AMUG’s annual conference set to roll into Chicago April 3

As the Additive Manufacturing Users Group’s board of directors, staff, and members make final preparations for the 2022 AMUG Conference and AMUGexpo, scheduled for April 3-7 in Chicago, they’re confident that pandemic-related mandates like mask-wearing have been relegated to the past.

“After two long years, we are getting closer to the ‘old normal,’” wrote AMUG President Carl Dekker in the association’s March newsletter. “Chicago and Illinois have almost entirely lifted their mask and vaccine requirements.”

“After two long years, we are getting closer to the ‘old normal.’” - AMUG President Carl Dekker

The group also anticipates a return to the old normal of attendance rising every year, as was the case from 2009 through 2019. The event was canceled in 2020, due to COVID-19, and 2021 attendance was off more than 50% compared to 2019.

Two Automakers’ Perspectives

The conference’s keynote speakers occupy two ends of the automaking spectrum. One is the founder, lead inventor, and CEO of Divergent 3D and Czinger Vehicles, Kevin Czinger. He will discuss how his California companies are working to develop a hypercar that incorporates more than 350 3D-printed parts, boasts a stated top speed of 281 MPH, and costs $2 million.

The other keynoter is Ellen Lee, technical leader of additive manufacturing research at Ford Motor Co. She will discuss digital innovations and changes taking place in the automotive sector.

AMUG’s director of education and conferences, Jordan Weston, told The Additive Reporter during a video interview that it’s “exciting to have two keynote speakers whose views show the diversity of thinking found in the auto industry. They’re going to have some similar but very different perspectives, based on their backgrounds. Kevin is leading a company that is looking to disrupt the way we manufacture at scale. Ellen is representing a company that’s been around for more than a century.”

“It’s exciting to have two keynote speakers whose views show the diversity of thinking found in the auto industry. They’re going to have some similar but very different perspectives.” - AMUG board member Jordan Weston

In addition to the keynoters, the conference will feature 150 presentations, panel discussions, workshops, and hands-on training sessions. Here’s a partial list of the scheduled topics:

• Equipment selection based on candidate parts brought in by course attendees and ROI calculations.

• Facility considerations, requirements, and controls

• Establishing factory- and site-acceptance tests

• Workflow and efficiency

• Machine calibration and certification

• Digital twins

• Part-qualification considerations

• Business plans and growth strategies

• Personnel training requirements

Also planned is an off-site tour of DMG Mori’s Chicago-area plant. Visitors to the plant will learn about 3D-printing metal parts, quality control in AM, and the machine tool builder’s DED (directed energy deposition) and SLM (selective laser melting) 3D printing systems.

Two certification courses also are scheduled. ToolingU/SME will teach a course focused on the basics of AM. The other course, led by ASTM International, will advise participants how to prepare a facility for 3D-printing critical metal parts.

Innovations and Innovators

AMUG expects 150 exhibitors to display the latest additive manufacturing technologies during the exposition portion of the proceedings. The booths of all exhibitors will be open to visitors Sun., April 3, 4:00 - 10:00 p.m.; and Mon., April 4, 10:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. and 6:00 - 10:00 p.m. The booths of Diamond and Platinum Sponsors are open throughout the event. (Note: Conference/expo attendance is limited to owners and operators of industrial AM technologies used for professional purposes.)

Each year, AMUG recognizes an additive manufacturer who cultivates innovative ideas that have advanced the AM industry. This year’s Innovators Award recipient is Andy Christensen, founder and former president of Medical Modeling Inc.

Christensen, currently an adjunct professor in the radiology department at the University of Cincinnati, founded Medical Modeling in 2000 as a service bureau focused on 3D-printing medical devices. The company works closely with surgeons and medical-device manufacturers to build toolsets used for patient-specific anatomic modeling, virtual surgical planning, personalized surgical guides and implants, and the application of metal 3D printing to orthopedic implant applications.

A favorite event of the annual AMUG conferences—of which 2022 marks the 35th installment—is the Technical Competition. Two awards are presented: one for exemplary use of AM technology to 3D-print an object, and the other for quality of part finish.

Winners and runners-up are chosen by a panel of AMUG experts. New this year is the Members Choice Award, presented to an entry selected by conference attendees.