Curious About Additive Manufacturing? Tour a Facility

This year’s Additive Manufacturing Conference + Expo includes technical tours of Austin-based headquarters for EOS and Essentium. The hands-on learning experience will cover topics including metal additive manufacturing (AM), AM for production, materials testing, business changes for AM and polymers.

I thought I had a good, basic understanding of additive manufacturing (AM). After all, I’d been hearing about the technology for years at trade shows, reading articles on the subject, and sitting in on staff meetings with editors from our sister publication Additive Manufacturing magazine. What I discovered during a recent visit to Able Tool (stay tuned for that story), is that reading about AM is completely different than diving in and learning about the technology firsthand in a production setting. Luckily, you have the opportunity for a similar experience during technical tours at the Additive Manufacturing Conference + Expo (AMC), which runs August 27-29 in Austin, Texas.

As part of the event’s education program, attendees can tour two major 3D printing production facilities as part of the education program. The AMC opens and closes with tours of the headquarters for EOS and Essentium.

“The Additive Conference has always been focused on using 3D printing for production,” notes Dave Necessary, event manager. “Having access to these top-notch facilities will give our attendees a look at how additive manufacturing is being put to use to make real parts that expands beyond a technical presentation.”

Essentium’s Learning Labs will provide unique access to live demonstrations on materials testing and actual additive production, as well as offer expertise and insights on how to bring additive manufacturing to the production floor. The tour includes dedicated sessions on materials testing, 3D printing for production and the business aspects of adopting additive manufacturing technology.

EOS North America is opening its metal additive manufacturing lab and polymer additive manufacturing lab to AMC attendees. With a focus on additive manufacturing applications for series production, this immersive, in-person technical tour will also include targeted technical workshops. Attendees will see the cutting edge of additive technology and have the opportunity to explore the applications and processes in action.

More tour information is available here. Register for the event.