President’s Report
I want to thank everyone that completed our post-conference survey. There are a lot of great responses and suggestions. The board will be going over this input and will do its best to implement or improve as many of these items as we can. If you missed filling out the survey or have any suggestions that came to mind after you submitted, please feel free to send them to me.
As we begin planning for next year, we recognize the need for more volunteer staff to support our efforts. So we have added more members in director and officer roles (see details below). I wish to welcome Gary, Derek, Paul and Mark to our team. We are also planning on filling two more positions as we find the right people to fit those roles. To support the board and officers, we will also create committees to handle specific tasks. For those that said you’d like to help out, be patient; we will be in touch once we have a plan in place.
Next year’s conference is many months away, but we have already started several key initiatives to ensure that we have the group prepared to continue, even as the current executive team passes responsibility to future leaders. We want AMUG to stay strong and have the infrastructure behind it to continue as the group grows and evolves. Our strategy meeting will take place in August — there we will hash out many details — but in the meantime, work is progressing, and I’m excited at what next year’s conference will bring.
Regards,
Mark Barfoot
President
president@am-ug.com
Our Mission: Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) educates and advances the uses and applications of additive manufacturing technologies.
Vice President’s Report
Our best testimonial is when our members tell others about AMUG. That’s exactly what happened in May at our booth during RAPID 2015 in Long Beach, CA.
Countless people came to us during the show, after visiting another vendor, saying, “I was told to come and see you, I need to get engaged with AMUG.” This is exactly how our group grows — one member to another.
In your day-to-day interactions, tell someone the value you get from AMUG. Even better, participate in
the AMUG LinkedIn conversation to strengthen your network while sharing your expertise. Our members are what makes AMUG so unique.
Regards,
Dana Foster & Steve Deak
VicePresident@am-ug.com
Event Manager’s Report
I am currently working on the location for the 2016 AMUG Conference and AMUGexpo. This year we had 765 attendees and over 70 vendors, and we are anticipating close to 1000 attendees in 2016. With the conference growing (which is great) there is additional complexity. This makes it more challenging to find a facility that enables us to keep the close-knit “family reunion” atmosphere while being able to create a very dynamic and educational conference. There are also many aspects of site selection, such as contract negotiations for the room rate, food and beverage cost and audio visual costs, that we consider in order to keep your costs low and your experience positive.
My goal is to have a signed contract before the July newsletter goes out so that I can share all the details with you next month. I apologize if this is causing anyone an inconvenience, however I want to make sure we get the best possible venue and price so we can continue to grow as a group.
Thanks for your patience,
Thomas A. Sorovetz
Event Manager
EventManager@am-ug.com
Officer & Director Appointments
It takes a lot of work to make the AMUG Conference successful, and as we grow, the workload continues to increase. To manage our success, the AMUG board has created four new positions and appointed four long-time supporters to fill these roles.
Prior to the change, the president also served as chairman of the board. Recognizing the demands on our president, the directors appointed Gary Rabinovitz to the board of directors as chairman. Mark Barfoot, president, will continue to be a director.
The four newly created officer positions will carry a deputy vice president title. Paul Bates and Derek Ellis have been appointed to fill two of those four spots. Paul and Derek will work closely with and support your elected vice presidents, Dana Foster and Steve Deak.
The board has also re-appointed Mark Abshire as an advisor, and his role will continue to focus on conference registration.
Photos from AMUG Conference
The gallery of photos from the AMUG Conference is now online. Grab a beverage and kick back while you take a look at nearly 700 pictures that capture the action, camaraderie and fun of the conference.
Sponsor News – Stratasys
Stratasys Goes Big With Spring Product Launches
To meet the demands of today’s manufacturing applications, Stratasys recognizes the needs of printing in high-volume and on a larger scale. Stratasys presents two new product offerings that allow you to print the large jobs you need faster. Streamline your design process, boost production and see a reduction in operating costs.
The Objet1000 Plus offers extra-large print size and accelerated print speed that is 40 percent faster than its predecessor. Mixing materials and maintaining ultra-fine precision makes the Objet1000 Plus a highly versatile production system in the world of large scale 3D printing. “If you need to create industrial 1:1 scale prototypes, large ergonomic production tools or low volumes of small parts – all with the superior surface finish and fine details engineers expect from Stratasys 3D printing – the Objet1000 Plus is the best choice,” says Ron Ellenbogen, Stratasys Product Marketing Director.
Xtend 500 Fortus Plus brings an increase of material volume to the Fortus 3D Production Systems. Xtend 500 contains 500 cubic inches of FDM thermoplastic material, delivering 5 times the output of standard material canisters. Fortus users can expect up to 400 hours of unattended run time. “More time can now be spent on designing parts rather than wondering if the 3D printer is going to run out of material over the weekend,” says Brenden Dillon, Stratasys Product Manager.
Sponsor News – Concept Laser
Celebrating 15 years!
This July will mark Concept Laser’s 15th year of continuous innovation. Since the company’s founding in 2000, Frank Herzog has led Concept Laser’s pioneering developments with numerous patents and the delivery of the industry’s most innovative solutions. Among the solutions brought to market are many “firsts” for achievements in performance and safety. Innovations such as: first to produce fully dense metal parts; first to deliver hot-work steel; first to develop and patent the stochastic (island) strategy; first to the market with reactive powders; developing machines, from the very beginning, according to ATEX guidelines to ensure safety; first to deliver precision clamping systems; first to develop and patent conformally cooled tool inserts for plastic injection molding tools (which we’ve been using in high-volume production since 2001); first to deliver and patent production tool inserts using our hybrid build style; the only company to develop in-house process Quality Modules that use in-situ real-time monitoring as an integrated machine solution; first to deliver the world’s largest build envelope (31.5″ x 16″ x 20″); and first to deliver a machine designed for 24/7 operation using an integrated turntable approach (the X line 1000R and 2000R).
All of these aggressive developments have helped AM transition from a somewhat eccentric method into a true industrial process. And the future is even brighter as we have many new exciting innovations coming in the months and years ahead!
The success of Concept Laser is the combination of innovative engineering, an incredibly strong customer base of global leaders and the company’s dedicated employees worldwide. From inception, Concept Laser has embraced the concept of focusing on customer needs, encouraging employees to do their best, and providing a balanced work-life environment. We would like to thank our customers and employees for their continued support and dedication. It has been a great 15 years, and we look forward to the next 15 years!
Hot Isostatic Pressing Expands 3D Printing into Hot Section Jet Parts
ENGINEERING.com
Alcoa has recently announced an investment of $22 million in a new hot isostatic pressing (HIP) facility located in Muskegon County, Michigan. With the HIP process, the facility will use elevated temperatures and extreme pressures to press powdered products into fully dense, high strength parts.
Read the whole story at ENGINEERING.com.
More news at ENGINEERING.com