Harish Irrinki, Brenton Barmore, Kunal H. Kate and Sundar V. Atre, reviews the published data on various steel powders and processing conditions, as well as the mechanical properties that have been obtained using the selective laser melting process.

Visit us at formnext and pick up your free copy of the latest Metal AM magazine

Read this article for free in the current issue of Metal AM

TCT + Personalize

On to the Next One

As the doors to TCT Show 2016 closed on the last day of September, it was time to draw breath, step back and evaluate the news before launching into preparation for the final European and North American issues of the magazine for the year. Some of that news came from the TCT Show’s floor, where there was a host of new additive manufacturing solutions launched at TCT Show, including a new industrial scale stereolithography machine from RPS and Admatec’s ceramic 3D printer. For all the news from the TCT Show floor, click here.

Next up is formnext. We’ve put together an outstanding conference line up for the Frankfurt event, including an opening keynote from Paralympic silver-medalist, Denise Schindler. For the full schedule and tickets click here.

TCT Show 2016