RAPID + TCT 2019 is now officially over. Below you will find key takeaways from Day 4 of RAPID + TCT 2019. Thank you to all of the attendees, exhibitors and sponsors who continue to make this North America’s leading additive manufacturing event. We look forward to seeing you at RAPID + TCT 2020 from April 20-23 in Anaheim, California.
From companies announcing groundbreaking new additive manufacturing technologies, to keynote presentations from industry leaders in 3D printing and much more, here is a recap of day four at RAPID + TCT 2019.
2019 Additive Manufacturing Community Awards
To start the final day of RAPID + TCT 2019, Jennifer Fielding of the Air Force Research Laboratory and Zach Simkin of Senvol took the stage to announce the winners of the 2019 Additive Manufacturing Community Awards. Chosen by the SME Additive Manufacturing Community Advisors, awards were given in the following categories:
2019 RAPID + TCT Manufacturing Poster Challenge
The RAPID + TCT Manufacturing Poster Challenge is designed to foster student interest and provide the additive manufacturing engineering community with new perspectives and innovative ideas. On Wednesday, poster presenters presented their work to the judges, who included:
- Lisa Burt, Engineering Project Manager (Additive Manufacturing) at Caterpillar, Inc
- Ernesto “Ernie” Covarrubias, Mechanical Systems Design Engineer at Boeing Additive Manufacturing (BAM)
- Ismail Fidan, PhD, Professor at Tennessee Tech
- Mihaela Vlasea, PhD, Professor at the University of Waterloo
- Christopher B. Williams, PhD, Professor at Virginia Tech
After a tough competition, the winners included:
2019 Manufacturing Poster Challenge Winner
- Entry | Melting Mode Transition in Laser Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing
- Team included:
- Sagar D. Patel, University of Waterloo
- Mihaela Vlasea, PhD, University of Waterloo professor
- Team included:
2019 Manufacturing Poster Challenge First Runner Up
- Entry | Study of the Spreadability and Printability of Hyrdride-Dehydride (HDH) Ti-6Al-4V Powders in Powder Based Fusion Processes
- Team included:
- Ziheng “Dino” Wu
- Rahi Patel, MIT Museum
- Joe Capone, AMETEK, Inc
- Anthony Rollett, Carnegie Mellon University professor
- Sneha Prabha Narra, Worcester Polytechnic Institute assistant professor
- Team included:
2019 Manufacturing Poster Challenge Second Runner Up
- Entry | Novel strut-based homogenization method to predict 3D printed lattice accuracy
- Team included:
- Ken M. Nsiempba
- Ehsan Toyserkani, University of Waterloo professor
- Team included:
RAPID + TCT 2019 Exhibitor Innovation Award
The RAPID + TCT Innovation Award recognizes the most innovative new products or services exhibited that are judged to have the greatest potential impact on the industry. Finalists this year included Digital Alloys, FormAlloy and Rapidia.
After much deliberation by our judges, the winner of the RAPID + TCT 2019 Exhibitor Award was Digital Alloys!
RAPID + TCT 2019 People’s Choice Award
The RAPID + TCT People’s Choice Award recognizes exhibits for being interactive, technically and aesthetically impressive, and visually appealing and engaging. This year, the finalists included Arburg, Desktop Metal and Rapidia.
After voting conducted via mobile app polling of attendees, the winner of the RAPID + TCT 2019 People’s Choice Award was Desktop Metal!
Keynote by Dr. Dominik Rietzel of BMW Group
With the final day of RAPID + TCT 2019 being Automotive Day, it was only fitting that the keynote speaker be one of the leaders for additive manufacturing in the industry, Dr. Dominik Rietzel, Head of Additive Manufacturing (Non-Metals) at BMW Group.
During his presentation, Dominik provided detailed insight into the fields that need to be addressed so that additive manufacturing can enter high volume markets like automotive production.
He also addressed major questions, such as how new business models can be realized with AM, and how automation and AI are helping to increase the implementation of AM in assembly lines. Finally, he showed attendees real examples of current use and future developments of additive manufacturing at BMW Group.
Automotive Day at RAPID + TCT 2019
As part of Automotive Day at RAPID + TCT 2019, the majority of workshops and panel discussions revolved around processes and use cases of additive technologies in automotive manufacturing. The day culminated in a panel session titled, ‘Additive Manufacturing: What’s Real, What’s Not, What’s Next’.
The panel was made up of several leading subject matter experts in additive manufacturing representing the automotive and aerospace industries, including:
- Moderator | Brian K. Post, PhD, Research Staff Scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- Alan Taub, PhD, LIFT Senior Technical Advisor and Professor of Material Science & Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan
- Eric Barnes, Additive Manufacturing Fellow at Northrop Grumman
- Tyson W. Brown, Lab Group Manager in Additive Manufacturing Research at General Motors Global R&D
- Matt Gimbel, Production Manager at Penske Racing
- Ernie Covarrubias, Mechanical Systems Design Engineer at Boeing Additive Manufacturing (BAM)
Announcements Made at RAPID + TCT 2019
Throughout the week, some of the biggest names in additive manufacturing chose to announce their groundbreaking new technologies and important news at RAPID + TCT 2019. Here are just a few of the many organizations who made big announcements at the conference:
Tuesday, May 21
- Sintavia Inc | Announced details about their recent industry-shifting acquisition that will vastly expand the company’s quality system. They also provided information about their new facility expansion into Houston, Texas.
- Xjet | Talked about its latest technological developments, with an emphasis on new applications. They also announced a few exciting new customers, each who had fascinating applications unveiled at RAPID + TCT 2019.
- HP | Announced an expanded collaboration with SmileDirectClub, the teledentisry company that powers its digital differentiation and rapid manufacturing expansion of clear aligners with HP’s Jet Fusion 3D printers. With the announcement, SmileDirectClub is now the largest producer of Multi Jet Fusion 3D printed parts in the country.
- ExOne | Announced the new X1 25PRO™, which is positioned to address the needs of MIM, powder metallurgy and manufacturing customers seeking a larger platform solution for producing reliable parts in a production environment.
Wednesday, May 22
- Stratasys | Announced partnerships with advanced materials and specialty chemical company Solvay, auto racing team Arrow Schmidt Peterson, drag racing team Don Schumacher Racing and yacht racing team American Magic. They also changed the name of their strategy consulting group to Blueprint.
- ESSENTIUM 3D | The company’s CEO and co-founders shared how the Essentium High-Speed Extrusion (HSETM) 3D Printing Platform, materials and partnerships are shifting the industry from prototyping to full-scale production runs.
- 3DQue | Told the story of 18-year-old inventor Mateo Pekic, the creator of QSuite—the automation technology that transforms FFF/FDM printers to high-volume production units.