AMUG Newsletter November 2017

President’s Report

I am off to Germany to attend formnext powered by TCT. There I (and our chairman, Gary Rabinovitz) will be spreading the word about AMUG, meeting with AMUG supporters and chatting with members new and old. I always enjoy seeing my extended AMUG family, which is truly global. In preparation, I have been practicing my German and have one phrase committed to memory: “ein bier bitte.”

Although I have been active with AMUG for years, in my role as president I am seeing the AMUG Board and all that it does in a whole new light. Each year the users group has grown significantly, which translates to a larger workload for the board. Even with the best planning, there are plenty of fires to put out. I’m lucky to have a strong, seasoned team that can adapt and take on new tasks to keep everything moving forward. Rest assured that the board will handle all of the background functions to make the conference feel like a simple gathering of AM geeks and to build a fantastic event.

One of those functions is building an agenda of speakers. We’ve asked you to consider submitting an abstract in the past two newsletters. I am going to make it a third. We already have a big pool of speaker candidates, but we need more. Please visit www.amug.com/tracks-categories/ to view the tracks and then reach out to the appropriate track leader. Your contribution will add to the conversation, making the conference, once again, the best place to learn how to be successful in this crazy, fast-paced industry.

I was warned that time would pass quickly, and now that I am president, I find that it’s moving even faster than I could have expected. The holiday season is just around the corner, which means that a new year will be soon upon us, and that means that the AMUG conference will be here before we know it.

2018 Diamond Sponsor Receptions

For the 2018 AMUG Conference, we will once again offer our Diamond Sponsors the opportunity to host customer receptions. However, to keep everyone together during the conference, these receptions will be scheduled for Sunday, April 8, 2018, at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark between the hours of 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm.

The hotels will only accept meeting or event arrangements made through AMUG, so please coordinate your receptions through us. We will accept reception requests through December 15. As in the past, AMUG will provide the venue at no cost, but all food and beverage, as well as AV, is to be covered by the sponsor.  Please respond to chairman@amug.com for additional information.

Favorite Recipes Wanted

At the 2017 AMUG Conference, we put together a “family dinner” on the last night of the event. It was well received, and the food was great. The concept was to allow AMUG attendees to taste favorite family recipes from around the world. We sampled Kim Killoran’s cabbage rolls (great-grandmother), Frank Marangell’s lasagna (grandmother), and Vito Buffa’s pasta en carozza (mother).

The family dinner was so successful that we will repeat it at the 2018 AMUG Conference. Here’s how it works: you submit a favorite family recipe with a short description of the origin of the recipe (mom’s, grandmother’s, etc.) and a memory or two related to the dish (what it reminds you of). Tom Sorovetz, event manager, and Chef Russel of the Union Station Hotel, will then pick a few recipes to be prepared and shared on Thursday, April 12.

With the holiday season nearly upon us, we thought that it would be sensible to put out this request now. As you gather with family and friends over a fine meal, please give some thought to a favorite recipe and the fond memories it brings forth. Jot down the details and send them, with the requested description, to Tom Sorovetz at EventManager@amug.com.

Sponsors & Exhibitors

We are very pleased with the early, proactive engagement of our sponsors and exhibitors for the 2018 conference. This support has led to a sellout of our top two sponsorship levels, Diamond and Platinum, and an AMUGexpo floorplan that is nearing its maximum capacity. To see who is supporting the conference, visit www.amug.com/sponsors/. For a listing of exhibitors, visit www.amug.com/amugexpo/.

The AMUG team will be working with the sponsors and exhibitors over the coming weeks for space selection. We will then publish an interim floorplan on our website for your review.

Should prospective or current sponsors/exhibitors need assistance, please contact our vice presidents, Jamie Cone and Carl Dekker, at VicePresident@amug.com.

Unlocking Innovation with GrabCAD Voxel Print

The GrabCAD Voxel Print utility on the Stratasys J750 lets users control the physical characteristics of 3D printed models down to the individual voxel level (short for volumetric pixel). Most additive technology is limited by the design tool and available materials, only working in polygons layer by layer. But GrabCAD Voxel Print on the Stratasys J750 lets users exercise control of designs at the voxel level outside of CAD, with access to more materials than any other printer.

GrabCAD Voxel Print gives users access to multi-material deposition, orientation and precise control of structural aesthetics with exact-match color mapping, interior-properties control and fabrication-aided design/digital material management.

Learn more at stratasys.com/software.

GrabCAD Voxel Print gives users access to structural aesthetics with exact-match color mapping, and much more.

Giving New Hope with Revolutionary 3D Printed Prosthetics

When Michael Fine lost his arm in a terrible car accident, things seemed very bleak. It looked even worse when he received his first prosthetic arm – it was expensive, heavy and basically unusable. It was his own son’s ingenuity and passion for engineering, together with support from Somos®, that brought a surprising and heartwarming change.

Read more here.

Michael Fine, and son, with his new 3D-printed prosthetic.

SLM Solutions Signs Cooperation Agreement with Authentise

Aiming to integrate real-time production data from SLM Solutions’ selective laser melting machines into Authentise’s 3Diax software platform, the SLM Solutions Group and Authentise have signed a cooperation agreement to help customers expand additive manufacturing capacities through greater efficiency, transparency and quality in deploying their systems. The integration will enable users to evaluate real-time production data to automate process flows critical to series production.

Read more here.

GE Additive – One Year Later

GE Additive is committed to leading the industry through world-class additive machines, materials and services—accelerating innovations across industries and helping the world work smarter, faster and more efficiently. The results after 12 months are amazing:

• Doubled workforce up to 1100 employees … still growing.
• Expanded machine production capacity by more than a factor of 2.
• Shipped a record number of machines.
• Invested more than $250M in research, development and new technologies.
• Built new facilities and broke ground for additional ones.
• Supported over 400 schools and universities with new equipment and education.

More to come… ge.com/additive.

HP Accelerates Path to Industrial 3D Manufacturing with New Solutions

HP Inc. expanded its 3D printing portfolio with the announcement of the new HP Jet Fusion 3D 4210 Printing Solution.  Designed for industrial-scale 3D manufacturing environments, the new solution significantly lowers overall operating costs while increasing production volume capabilities, raising the “break-even point” for large-scale 3D manufacturing to up to 110,000 parts and enabling the industry’s lowest cost-per-part – up to 65% less than other 3D printing methods.

Existing Jet Fusion customers can pre-order the 3D 4210 Printing Solution upgrade today, and new customers can purchase Jet Fusion systems with the option to pre-order the upgrade.

HP also announced the expansion of its innovative Open Materials Platform with new partners and three new materials Learn more here.

HP 3D High Reusability PA 11 sample

3D Systems Unveils Next Generation of Additive Manufacturing Solutions

At a 3D Systems Launch Event in early November, the company announced several new offerings that significantly strengthen the ability of 3D Systems’ customers to address and accelerate their applications across industries. The announcement included new production plastic and metal materials, the expansion of 3D Systems’ leading suite of software, and the next generation of 3D printing systems to enable customers to scale from prototyping to production using the same materials. The company is also introducing 3D Systems Professional Services to deliver a range of consultative services, implementation, and uptime services, among other offerings.

Visit 3dsystems.com for more information, or listen to a replay of the event webcast.

DMP 8500 factory solution floor plan.

Carbon Introduces New 3D Printing Silicone and Biocompatibility of Six Other Materials

Carbon introduced its new silicone material (SIL 30), a soft, tear-resistant, biocompatible resin, opening up AM applications for a range of medical and consumer products such as headphones, wristbands, and other attachments for wearables. The company worked with NAMSA, a leader in biocompatibility testing, to certify SIL 30 as well as six additional Carbon resins, including cyanate ester (CE 220), two rigid polyurethanes (RPU 61, RPU 70), elastomeric polyurethane (EPU 40), epoxy (EPX 81), and urethane methacrylate (UMA 90). Multiple biocompatible resins will be used in medical device manufacturing – another industry that has seen significant benefits from using 3D printing.

For more information on Carbon’s innovative materials, visit www.carbon3d.com/materials.

The new SIL 30 is a biocompatible silicone material.

NEW: EOS P 500 for Industrial 3D Printing of Polymers

True industrial 3D printing technology is here – the EOS P 500. The new system addresses customers in need of a machine to mass produce polymer parts on an industrial scale, without sacrificing premium part quality. The EOS P 500 provides high efficiency at a low cost-per-part, comes automation ready, and can process polymer materials requiring operating temperatures of up to 300 °C. Double your build rate, maximize machine uptime, process new materials, and take your process monitoring digital with the new EOS P 500 – the only polymer 3D printing system enabling mass production.

Read the full press release here.

The new P 500 system.

BASF Showcasing at formnext 2017

Continuing with the momentum gathered from AMUG 2017 and the recent announcements, BASF will be part of formext, November 14-17 in Frankfurt, Germany. Come visit us at booth 3.1-F20.

To learn more or to schedule a meeting with one of our experts during the event, please contact us at 3d-printing@basf.com.

Formlabs 3D Printers Power Hybrid VFX for Stranger Things

Prototyping isn’t just for product designers and engineers: bringing nightmarish monsters and imaginative worlds to life requires rigorous design iteration. Aaron Sims Creative (ASC) used the Formlabs Form 2 to help bring Stranger Things season 1’s Demogorgon to the screen. ASC made a case for a hybrid approach between physical effects and CGI that would allow the show to achieve the ’80s sci-fi look they wanted without sacrificing certain moments from the plot. See how the studio brought the Demogorgon from sketch to screen in Formlabs’ behind-the-scenes video and blog post.

Creating Demogorgon from Stranger Things.

International Expansion Begins

Desktop Metal announced it will begin accepting international pre-orders of its metal 3D printing system, the Studio System™, from companies throughout Europe, Asia Pacific, Canada and Mexico. To support its international expansion plans, Desktop Metal has forged strategic partnerships with authorized Desktop Metal international resellers to begin pre-selling its Studio System throughout Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom, with availability beginning in mid-2018, and it plans to expand more broadly throughout Europe and APAC. Availability of the Studio System will vary by country, and interested buyers should visit www.desktopmetal.com/international for more information.

International pre-orders being accepted on the Studio System.

Meet the Modern Foundry

Hazleton Casting Company augments its traditional foundry operations with a robotic sand 3D printing system that creates molds for metal castings. We report on our visit to Hazelton in the latest issue of Additive Manufacturing magazine. Also in this issue: A 3D-printable metal matrix composite (MMC) from Elementum 3D extends the range of applications for MMCs into highly complex forms, and Forecast 3D, an early adopter of HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology, shares how it sees this technology as an alternative to injection molding for part volumes in the tens of thousands.

Subscribe to AM here.

DEVELOP3D Magazine | The November Issue

Boom Aerospace is resurrecting supersonic air travel with only a fraction of the resources Concorde used.

Read about the role 3D printing and the latest simulation technologies are playing in its development – plus more, including an expert guide to Topology Optimization, and a Q+A with Added Scientific about helping SMEs overcome barriers to adopting AM.

Download the full magazine for free.

From R&D to Production in Winter 2018 3D Metal Printing

Argonne National Laboratory, with its Advanced Photon Source (APS), produces high-brilliance X-ray beams. In the winter 2018 issue of 3D Metal Printing, find out how researchers are using the APS to better understand how lasers adhere metal powder to substrate. This research promises to boost the performance of AM models.

And, we’ll explore AM automated-finishing technology, and take readers along as we tour AM production and R&D operations. Read all 3DMP issues at www.3dmpmag.com.

Explore fully automated finishing in the latest issue.

Frankfurt Bound

We’ve put the finishing touches on the final issue of TCT Magazine in 2017 (subscribe here) and are set to head off to formnext powered by TCT, which will be in full swing by the time you’re reading this. We’ve got the entire editorial team on the show floor in Frankfurt covering an anticipated avalanche of announcements. Catch up on what you have missed and keep up-to-date with what you haven’t by checking out our dedicated formnext section.

Attendees at last year’s formnext powered by TCT  show.

Sharing Expert Knowledge

3Dprintingindustry.com (3DPI) is very proud to join AMUG as a media partner for 2018.

We’ve recently started a new series of interviews looking at trends in additive manufacturing for end-use production. These articles join our long-running feature focused on the the future of 3D printing. So far almost 100 leading enterprises have provided perspectives on these two important themes – and we’d like AMUG members to join us.

To mark 3DPI joining AMUG as a media partner, we’re inviting new insights from across the industry, contributing to our platform for sharing expert knowledge with a wider audience.

CAASE Event to Launch with Additive Manufacturing Track

Digital Engineering (DE) and NAFEMS Americas present CAASE, the Conference on Advancing Analysis & Simulation in Engineering, June 5-7, 2018, in Cleveland, Ohio. One of the four themes is Making the CAASE for Advancing Manufacturing Processes & Additive Manufacturing, focusing on simulation’s role in fulfilling the promise of additive manufacturing—from lightweighting through generatively designed parts and internal lattices, to reduced part complexity and on-the-fly material customization. But, like any manufacturing process, simulation methodologies are needed before additive manufacturing can reach its full industrial manufacturing potential.

Early-bird registration discounts are available now.