Annual International Wohlers Conference to be Held at Euromold 2012

If you ask most people in the additive manufacturing (AM) industry who they believe is the most recognizable expert in the field, they’ll probably tell you Terry Wohlers, president and founder of Wohlers Associates. Wohlers has appeared on television, radio and in multiple forms of print media, extolling the virtues and explaining the workings of AM.

Wohlers makes the conference rounds, showing up to speak at nearly every important AM event. For the last 14 years, Wohlers Associates has held its own international conference to discuss AM and rapid manufacturing. This year’s conference will be held on November 29 at Euromold 2012.

This year’s program is titled, “Advances in Metal Additive Manufacturing,” with a focus on “high-value” metal parts built using AM. According to the press release, the program will examine the following areas of interest:

“Aerospace companies are hard at work qualifying materials and processes and certifying new designs. Medical companies in Europe are using AM to produce metal orthopedic implants in the tens of thousands. Metal products for consumers are also being produced by additive manufacturing. Meanwhile, new AM processes are being developed that are capable of producing relatively large metal parts at a much faster rate.”

The program will feature nine speakers including Dr. Eberhard Döring, CEO DEMAT GmbH, who will open the program; Dr. Ingomar Kelbassa, from the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology, discussing laser additive manufacturing; Marius Vermeulen from Aerosud, who will talk about AM materials for the aerospace industry; and several others, including Mr. Wohlers.

Other topics of interest include a look at the United States’ new National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII), AM in the dental industry, and continuing research on AM by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Euromold 2012 itself will run over the course of four days, November 27-30 in Frankfurt, Germany. In 2011, more than 1,000 exhibitors and nearly 58,000 attendees participated in Euromold.

Below you’ll find an interview with Terry Wohlers.

Sources: Euromold, Wohlers Associates