RAPID to Run Alongside The Big M

Additive manufacturing (AM) continues to grow by leaps and bounds, driving innovation and creating new opportunities for manufacturing. New conventions dedicated to AM have begun to sprout up all over the globe, but the granddaddy in North America is SME’s RAPID conference and exposition. For nearly 25 years, RAPID has brought together industry leaders to share information about developments in 3D printing, and to provide a meeting ground for AM businesses and customers.

This year RAPID will run alongside the International Manufacturing Research Conference, and The Big M manufacturing conference in Detroit, MI. The event will run from June 9 through June 12 at the Cobo Center. Unsurprisingly, AM will be one focus of the Big M, with RAPID’s customary range of lectures, seminars and other educational opportunities providing a solid framework of knowledge for the conference.

“SME is excited to connect the well-respected RAPID community with leaders, educators and researchers from the manufacturing industry at large through the co-location of THE BIG M and the International Manufacturing Research Conference,” said Debbie Holton, director of events and industry strategy for SME. “We want these groups to share innovations and solutions that address manufacturing’s challenges – the skills gap, global competition, new technologies like 3D printing, and more."

While The Big M will last four days, RAPID itself will run for the usual two and a half days, covering a wide variety of issues surrounding AM including some new sessions, which include:

• Economic and Business Considerations – Engage in strategies for evaluating what is right for your application.

• Automated Post Finishing of Parts – Learn how automated post finishing of additive manufacturing parts will lower costs and allow users to further explore into mainstream manufacturing production numbers and applications.

• Product Design and Machine Design Considerations Using Additive Manufacturing – Hear from the designers that are incorporating new design techniques that are blowing away old “subtraction” thinking.

• Materials for Additive Manufacturing Applications – Examine case studies and research and development activities that continue to advance the applications of additive manufacturing and 3D printing.

RAPID will also be home to a “Personal 3D Playground” which will give attendees some hands-on experience with 3D printers and 3D scanners. In addition, Materialise will be running 3D printed slot car races on the show floor, and the Innovation Exchange will display the most ground-breaking advances in additive manufacturing over the years.

Below you’ll find a video about The Big M, and a video about Materialise’s slot car races.

Sources: RAPID, SME, The Big M, Materialise