President’s Report
Gary Rabinovitz
President
With just a handful of days until we kick off the 2012 AMUG Conference — with our first sold-out Exhibitor Expo on Sunday evening, April 22, 2012 — I would like to wish everyone safe travels to Costa Mesa, California. The finishing touches are being made, and your board will not rest until every detail has been taken care of. It has been a real pleasure working with this hard-working, dedicated group of individuals over the past year.
Please be sure to arrive Monday morning for breakfast at 7:30 AM as you will not want to miss a minute of the opening address and welcome video that will kick off at 8:00 AM sharp.
The annual business meeting takes place on Wednesday morning at 8:00 AM, and it is very important that you attend this meeting. We will be electing new officers for the 2013 AMUG board, and your vote is important. We will also have several very important announcements at that time pertaining to the 2013 Conference site as well as several changes to the by-laws.
In closing, I would like to encourage anyone wishing to register, but has not yet done so, to please use our on-site registration. I look forward to meeting each and every one of you in a few days.
Best Regards,
Gary Rabinovitz
AMUG President
Our Mission: AMUG educates and advances the uses and applications of additive manufacturing technologies.
VP Report
Mark Abshire
Past Vice President
Board Elections
It has been an exciting transition for AMUG over the past year, and I am proud to have been a part of it, serving once again as the AMUG vice president. Your AMUG board is made up of volunteers with a passion for the industry and commitment to passing that passion on to others.
At our upcoming AMUG business meeting, we will be electing officers to the board for the coming year. If you share the passion, consider running for a position.
I will take a moment to give you a brief idea of the duties required of the vice president’s office. Obviously, assisting and supporting the president is foremost, but other primary duties include seeking sponsors and organizing exhibitors. This effort is fundamental in keeping registration fees low and keeping the conference budget in the black.
If you have a desire to serve on the board, I encourage you to participate. But please make sure that you ask for your company’s management support before accepting a nomination at the business meeting.
Once again, it has been my pleasure to serve on the 2012 board to make this conference a successful event.
Mark Abshire
Vice President
2012 Sponsors
Sponsor News – Stratasys
Stop and see Stratasys!
Come and learn about the latest advanced applications and best practices using Stratasys’ Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology. Engage with the experts on this technology, including Stratasys engineers and customers who are using these systems every day.
Stratasys breakout presentations include:
FDM Fundamentals: What you need to know about this often-copied technology.
The Accuracy Myth: Does high resolution equal high accuracy?
Materials Make the Difference: Learn about FDM materials and why you need real thermoplastics to make real parts.
Factory Floor Efficiencies: How to create jigs and fixtures for efficient production lines.
Building Large Parts: Learn tips and tricks to build large parts with fine feature detail – FAST.
DDM for Tooling: Learn how to create metal and composite fabrication tools fast and inexpensively.
DDM for End-Use Parts: With FDM materials you can make production parts for robotics, interior components and more.
Packaging: Using FDM with paper pulp and thermoforming provides simple, efficient and cost-effective packaging.
Metal Forming: Eliminate the traditional obstacles of producing dies or form tools with FDM.
Composite Layups with FDM: Use FDM to produce soluble cores for composite layups – reduce lead time and labor.
Sand Casting: FDM materials can withstand the rigors of sand casting for a faster, less expensive solution.
Investment Casting: FDM provides an alternative for producing investment casting patterns that can cut both time and cost.
Sealing and Bonding FDM Parts: Take advantage of cost savings, design freedoms and lead time advantages by sealing and bonding FDM parts.
Advanced Insight Training: Learn advanced techniques to get the most out of this powerful software.
Sponsor News – Objet
Conference Lineup
While you are at the conference, make sure to stop by our demo suite where we will have our top people on hand (and systems, too) to answer questions and offer guidance.
And don’t miss our presentations. We’ve put together a lineup that will help users and non-users alike.
Keynote: Multi-material, 3D Printing and the Digital Material Revolution
Objet Printers for Non-Objet Users
ABS-like World of New Applications
CAD Design Workshop
Latest Digital Materials
Clear Applications
Composite Materials Applications
Aerodynamics Applications
Customer Support Offerings
Injection Molding
Eden to Connex Upgradeability
Hands-on Machine Maintenance
We also have two of our customers presenting. Jason Lopes (Legacy Effects) will give you an insider’s view of the movie magic for “Real Steel” as he describes how he brought robots to life. Mark Barfoot and Joe Holland (Christie Digital) then step up to offer tips and tricks for using a Connex 3D printer.
The Sorovetz Report
Tom Sorovetz
Event Manager
Well, zero hour is only days away, so I sure hope everyone is registered for the conference and the hotel. If you have had issues booking your room at the $115.00 per night rate, it is because you missed the March 19th deadline. I can’t promise anything, but if you send me your confirmation number (eventmanager@am-ug.com), I will do my best to have the rate changed.
If you are bringing a guest who is into shopping, please see me at the Conference because I have some VIP passes to Access at the South Coast Plaza. Also, as a reminder, you still have time to purchase Disneyland tickets at a discounted rate. Visit our website for the link.
As a reminder, once you are on site, I will be available as the liaison between the hotel and the group. So, if there is anything you need, please let me know so I can help.
See you in Costa Mesa,
Thomas A. Sorovetz
From the Editor
Todd Grimm
Editor
The wheels are in motion. All that is left for your board to do is manage the events and activities to make sure everything goes smoothly and that everyone has a positive, enjoyable experience.
Twelve months of hard work comes down to five days that will be over before you know it.
For you, we have five tasks to assign:
- Travel safe
- Absorb everything
- Build your network
- Vote at the business meeting
- Have fun and enjoy the conference
See you there.
Todd Grimm
Editor
About AMUG
3DS Users Group has become AMUG, an organization that educates and advances the uses and applications of additive manufacturing technologies. The transition to AMUG supports the expansion of the user group to include all commercial additive manufacturing technologies for companies such as 3D Systems, EOS, Objet Geometries, Stratasys and Z Corporation. AMUG meets annually to provide a forum for technical presentation on processes and new technologies. This information addresses operation of additive manufacturing equipment and the applications that use the parts they make.
