AMUG November 2024

President’s Report

The holidays are upon us! I venture to guess that your calendars are filling up…year-end deadlines, last-minute orders, budget meetings, not to mention your personal obligations. This rings true for me…aside from ensuring my end-of-year stays on the rails, I’m juggling family requests, plans, and scheduling to align all of us and meet their expectations, too.

AMUG comes with its own demands at this time of year. We are closing in on some scheduling requirements of our own…closing the speaker submission portal, intake of DINO nominations, intake of AMUgderby entries, intake of Technical Competition entries, the end of the early-bird special for attendee registration (the price has its first incremental jump after December 13), and intake of further sponsorship commitments. The teams continue to connect and build to ensure that AMUG delivers its anticipated impact of creating a conference filled with technical content, opportunities for networking, workshops for hands-on learning/practice, and the opportunity to gain insights from your fellow industry colleagues.

As you juggle your schedule filled with meetings, budgets, travels, and year-end goals…are you registered to ensure you don’t miss AMUG 2025? Are you submitting an abstract for consideration of something to share with the other attendee members in Chicago…perhaps a study you have been a part of, a use-case report of the impact of an additive technology, or a training/workshop where you may share your insight/capabilities with the group? Are you entering the Technical Competition or the AMUGderby to showcase your creativity with peers who undoubtedly appreciate the rigors of creating a showpiece? As a company in the AM storyline, are you bringing your offering to the AMUGexpo to help educate the community on why offering matters?

This last question sparks a thought…for equipment manufacturers, perhaps bringing your machines is too cumbersome or too costly. We understand the need to trim expenditures; we feel the same pressure. How about bringing a component of your system and training the user on its application, how to fix common issues, how to clean or replace, or how to promote longevity of said component? These can be incredibly informative and perhaps even create a more responsible user/operator, decrease machine downtime, or create confidence in a potential buyer. Education-based sales are often very warmly received!

Do you have other thoughts/ideas that you might like to try at AMUG 2025? We are all about you stretching and trying new things! Do you want to discuss them? I love hearing great ideas from our sponsors and collaborating to help bring you the best value for sponsorship. Tell me how I might be helpful to you!

I’m wishing you a peace-filled mind as we roll into the holidays ahead.

Appreciating you,

Shannon VanDeren
President
President@amug.com

Join the AMUG Leadership Team: This is Your Chance to Make a Difference!

Attention AMUG members: Are you ready to take your involvement to the next level and help shape the future of the Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG)? We’re thrilled to announce that nominations are now open for a few AMUG Board of Directors positions. This is your opportunity to contribute your expertise, vision, and passion to a community that thrives on collaboration and shared learning.

Serving on the AMUG Board is not just an honor—it’s a chance to drive the strategic direction of our organization, expand your network with industry leaders, and play an integral role in advancing the AM community.

The open AMUG Board positions for this cycle are:

• Secretary
• Director, Education and Conference
• Director, Marketing and Events
• Director, Sponsors and Exhibitors

Don’t miss this opportunity to be at the forefront of innovation and collaboration within the AMUG community. Nominate yourself today and join a dedicated team committed to shaping the future of AM!

Information on these positions and the nomination/election process is available on AMUG Board of Directors Job Descriptions and Nomination and Election Process.

The deadline to apply is January 24, 2025. If you have any questions, please contact the Nominating Committee at NomCom@amug.com or reach out to any of us on LinkedIn.

The Latest Innovations from Stratasys Showcased at Formnext 2024

Stratasys continues to lead the global shift to AM with innovative 3D printing solutions. Through connected 3D printers, materials, a software ecosystem, and parts on demand, Stratasys solutions deliver competitive advantages at every stage in the product value chain.

Here’s a look at just a few of our recent announcements:

SAF ReLife™ Solution Capable of Repurposing Waste PA12 Powder

This eco-friendly solution can reduce the carbon footprint of manufacturing by up to 89% and significantly lower production costs by repurposing material that would otherwise be waste.

PowderEase™ T1 Post-Processing System

In partnership with AM Solutions by the Rösler Group, the PowderEase™ T1, a 3-in-1 automated post-processing solution for the H350® SAF® printer, simplifies workflows, reduces manual labor, and increases efficiency in powder handling.

Expanded Material Options in FDM® and P3™ Technologies:

The new FDM® PC-ESD material for Fortus systems is tailored for applications requiring electrostatic discharge protection.

The expanded ULTEM™ 9085 resin offerings include a new layer height for Red and Aircraft Gray colors, allowing faster production without compromising quality.

The more than 30 new materials for the Origin® P3™ platform include Ultracur3D RG 3280, a ceramic-filled resin ideal for injection molding tooling.

Voting Now Open: 2024 3D Printing Industry Awards

This wide-ranging survey of the 3D printing ecosystem is encouraging as a barometer for the industry. Nominations from the public and the expert committee were very strong this year. Leading indicators, such as the number of start-ups and nominations received in related categories, such as innovation, exceeded previous years.

The 3D Printing Industry Awards celebrate excellence in AM. The nominees are considered the best of the best, and reaching the shortlist is no simple task.

Take a look at the 2024 3D Printing Industry Awards shortlist, and if you wish, vote!

Looking ahead to 2025, you are invited to join the 3DPI Expert Committee, help us select the winners, and network with peers.

Connect to the Global Metal AM Industry

As the only international media platform solely focused on metal AM, we attract a unique and rapidly growing global audience (56% Americas, 30% Europe, 14% Asia/ROW) of metal AM professionals, current and future AM users, researchers, and more.

Metal AM’s 45,000+ social media followers (of which 36,000+ are on LinkedIn, and growing at nearly 500 monthly), combined with 9,000+ email newsletter subscribers and 13,500+ LinkedIn newsletter subscribers, means that we have the most engaged and focused audience in the metal AM industry.

Discover how we can keep your business in the spotlight of our global audience by advertising with us in 2025. Contact jon@inovar-communications.com to learn more.

Follow us on LinkedIn.

Pick Up the Latest 3D ADEPT Mag at Formnext 2024

When we purchase a product (understand “solution”), we’re essentially “hiring” it to perform a specific task. If it does the job well, we’re likely to choose it again the next time we face the same task. But if it fails to meet our expectations, we “fire” it and search for a better option.

The strategy behind such a process comes from the “job to be done theory,” and it can be applied to everything. While this theory of innovation may be obvious to be applied by AM technologies’ providers, we’ve tried to understand what it may look like for AM users. The stories of Pratt & Whitney, Airbus Helicopters, and other dossiers aim to help you answer one question: What jobs do you need AM to do?

We share all of this and more with you in the September/October edition of 3D ADEPT Mag. If you are at Formnext 2024, stop by our stand (Hall 12.1, D81) to pick up a physical copy of this edition.

7 Free AM Simulation Tools You Might Not Know

Simulation is an essential tool in AM, with numerous options available from the largest engineering software companies. Of course, advanced engineering software doesn’t come cheap, and it’s not always easy to persuade management to shell out for yet another tool, no matter how essential it may seem.

That’s why we created this list of seven free simulation tools that may have flown under your radar but are nevertheless worth considering, especially if you’re having difficulty loosening the corporate purse strings.

Discover these free simulation tools here.

Aerospace AM Market Worth $1.6 Billion in 2023, Driven by End-users

The aerospace AM market was valued at $1.6 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow rapidly, driven by the increasing adoption of AM technologies in aviation, space, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). VoxelMatters’ new report provides an in-depth analysis, segmenting the market by materials—metals, polymers, and ceramics—and by product categories like hardware, materials, and service parts.

The dominant segment, metal AM, accounted for 62% of the market ($978 million), fueled by robust growth in civil and military aviation. Polymer AM, comprising 36.9% of the market, saw particular success in UAV applications, while ceramic AM remains niche, driven mainly by civil space applications.

In terms of market segments, end-user demand from companies manufacturing parts in-house grew significantly, representing 45.5% of total revenue at $718 million. Hardware sales contributed $370 million, while services and materials, the smaller segments, also showed notable growth. Civil and military aviation were the top sub-verticals for metal AM, while polymer AM saw the highest adoption in UAVs. This maturing market, heavily driven by end-users, reflects a growing reliance on AM for creating efficient, valuable aerospace components, positioning AM to expand further into civil and military sectors by 2033.

Get more detailed information here or purchase the report here.

AM Summit 2024 Focuses on Sustainable 3D Printing

3DPrint.com was on the ground at the AM Summit 2024 in Copenhagen, which brought together over 1,000 professionals to explore sustainable 3D printing innovations. Topic highlights included circular value chains, bio-based construction, modular fashion, and biomimetic design.

Presentations from industry leaders, such as Siemens and Concr3de, emphasized how AM can transform industries through sustainable practices, while hands-on experiences like Revo Foods’ 3D-printed vegan salmon added a flavorful touch to the event.

Read our report on the event here.