3D Print Week NY Recap: Impressive, Inspirational, Amazing

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printweek2This past week in New York City, 3D printing was all the rage, thanks in large part to an event that was aimed at taking the city by storm. 3D Print Week NY, an event that has been in the works for quite some time, brought companies from around the globe to the world’s largest stage, in what we had thought would be one of the largest 3D printing events ever.

Taking place last week at the Javits Center, and organized by MecklerMedia, 3D Print Week NY combined several large events in an attempt to put 3D printing on center stage. The largest of the events were the Inside 3D Printing Conference and Expo, as well as the 3D Print Design & Fashion Shows. Going into the event, I knew that we were in for something special, but I had no idea it would turn out even more spectacular than I had anticipated.

Over 12,000 people pre-registered for the show, making it, according to MecklerMedia CEO Alan Meckler, the largest 3D printing show in the world. There were constant crowds at the various booths, and every vendor I spoke to was impressed by the amount of people on hand.

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Worldwide Director of Hewlett-Packard 3D Printing, Scott Schiller

The show featured over 70 conference speakers, spanning 8 tracks, with notable speakers such as MakerBot’s new CEO, Jonathan Jaglom; Worldwide Director of Hewlett-Packard 3D Printing, Scott Schiller; Wohlers Associates President, Terry Wohlers; Materialise’s Peter Leys and many more.

MakerBot premiered their MakerBot Theater which was basically a show within a show, allowing visitors to sit down and watch various sessions on 3D printing, while 3D Systems was on hand with many of their unique 3D printed products, via the Cubify Pop-up Booth. We were told by 3D Systems’ booth attendees that they were selling their designs like hot-cakes.

WHAT IMPRESSED ME

There were plenty of incredible things to see at the show, but there were a few things that really stood out. The most noteworthy, in my opinion, was the 3D printed musical instruments created by MONAD Studio. This included a 2-string piezoelectric violin, a ‘Monobaribasitar’ and a large 3D printed cello. Even more exciting was the fact that attendees were treated to a musical performance of these instruments on Friday afternoon.

MONAD Studio and their 3D Printed Musical Instruments

MONAD Studio and their 3D Printed Musical Instruments

The Materialise-sponsored 3D Print Fashion Show was quite incredible as well, featuring products by many different designers, with items ranging from dresses, to nose-rings, shoes and masks. The crowd on hand to watch the show was large, with media from several international news stations there to film and cover the event.

Designer, Ioan Florea was there with his uniquely 3D printed vintage Camaro. It was the second year in a row that Florea was at the New York City event with a 3D printed car. Last year he brought his Gran Torino, which featured an exterior design created via 3D printing technology, combined with metal casting. This year’s car was even more interesting, in that it was covered with a plethora of beautifully colored 3D printed designs. Unlike last years Gran Torino, Florea’s exterior Camaro design featured objects that were completely 3D printed. He told us that the Camaro drew even more attention than the Gran Torino, and he believes this is because of the vast array of colors that it featured.  More coming on the Camaro later this week.

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Ioan Florea’s 3D Printed Camaro

e-NABLE, the organization which 3D prints prosthetic hands, took part in the 3D Print Week festivities as well, with Founder Jon Schull giving a talk. I had the chance to meet with him briefly as well as play around with some of the hands which his group created.  It continues to fascinate me what this incredible group has been doing, and we will continue to support them in the future.

Worldwide Director of Hewlett-Packard 3D Printing, Scott Schiller’s speech included quite a few tidbits of additional information about HP’s plans to enter the 3D printing space. He also brought several objects that had been printed on their prototype Multi Jet Fusion machines. Visitors were able to check these out, pick them up, and get a feel for how well the new Multi Jet Fusion Technology works.

MyMiniFactory had one of the largest presences of the entire event, as far as the amount of square footage their exhibits took up. Various designers who design products for MyMiniFactory were on hand presenting some of their incredible creations. There were plenty of video game and movie props on hand, as well as masks, such as the 3D printed Ant Man Mask, that we covered in the past.  It continues to amaze me how many unique, and high quality designs we see coming from this company.

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Bre Pettis’ Bold Machines had a small presence with an exhibit featuring an installation called “BRILLO” by Designer Ashley Zelinskie. I had an opportunity to speak with General Manager of Bold Machines, Robert Steiner, and learned that there are some very interesting upcoming projects that will be originating from Stratasys’ Innovation Workshop in the near future. Steiner, who was sporting a Bre Pettis-like beard, was one of the friendliest people I had the chance of talking to at the show.

MakerBot CEO Jonathan Jaglom was a busy guy, giving a talk on the company which he recently just took the helm of. We also briefly had the chance to chat with him, and I walked away with a perception of a man who is really passionate about what he does. He seems to have a vision, and definitely has the experience to lead MakerBot into the future.

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New MakerBot CEO Jonathan Jaglom giving a talk at the Inside 3D Printing Conference

There were plenty of other interesting exhibits, as well as speakers who really peaked my interest. We will report on some of these later in the week.

All in all, MecklerMedia’s 3D Print Week NY was an obvious success, no matter who you would ask. The crowds were huge, the exhibits were fascinating, and the conferences were informative. You couldn’t ask for much more. The crowds within the exhibition areas were more dense than the crowds I experienced within the 3D printing section at CES in January, quite impressive for a 3D printing only event.

What do you think? Did you attend 3D Print Week NY? What were your thoughts? Discuss in the 3D Print Week NY forum on 3DPB.com.

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