One of the pioneers of the 3D industry, Stratasys held the ‘The Additive Manufacturing Virtual Conference 2020’ on October 6-7. While the topics such as the position, the future and the necessity of 3D printing were discussed on different fields; The post-Covid-19 pandemic process was also evaluated during the conference. Many speakers took place in the virtual conference and the participants had the opportunity to benefit from expert opinions. Virtual visits were also held at the conference, and sessions on FDM and Polyjet printers were included.
From design to engineering, discussion topic was 3D printing in additive manufacturing virtual conference
In the opening speech, Stratasys President EMEA, Andy Langfeld spoke on ‘3D Printing in Post COVID-19 Supply Chains’. While additive manufacturing helps the industry cope with the rapid change brought about by the global pandemic; Langfeld shared his thoughts on why there is reason to be optimistic. In the session titled ‘Using Ultra-Realism to Bring Design Ideas to Life’, Stratasys Vice President EMEA and APJ, Zehavit Reisin; and BiologIC’s Richard Vellacott and Nick Rollings spoke. Talking about how the latest full-color, multi-material 3D printers make innovation easier than ever by turning beautiful ideas into reality; Speakers of BiologIC Technologies also explained how synthetic biology is taking advantage of these abilities to accelerate its development.
In the field of engineering, Stratasys’s Justin Cunningham and James Short took part in the session titled; ‘Expanding Your Applications: Taking 3D Printing Across Your Organisation’. Here, information was given on; how to take full advantage of the capabilities and flexibility that Stratasys 3D printers offer to make a much greater impact. In the session named ‘Using 3D Printing for Mainstream Manufacturing and Production Operations’ Stratasys Director of Manufacturing Solutions EMEA, Yann Rageul; and Engineering Manager from Brown & Holmes, Mick Waller were the speakers. They give their insights into how 3D printing is increasingly merging with their traditional workholding business. In this session, the following were discussed: how to manufacture complex and customised jigs, fixtures and tools on demand; and how to make the first, short run or low volume production parts for real world end-use applications.
Moving visualisation into functional anatomical models
Stratasys Healthcare Sales and Development Director EMEA, Arnaud Toutain and Bone 3D’s Jeremy Adam were present in the session named; ‘Tap into the New Era: Moving Visualisation to Functional Anatomical Models’ on the field of Healthcare. In this session; Stratasys introduced the transition from ordinary visual models to functional models to enable MedTech companies for increasing product development; while presenting their solutions for healthcare services. In his presentation, Adam stated that the surgical simulations produced by 3D printing make it possible to train better and at lower cost; and that physical models, unlike virtual models, allow surgeons to evolve. Gina Scala from Stratasys was a speaker in the session titled ‘Making the Future: 3D Printing in Education’. During this session, the following were examined: common use cases for academic facilities; how can be set up an additive manufacturing course; and the resources available to help learn, solve problems and innovate.
Following the sessions held on the basis of different sectors on the first day of the conference; the sessions and events continued without slowing down the next day. The second day started with a virtual visit to various reseller ‘demo centers’ in Europe to get live demonstrations and see some of Stratasys’ 3D printers up close. During this interactive session, participants had the opportunity to take a closer look at some aspect of the machine; receive immediate feedback on implementation ideas; and ask questions about subjects such as checking material properties, printing speeds, and accuracy. In addition, while there was a session about Stratasys Academy at the conference; various sessions were also held about FDM and Polyjet printing machines and their materials and processes. Stratasys has successfully concluded its first virtual conference ‘The Additive Manufacturing Virtual Conference 2020’; leaving two busy and effective days behind.