Additive Manufacturing Symposium to Highlight SOLIDWORKS World 2018

In less than a month, people from all over the world of 3D design will be gathering for SOLIDWORKS World 2018, one of the biggest events in 3D software. There was a lot of 3D printing excitement happening at last year’s conference, and this year’s looks to be no different – if anything, there will be more. The conference itself is taking place February 4-7, and on February 5 there will be a special Additive Manufacturing Symposium taking place for anyone with an interest in 3D printing – which will likely be most of the attendees, including 3DPrint.com.

Last year’s conference had a Design for Additive Manufacturing learning path dedicated to the technology, and this year’s conference gathers all of the 3D printing educational sessions into one room and on one day. The Additive Manufacturing Symposium will begin at 10:30 AM after the first general session, and will start with a 90-minute session in which SOLIDWORKS Product Management will cover several of the initiatives they have worked on in 3D printing, including new functionality and new partnerships to advance the technology and the industry. The session will focus on metal 3D printing and include presentations from 3D Systems and Desktop Metal.

The afternoon kicks off with two guest speakers: industry expert Terry Wohlers of Wohlers Associates and Tim Simpson of Penn State University. Wohlers is the leading analyst and consultant in the additive manufacturing industry, while Simpson is the Paul Morrow Professor in Engineering and Manufacturing and an expert in 3D printing, especially the design of metal 3D printed parts. Wohlers will be discussing the future of additive manufacturing, and Simpson will be discussing the work he is doing at Penn State to advance the industry.

Following that, Greg Paulsen from Xometry will answer the question “Additive or Subtractive?” and will compare the two methods in terms of creating a custom part. He will look at the different considerations and benefits of both, their effects on the final part, and how to choose between the two. Then, Vivek Govekar will look at how additive and subtractive manufacturing can be used together to address some of the challenges of additive manufacturing, and will show the latest solution from CAMWorks for Additive Manufacturing.

Finally, Formlabs and Ultimaker will close out the day. Dávid Lakatos, Chief Product Officer at Formlabs, will discuss how digital manufacturing like 3D printing has disrupted many industries. He will be followed by John Kawola, President of Ultimaker North America, who will talk about how new roles have appeared for desktop 3D printers in mechanical design and manufacturing, thanks to a combination of higher quality and reliability with low cost and direct access. He will share customer case studies to show how desktop 3D printers are successful in a variety of roles within manufacturing and assembly, including in making jigs and fixtures, ad-hoc parts replacement, and bridge manufacturing.

It’s going to be a full agenda, and a valuable experience for anyone working in the 3D printing industry. You can learn more about the full SOLIDWORKS World agenda here, and can register for the conference here if you haven’t already done so. 3DPrint.com readers can register for a special discounted rate using the code SWW18PRINT3D.

3DPrint.com will be present in LA again this year for SOLIDWORKS World, looking forward to sharing insights directly from the source – stay tuned here and be sure to follow #SWW18 on social media.

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