President’s Message
Mark Barfoot
Past President
I trust that everyone enjoyed themselves at the annual AMUG Conference. I’m sure you are still catching up on your sleep and working to come back down to a reasonable daily calorie count.
We were very pleased to see 1,061 attendees this year, up from 765 in 2015. That’s a 39% increase! On behalf of the board, I want to thank everyone that helped make that event such a great success.
We want to thank our exhibitors and sponsors that help fund the event, but more importantly, provide top-notch training sessions specific to their products. We also couldn’t be a success without the work of the board, global ambassadors, liaisons, track leaders, keynotes, presenters, moderators and everyone else that participated in various ways. You are what really makes the AMUG event unique with your passion and support of the industry and our group.
I also want to congratulate our new DINOS that were recognized at the conference for their hard work in the additive manufacturing industry. They are truly deserving of this high honor.
Now that the conference is over, the board is wrapping up all of the close-out items for this year’s conference and has started working on next year’s gathering. Our goal is to continue to see the conference grow while implementing some new items. I will be working hard to close out any open items and make sure everything is ready when Steve Deak takes over in July as your new president.
I want to stress what I said in my opening and closing remarks at the conference: our efforts go beyond the once-a-year conference. The conference educates, energizes, excites so that each of you can be AM champions within your companies and throughout industry. However, you are not alone as all of your fellow conference attendees are “superhero sidekicks” ready to jump in and help with questions or issues you may have. Check out our LinkedIn group, Facebook and other social media avenues to ask questions and keep in touch with AMUG members throughout the year.
AMUG will be in booth #126 at Rapid (May 17-19 in Orlando), so please make sure you stop by to say “Hi”. While at RAPID, continue spreading the word of how great it is to be part of the Additive Manufacturing Users Group.
Mark Barfoot
President
President@am-ug.com
Election Results
On Wednesday, April 6, AMUG members elected the 2016 – 2017 AMUG Board. Casting votes of confidence, the members kept the board relatively unchanged. The newly elected board will begin its term on July 1, 2016.
Not seeking re-election for president after serving two terms, Mark Barfoot will become the past president. Filling the president role will be Steve Deak, formerly a vice president. Filling Deak’s vice president’s seat will be Paul Bates, who served as deputy vice president. All other elected positions were unchanged.
The elected board accepted the appointments recommended by the outgoing board for the positions of chairman, treasurer, deputy vice president and AM industry advisor. These also were unchanged.
2016 – 2017 Board
- President: Steve Deak, GE Aviation
- Past President: Mark Barfoot, Hyphen
- Chairman: Gary Rabinovitz, Reebok
- Vice President: Dana McCallum, Carbon
- Vice President: Paul Pates, UL
- Deputy Vice President: Derek Ellis, Computer Aided Technology, Inc.
- Treasurer: Vince Anewenter, Milwaukee School of Engineering
- Event Manager: Tom Sorovetz, FCA
- Secretary: Kim Killoran, Stratasys
- AM Industry Advisor: Todd Grimm, T. A. Grimm & Assocs.
- Advisor: Mark Abshire, Computer Aided Technology, Inc.
President’s Award
For only the seventh time in its 28-year history, AMUG has bestowed the prestigious President’s Award. The recipient is Mark Abshire, AMUG advisor and Computer Aided Technology, Inc. application engineer.
The award is presented in recognition of exemplary vision, leadership, and tireless years of service for the advancement of the Additive Manufacturing Users Group.
Mark has a rich AM history that spans nearly three decades. In that time, he has touched the professional lives of countless individuals with his training, application support and application development.
Mark has also tirelessly served the AMUG community in roles such as vice president, secretary and advisor. He is a friend to all that he meets and is always there and willing to do whatever is needed. He is also ready and willing to share to help others.
Mark Abshire (left) receives President’s Award from Mark Barfoot.
Ten New DINOs
Congratulations to the ten recipients of the DINO (Distinguished INnovator Operator) award. This year’s recipients of this coveted and prestigious honor average nearly 20 years of experience in additive manufacturing. But as you are aware, tenure isn’t enough to get a DINO; you have to give back to the community and the industry, as these ten people have done.
- Andrew Allshorn, At 3D-Squared, Ltd.
- Ben Dolan, UC Irvine
- Vito Gervasi, Milwaukee School of Engineering
- Elizabeth Goode, GoodeInk
- Mike Hascher, Eagle Engineered Solutions Inc.
- Joe Holland, Hyphen
- Bonnie Meyer, Stratasys
- Todd Reese, Realize, Inc.
- Dan Welker, Yazaki North America
- Jack Ziemba, Aristo-Cast, Inc.
Top (left to right): Andrew Allshorn, Ben Dolan, Vito Gervasi, Elizabeth Goode, Mike Hascher
Bottom (left to right): Joe Holland, Bonnie Meyer, Todd Reese, Dan Welker, Jack Ziemba
Winners of the Technical Competition
Congratulations to Alan Guyan of Under Armour and Andrew Sliwa of Custom Prototypes Inc. They brought home the top prizes in the Technical Competition.
Alan’s winning entry for the Advanced Concepts category was the UA Architech performance training shoe. This limited production footwear features 3D-printed midsoles that combine both support and cushioning. The generative design of the midsoles, which are printed using selective laser sintering, was crafted using Autodesk’s Within software. To learn more, watch Gizmondo’s video.
Andrew’s winning entry for Advanced Finishing was a recreation of Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night.” This 3/4-scale replica is entirely 3D printed using stereolithography. Custom Prototypes’ talented staff then hand painted and aged the artwork and frame to create the remarkable piece. To see how it was done, watch the company’s video.
The runner up for Advanced Concepts was Vince Anewenter (Milwaukee School of Engineering), and third place was taken by Phill Dickens (Added Scientific, Inc.).
The runner up for Advanced Finishing was Todd Reese (Realize, Inc.), and third place was taken by Heather Tackett (Scicon Technologies Corp).
2016 Conference – By the Numbers
This year’s conference was a success when measured by any number. It also showed significant growth across the board.
- Attendees: 1,061 (+39%)
- First-year attendees: 526 (+21%)
- Registrations: 1,281 (+44%)
- Countries: 24
- US states: 41
- Exhibitors: 102 (+33%)
By the numbers it was a success, but that data doesn’t tell the whole story. The important measure is how much the attendees enjoyed the conference. Our survey (to be emailed soon) will provide that measure, but from the comments at the conference, it seems that one word sums it up: “Great”.
Thank you to all that made it a great event. This includes you, as an attendee, because what is at the core of the greatness is the friendly environment where all are willing to share. As Joe Strauss said, “This is the friendliest technical conference on the planet.”
Sponsor News – Concept Laser
NextGen Spaceframe Combines Lightweight Construction and Flexibility
In a joint project, EDAG Engineering GmbH (Wiesbaden, DE), Laser Zentrum Nord GmbH (Hamburg, DE), Concept Laser GmbH (Lichtenfels, DE) and the BLM Group (Cantù, IT) created the bionically optimized spaceframe produced by hybrid manufacturing. The project highlights a new way in which a bodywork concept, which is adaptable and can be manufactured flexibly, can be delivered while making the increasing range of different vehicles manageable in spite of the large number of different drives systems and load stages.
Additively manufactured bodywork nodes and intelligently processed profiles are combined. Thanks to additive manufacturing, the nodes can be configured to be highly flexible and multifunctional so that, for example, different versions of a vehicle can be produced “on demand” without any additional tooling, equipment and start-up costs.
READ MORE here.
Functionally integrated, bionically optimized lightweight vehicle structure manufactured flexibly.
Sponsor News – Renishaw
Thank You from Renishaw
Renishaw would like to thank all AMUG attendees for taking the time to visit its AMUGexpo suite and talks at the AMUG Conference. The team would also like to thank the AMUG volunteers who work tirelessly to make the event a resounding success, proven by over 1,000 users attending this year.
An international, expert team from Renishaw participated in AMUG and reported that it was an extremely valuable and rewarding week, with an excellent mix of presentation and networking time.
Talks conducted by Diamond Sponsor Renishaw proved popular. They included Paul Campton, laser expert and principal development engineer, presenting principles and fundamentals of laser optics, and Lucy Grainger, product marketing engineer, presenting research on multiple powder re-use cycles in AM. The company was also pleased to welcome guest speaker Jim Glover, CEO of Burloak Technologies.
In addition, Renishaw Marketing Manager Robin Weston, who has over a decade of experience in metal AM, took to the Diamond Sponsor panel with other industry experts for an engaging questions and answer session.
Other highlights included the first US presentation of the RenAM 500M metal additive manufacturing system designed for serialized production and software demo of Renishaw’s build preparation software QuantAM. Follow this link for a free demo licence of QuantAM software.
Diamond Sponsor panel with Robin Weston (center), Marketing Manager Renishaw.
Sponsor News – Stratasys
Stratasys Invents 3D printing. Again.
The new Stratasys J750 3D Printer, unveiled at the AMUG Conference, is PolyJet’s fastest full-color, multi-material printer. The Stratasys J750 offers breakthrough versatility and workflow with the widest range of materials and colors. Whole prototypes are rendered in one build with no post-processing, even with rubber or clear components.
The Stratasys J750 also has improved PolyJet print heads, which create finer details and smoother surfaces, and new intuitive software that supports advanced texture mapping and gradients transferred directly from CAD. 3D printing prototypes, surgical-planning models, teaching aids or customized manufacturing tools is fast with few to no material changeovers.
Test your skills at distinguishing 3D printed models from fresh food and handmade works of art at www.stratasys.com/j750/game. Browse an interactive history of 3D printing that puts the new system in context at www.stratasys.com/j750/history.
The Stratasys J750 renders complex patterns, textures, gradients and full color directly from CAD.
Sponsor News – Somos
Thanks for a Great Show!
It was great meeting with everyone at the AMUG Conference in St. Louis. We were happy to see old friends and meet so many new people in the industry. AMUG is doing a fantastic job of bringing everyone together, and we’re glad to have been a part of it from the beginning.
We hope you got to meet with one of our representatives during the AMUGexpo and attend one of the many presentations in our Diamond Sponsor Suite. If you would like to know more or have any questions, please visit our website or send us an email at info.somos@dsm.com.
The Somos team at the AMUGexpo.
Sponsor News – ExOne
ExOne at 2016 AMUG Conference
Thank you to all of this year’s attendees for a great AMUG Conference and an especially big thank you to our customers for participating in our user group!
We were excited to offer, as a first time Diamond Level Sponsor, several informative sessions throughout the week. Here’s a quick recap of our week at the AMUG Conference:
- Eric Bono from Puris opened the conference with a presentation about Puris’s approach to creating the largest titanium part using the ExOne® M-Print™.
- Shaw Feng from NIST discussed measurements methods for evaluating binder jetting systems with a focus on ExOne’s X1-Lab™.
- ExOne Sales Manager Gabe Doman taught attendees about considerations for ExOne Binder Jetting technology.
- David Crenshaw from Alfred University and Jesse Blacker from ExOne presented printing ceramics on ExOne Systems.
- Scott Chapman from Applied Technology Integration presented with Bob Wood from ExOne on utilizing ExOne technology to break free from traditional manufacturing constraints.
- ExOne Service Team Lead David Miller conducted a workshop on adjusting process settings on ExOne metal systems.
- Virginia Tech’s Dr. Druschitz and ExOne Director of Marketing and Business Development John Baliotti presented methods and cost savings of combining parts.
- Jesse Blacker from ExOne discussed the washout tooling process and capabilities.
In addition to presentations, ExOne conducted a user group on Wednesday.
If you missed a presentation or would like additional information, please contact ExOne’s AMUG organizer Linda Crum at linda.crum@exone.com.
Look for us at the upcoming trade shows:
- Ceramics Expo: Booth 326
- OTC: Booth 9633
- Rapid: Booth 321
David Crenshaw from Alfred University presenting about ceramics at the 2016 AMUG Conference.
Sponsor News – 3D Systems
Showcasing New Tech at AMUG Conference
3D Systems celebrated 30 years of innovation as a Diamond Sponsor of this year’s AMUG Conference, where the company showcased a full range of its end-to-end 3D technology. Dedicated to advancing customer applications through evolutions in capability, a major highlight of 3D Systems’ presence was its SLAbot-2 demonstration, a Stereolithography (SLA) module derived from the original SLA patent filed by Chuck Hull in 1984. Dubbed “Figure 4” technology, this 3D printing configuration is designed to enable ultra-fast, modular, additive manufacturing for the automated manufacturing environment. Hull, the company’s co-founder and chief technology officer, was at the conference and shared the company’s vision for this and other technologies. Watch a video to learn more about how 3D Systems is revolutionizing additive manufacturing with Figure 4 from the individuals who have been honing this technology for the past three decades.
3D Systems’ display also featured Direct Metal Printing on the ProX DMP 320 and a diverse program of in-depth discussions on the latest developments in additive manufacturing and digital design.
More information on Figure 4 can be found here.
Figure 4 uses 3D printing modules and robots to process products.
TCT + Personalize
Post AMUG Blues
Team TCT has now finally reassembled after AMUG, and the magazine side is currently busy getting the latest European Edition to print. It features a look at some of the best things we saw at AMUG 2016, including Assistant Editor Laura Griffiths’ look into Carbon’s technology; Editor Daniel O’Connor’s look at Xjet’s interesting technology reveal and an in-depth look at the creation of the Technical Competition Winner in Advanced Concepts. Make sure that you subscribe to get your free copy.
TCT also announced some pretty major news shortly after returning from AMUG — a strategic alliance with the SME to produce the 2017 edition of the annual RAPID 3D manufacturing event. This is a partnership combining decades of experience to accelerate the adoption and advancement of 3D technologies in the U.S.
Lite-On Integrates 3D Printing of Electronics into Mass Production
ENGINEERING.com
The 3D printing of individual components has developed at a rapid rate, but the end game for the technology is not just the additive manufacturing of end parts for use in our everyday lives but the 3D printing of functional objects. That can only be accomplished when the technology is sufficiently evolved to 3D print more than just plastic and metal parts and we see the widespread implementation of 3D printing dynamic materials, such as electronics.
Optomec, based out of Albuquerque, N.M., is one of the few companies with a platform capable of 3D printing electronics through the use of their proprietary Aerosol Jet technology, and one of its customers, Lite-On Mobile Mechanical SBG, has just announced the use of this unique printing process in the mass manufacturing of end parts.
With five-axis motion, the Aerosol Jet 5X system is specially engineered to spray nanomaterials, including conductive inks, dielectrics, plastics and adhesives, onto a given substrate, which can be flat or nonplanar.
Read the entire article at ENGINEERING.com.
More on Engineering.com
About AMUG
AMUG is an organization that educates and advances the uses and applications of additive manufacturing technologies. AMUG members include those with any commercial additive manufacturing/3D printing technologies from companies such as Stratasys, Somos, Concept Laser, SLM Solutions, EOS, ExOne, Renishaw, Carbon, Arcam, envisionTEC, HP Inc., Prodways and 3D Systems. AMUG meets annually to provide education and training through technical presentations on processes and new technologies. This information addresses operation of additive manufacturing equipment and the applications that use the parts they make.
Connect with members on the organization’s website and LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, and YouTube networks.
Metal Additive Manufacturing Magazine at AMUG Conference
Metal Additive Manufacturing Magazine
Metal AM magazine was extremely excited to attend the AMUG Conference for the first time. Delegates were given a copy of our latest issue in their welcome packs, and we were thrilled with the feedback that we received throughout the event.
The AMUG Conference is truly unique in the AM events calendar, successfully combining innovative and enjoyable networking opportunities with informative presentations and hands-on access to the latest metal AM technology.
The team at Metal AM congratulates the organizers of the conference, all of whom volunteer their time and expertise, and we look forward to wholeheartedly supporting the event as it continues to evolve to meet he needs of the users of additive manufacturing technology.
- To download the current issue of Metal AM magazine in PDF format click here.
- Download our back issues! Visit our free to access digital archive.
