3D Printing Among Manufacturing Technologies to Feature in SME’s WESTEC

There are a great deal of 3D printing conferences and shows approaching in the coming weeks and months, and it’s less than a month until WESTEC, which will be taking place from September 12th to 14th in Los Angeles. Put on by SME and the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT), WESTEC brings together experts from across the manufacturing industry, with input from the areas of 3D printing, engineering, metrology, machining, software, and much more.

Additive manufacturing, naturally, will be a large part of the event, as it is at virtually any manufacturing conference nowadays. Highlights include a panel on September 13th from 9:15 to 10:15 AM, entitled “Additive Manufacturing: What’s Now and What’s Next.” Attendees will learn about the latest developments in additive manufacturing, in industries from apparel to aerospace. Speakers will include Eric Fodran, Global Ops Manufacturing Development at Northrop Grumman; Roger Kelesoglu, Director of Sales Enablement at Stratasys; and Joe DeSimone, CEO of Carbon.

In addition, there will be a full day seminar running from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM on September 14th called Prototype to Production: How Additive will Influence Manufacturing. The seminar is part of SME’s Smart Manufacturing Series, and is designed to help attendees prepare their companies for a future in which 3D printing will be an integral part of manufacturing, as it is already beginning to be. Several experts and industry leaders will share their knowledge of the technology and their experience of implementing it in their businesses. Attendees can expect to learn how these experts are:

• Designing for additive manufacturing
• Using materials like metals and advanced polymers and composites to create functional parts and final products
• Moving from prototyping to production
• Keeping up to date on new additive manufacturing techniques and research

Other things to look out for at WESTEC include workforce development and training sessions, as well as a SMART Manufacturing Hub, a new area that will feature the most advanced smart technologies in manufacturing, including the Industrial Internet of Things and new developments in automation, software, controls, operations, data, advanced materials, and more. A new Machining Academy will allow attendees to participate in interactive machining and tooling sessions, courtesy of Tooling U-SME. The show has several complimentary offerings, including keynotes and the Business of Manufacturing workforce training sessions.

Keynotes include:

• “Why Cognitive Matters in Manufacturing,” September 12th from 9:15 to 10:15 AM, given by Anirban Bhattacharyya, Associate Partner, Cognitive Process Transformation – Digital Operations and Cognitive Manufacturing, IBM
• “American Built: Inspiring the Next Generation of Manufacturers,” September 12th from 1:15 to 2:30 PM, given by Titan Gilroy, Executive Producer and star of TITANS of CNC, Creator of TITANS of CNC Educational Platform, and CEO of TITAN American Mfg
• “Industry Transformation – Reinventing how Vehicles are Built,” September 14th from 9:15 to 10:15 AM, given by Justin Fishkin, Chief Strategy Officer, Local Motors

There will be networking receptions on September 12th from 4:00 to 6:00 PM and September 13th from 4:00 to 7:00 PM, as well as two “Brew and View” events before the networking time slots. Greg Thompson, Global Product Manager for 3D Printing at Proto Labs, will lead “Designing for Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS)” from on September 12th, while Stas Mylek, Senior Product Specialist at Mastercam, will lead “Dirty Little Secrets About Cutting Tool Cost and Performance” on Sepetember 13th.

Those are only a few of the highlights you can expect at WESTEC this year; as you can see, there’s a lot to look forward to. If you’re interested in attending WESTEC, you can register here. Discuss in the WESTEC forum at 3DPB.com.