Cheers to another successful RAPID + TCT! Over three days, thousands of the additive manufacturing (AM) community’s best and brightest packed Huntington Place in Detroit to realize the next level of our industry.
Thank you to the thousands of attendees, exhibitors, sponsors, speakers and staff who helped deliver North America’s largest and most influential additive manufacturing event.
From exhibitor highlights to conference sessions, keynote presentations and more, here is a recap for the third and final day of RAPID + TCT 2022.
Special Morning Presentation
After another great kickoff from AM industry advisor Todd Grimm, the RAPID + TCT 2022 Day 3 audience listened to a brief presentation from Carl Dekker, President of the Additive Manufacturing Users group.
Dekker talked about the change our community has seen not just in technology and applications, but organizations and industry, and praised events like RAPID + TCT and partners like SME for progressing AM forward and working toward sharing a collective body of knowledge.
After applause for Dekker, SME Executive Director & CEO Bob Willig took the stage to talk about the critical role that SME’s industry partnerships represent to lead into the future with non-profits like TCT Group, AMUG, America Makes and Women in 3D Printing. He then introduced the Day 3 keynote.
Additive in Medical - Is Reality Catching Up to the Promise?
RAPID + TCT 2022 featured a full healthcare conference track showcasing medical and dental technologies enabling the advancements that are impacting medicine and patient care. That’s why it was fitting for the final keynote to feature Dr. Caralynn Nowinski-Collens, CEO of Dimension Inx.
Dr. Collens started by remarking on the healthcare segment growing 20% annually over the next decade. With the stakes so high, she believes AM technologies and processes are the winning link to better quality healthcare.
With the industry in need of decreased procedure times, reduced medical errors and better patient outcomes, 3D printing—which has been used by the medical industry for three decades, primarily in prototyping—is at an inflection point for intense growth.
Dr. Nowinski-Collens gave vivid examples of how 3D printed organs, implants and other devices are slowly making their way into the medical mainstream, citing infrastructure and technology as the primary means to adoption.
She specifically called out the VHA’s three, FDA-registered Advanced Manufacturing Hubs that 3D print patient-specific products for veterans, and ARMI’s BioFabUSA’s work in creating processes and technologies to enable scalable and modularized medical manufacturing workflows.
Finally, Dr. Nowinski-Collens explained the three areas of AM regenerative medicine, cells, matrices and cues. While the majority of investment is currently poured into cell regeneration, she believes manipulation in the matrix—the cell’s microenvironment—is key to consistently restoring function and directing cells to behave how doctors want, essentially creating a blueprint for body optimization.
Dr. Nowinski-Collens cited a proof of this concept in action in a 2017 collaboration between Children’s Hospital Chicago and Northwestern Medicine to successfully bioprint prosthetic ovaries in mice, and professed excitement for the innovation ahead.
The keynote ended with Dr. Nowinkski-Collens proclaiming that rising tides lift all boats. If we, as a community, can increase patient access, improve clarity on regulatory and quality and advance commercialization, then the medical AM industry has the potential to deliver outsized impact—with the best yet to come.
Stories From the Exhibit Floor
ADDMAN
- ADDMAN is a vertically integrated provider using radically innovative adaptations of additive manufacturing technologies. Their new, next-level Computer Aided Additive Manufacturing (CAAM) technique builds parts in an interlocking system promising 50% more strength and 100% less porosity than conventional slicing.
Creative 3D Technologies
- Founded by 21 year-old AM prodigy Ethan Baehrend, Creative 3D Technologies made its RAPID + TCT debut with the launch of its new 3D printing technology, Duo. The all-in-one solution encompasses the typically separated functions of an entire suite of specialty 3D printers in a single, affordable solution—starting price, $8,799.
Formlabs
- Formlabs changes the way 3D printed parts are fabricated. Their new Form 3+ and 3B+ technologies build on years of hardware and software innovations to take LFS 3D printing to the next level. Their solutions make it simple to quickly and reliably produce functional prototypes, end-use parts, medical devices, dental parts and more.
Massivit
- On display at RAPID + TCT 2022, Massivit’s new Massivit 5000 is an industrial-scale, dual-material printer that can produce full-scale parts, prototypes and molds 30x the speed of competitive 3D printers. Another big-time solution allowing manufacturers and service providers to expedite lead times and easily create large, complex forms.
Nexa3D
- Nexa3D's XiP desktop 3D printer officially made its United States debut at RAPID + TCT 2022. The company’s debut desktop 3D printer features ultrafast speeds, a large build volume and a validated, user-friendly workflow.
Next Stop…RAPID + TCT 2023: May 2-4, 2023 at Chicago’s McCormick Place.
Again, thank you for helping to make this year’s event possible. To access content from the event, check out the RAPID + TCT Digital Experience and enjoy live and exclusive digital content at your convenience. For Conference Delegates and All Access Pass holders, you can look forward to receiving access to the fully recorded Conference Program early next week! And if you’re interested in learning about the Conference, we’ll have a special offer for On Demand content.
We look forward to seeing you at RAPID + TCT 2023 in Chicago!