AMUG Newsletter February 2012

President’s Report

Gary Rabinovitz
AMUG President

As I sit here in front of my computer contemplating the next words I will be typing, my mind is wandering in many different directions. Are we on course for the best agenda that we can possibly put together, are all of the logistics in place and is all of our marketing effort getting to the people that we need to reach? That’s just the doubter in me; I believe the answer to these questions and many more like it are an astounding yes!!!

The Exhibitor Expo on Sunday and Monday has 43 of 50 tables taken, well ahead of projections. The agenda slots are 75% full, and we are at 50% of our hotel room nights commitment. Our attendee registrations are up 60% from the same time period last year.  Please believe that these numbers are not “fabricated,” and that if you want to be an exhibitor, presenter or an attendee, the time to make these decisions in now!

With just 67 days until our April 22nd inaugural AMUG users meeting, there is still a great deal of planning to be done. The AMUG Executive Board continues to push the envelope and has worked tirelessly over the past ten

AMUG participant award

months to make sure that everyone attending this year will not leave disappointed. I want to thank each one of you for your passion and commitment to this effort. I am blessed to have you all on the team. Yet, we are always looking for on-site volunteers, so if you want to lend a hand, please drop me a note at president@am-ug.com.

With our new name

and identity also comes a new look for our materials.The picture (right) shows a sampling of what you will be seeing handed out throughout the AMUG meeting.  All presenters and participants will be receiving this acrylic memento in our appreciation.

A working agenda has been added to our website, so please check back often to see who has been added.

In closing I would like to encourage all attendees to register ASAP so that we can continue to plan accordingly for the best users group conference of all time.  Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions, concerns or things you would like to see at the 2012 AMUG Conference.

Best Regards,

Gary Rabinovitz

AMUG President

president@am-ug.com

Our Mission: AMUG educates and advances the uses and applications of additive manufacturing technologies.

VP Report

Mark Abshire
Vice President

Exhibitor Expo

The Exhibitor Expo for 2012 is already promising to be exciting. We are adding sponsors and exhibitors daily, and exhibition space is filling up fast.

In addition to our major OEM sponsors, Objet and Stratasys, displaying their equipment, we have many more suppliers to the industry exhibiting products and services. Here’s what we have for you so far:

Again, exhibition space is filling up fast. If you or a company you know would benefit from our Exhibitor

Scott Schermer
Vice President

Expo, I encourage you to register soon at our website (www.am-ug.com) or contact us for more info at vicepresident@am-ug.com. Don’t hesitate!

Mark Abshire
Scott Schermer
Vice Presidents

2012 Sponsors

Fishing Excursion

Deep Sea Fishing off the California Coast

It’s that AMUG time again. We all begin looking forward to an experience that is both intellectually and

Kevin Ayers

socially stimulating.

Whenever the conference is close to the ocean, we schedule a deep sea fishing adventure for those able and daring enough to attend. This year, we booked a half-day (five hours) charter with Davey’s Locker in high hopes of catching lots of fish; partaking of some nice noshes and drinks; and making memories and friendships that will last a lifetime.

We never know what we will hook – whether it’s three large red snappers on one line (that was me), a shark (Graham Tromans) or a two-inch shad (Derek Ellis). All we know for sure is that we will have a ball.

And if you catch dinner, event manager and gourmet chef Tom Sorovetz will supervise the preparation of your fish with his own secret recipes.

Never been deep sea fishing before? We will take care of you. The price ($110.00/person) includes transportation from/to the hotel, fishing gear, license, noshes, refreshments, Dramamine and expert assistance to help you land the big one.

To book a spot for the fishing excursion, email me at kayers0516@comcast.netor call (202) 391-2632.

Kevin Ayers

Golf Outing

Bob Dzugan buyCaSTINGS.com

Tustin Ranch Golf Club is a Golfer’s Paradise

The AMUG golf outing unofficially marks the beginning of the conference. And for its 15th year, we have something really special lined up.

Tustin Ranch boasts “Public play…private feel.” Voted “Best Orange County golf course” in 2009, Tustin Ranch is also a multi-year four-star recipient of Golf Digest’s “Places to play.”

Thanks to Tom Sorovetz, event manager, we have a great deal for you. Tustin Ranch’s greens fees are normally $190.00, but Tom negotiated that down to $125.00 and twisted arms to get lunch and driving range access as part of the deal.

Picture playing here!

The outing will be on Saturday, April 21st, with a shotgun start at 11:30 am. Plan to leave the hotel around 10:30 am.

AMUG golfers in Santa Fe, NM

Playing such an upscale course has a downside; we don’t have cash reserves for prizes. To fix that, I hope conference exhibitors, sponsors and participants can donate balls, towels, umbrellas or cash. If you are inclined to do so, contact me so that I can make prize distribution arrangements. Plan to bring the prizes to Tustin Ranch.

Start your conference, and your golf season, off right. Join us for 18 spectacular holes. Register for the outing when you register for the conference or contact me at rdzugan@buyCASTINGS.com or(513) 484-6258.

Bob Dzugan

buyCASTINGS.com

Sponsor News – Stratasys

The Stratasys Blog: Your FDM News Source

The Stratasys Inc. blog is updated often with quick-hit customer success stories, industry perspective from CEO Scott Crump, commentary on additive manufacturing news and now a 3D Printing Question of the Week.

It also alerts readers to new Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) resources like videos, case studies and whitepapers. Visit and subscribe to the Stratasys blog here.

Here’s a peek at what you will find.

Medical-device maker Acist uses FDM to streamline every stage of its product-development cycle, even creating end-use devices on a 3D printer.

Scott Crump: Stratasys Stays Faithful to Engineers

While Stratasys continues to explore all options for future markets, we remain committed to the professional design engineer and manufacturing engineer.

Skate Where the Puck is Going: Toward Additive Manufacturing

Gardner Publishing launched its “Additive Manufacturing” publication with an eye toward manufacturing’s future.

Visit and subscribe to the Stratasys blog here.

Sponsor News – Objet

Piet Meijs Rietveld Architects

Architecture Industry Specialist to Post on Blog

Piet Meijs, senior associate at Rietveld Architects (New York, NY) has joined Objet’s blogging team. Piet, who introduced a paperless workflow supported by 3D printing, will offer his unique insights into the industry and 3D printing applications.

Following is a summary of his first post.

Rietveld Architects acquired an Objet Eden 3D printer in May 2008. Previously, models were made of paper, cardboard and plexi. By having a 3D printing machine in the office, it was able to make many test prints to learn from their mistakes.

The Objet Eden 3D printer delivered on the firm’s primary need, resolution, and that is why it was selected above all others. Early in its evaluation, it assumed that speed and color would be the driving factors in the decision, but it found otherwise.

Speed is always important. However, Rietveld found that its models would take several hours to print on any 3D printer. It realized that models would be printed overnight, so it didn’t matter if a print took 4 hours or 10 hours. With that discovery, print speed became less important.

Color was also an early criterion, but a limited palette didn’t meet its standards. And color distracts from the model’s intent – critiquing design elements, style and layout. So color was a “nice to have” but no longer a requirement.

What remained was resolution. It became the most important factor since architectural models are almost always to scale. It is important that small details are visible and that smooth surfaces are in fact smooth. Layer lines created by a low-resolution 3D printer become amplified in a scale model – they can be as big as a person (to scale)!

After more than three years of operation, Piet remains convinced that the Objet Eden 3D printer was the right choice.

ASTM F42

Carl Dekker
Met-L-Flo Inc.

Recap of Salty Lake City, Utah, Meeting

In an effort to engage new members in the development of standards, beautiful Salt Lake City, Utah (home of the 2002 Winter Olympics) was host to the ASTM F42 winter meeting (January 30 – 31). Being the first standalone venue, the meeting was sponsored by MET-L-FLO Inc. The weather decided to cooperate one week before the event even though the global economy did not. Still, members from three continents turned up, resulting in another active year for additive manufacturing standards development.

Activity since the last meeting included two main committee ballots resulting in new standards. Subcommittee ballot activity was the result of hard work from many people internationally. Pending main committee ballots were discussed in depth, and more standards are anticipated soon. Negative votes were addressed in the subcommittee and the main committee meetings, resulting in still more standards being approved. All of this hard work has produced standards for:

• Terminology
• Titanium (Ti6A14)
• AMF file format
• Test methods

With over 16 active work items, we are sure to see more standards getting published by this amazing group. All of this, in conjunction with expressed support from NIST to help guide this development, shows that critical mass has been achieved.

A consensus to work with more conference venues and secure a place for working on standards was reached. It is anticipated that many more opportunities to engage in the development of standards for additive manufacturing will be available soon. Your participation is encouraged, desired, and requested. Look for more details to be provided at the AMUG Conference in Costa Mesa, California.

These are exciting times for additive manufacturing!

Carl Dekker 

Met-L-Flo Inc. 

Technical Competitions

Tim Gornet
Past President

Show off a little by entering your handiwork in the AMUG Technical Competition. The competition has two categories: advanced concepts and advanced finishing. This competition is open to all; you can use any AM technology or combination of technologies.

For details and entry forms, visit www.am-ug.com//technical-competition.htm.

The competition is tough (do you have what it takes?). Here are a few of last year’s entries.

Tim Gornet
Past President

The Sorovetz Report

Tom Sorovetz
Event Manager

It is 10 weeks from zero hour, and the inaugural AMUG event is really coming together. The executive board is in high gear to make this historic event very memorable. If you have not made your room reservations please do so quickly to guarantee your $115.00 (plus tax) room rate. You can either register online or call the hotel directly at (714) 540-7000.

The Saturday and Sunday pre-conference activities will take place once again. For those who are interested in golfing, please contact Bob Dzugan (rdzugan@buycastings.com) to secure your spot. For those who wish to go deep-sea fishing on Sunday, please contact Kevin Ayers (kayers0516@comcast.net) soon because space is limited.

I have heard a few people are bringing their spouses or guests. However, I have not set up any formal outings for them at this time because I have not heard back from anyone in regards to interest in them. So if your spouse/guest is interested in a group outing, please let me know ASAP.

The Tuesday night Awards Banquet (for those who have never attended) can be inside, outside or both. So please watch the weather prior to your trip and pack accordingly. As always the location is a surprise, so I always suggest a pullover (just in case).

If you haven’t made travel arrangements yet, visit our transportation page for airports and driving directions.

See you in Costa Mesa,

Thomas A. Sorovetz

From the Editor

Todd Grimm
Editor

I am honored and humbled to be invited back as a keynote speaker for this year’s conference.

I love public speaking and accept most requests. But when it comes to AMUG, I don’t hesitate for a moment because I believe in this group and support all that it aims to achieve. On top of that, AMUG Conference attendees are so open and inviting that I really feel at home.

There is a real need for the user-to-user information transfer that AMUG provides. As a reader and writer, I am frustrated by the bold forecasts and overstated claims that offer no actionable information. AMUG is the cure for that malady.

I hope to see you in the audience – no tomatoes, please – ready to absorb information that you will use to get more out of your additive manufacturing technologies.

Todd Grimm
Editor

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