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RapidTech + FabCon 3D
RapidTech + FabCon 3D: Innovations in binder-based AM and advances in conformal cooling From June 20-22, 2017, the German city of Erfurt became a centre of gravity for Additive Manufacturing, hosting the annual RapidTech technical conference and its accompanying trade exhibition, FabCon 3D. Dr Georg Schlieper visited the event for Metal Additive Manufacturing magazine and highlights a number of innovative trends in metal Additive Manufacturing process technology and applications, including the latest binder-based Additive Manufacturing technologies and innovations in toolmaking.
This year’s RapidTech + FabCon 3D event attracted a record attendance of more than 4,800 visitors and over two hundred exhibitors. Now in its 14th year, the organisers also reported a 20% increase in exhibitor numbers over the previous year and an increase in floor space of nearly 25%. The RapidTech conference, held in English and German with simultaneous interpretation, featured nearly a hundred presentations from Europe and further afield, and covered some of the most important sectors of Additive Manufacturing through a series of parallel Trade Forums. The conference opened with a keynote presentation by Charles ‘Chuck’ Hull, recognised as the inventor of stereolithography and co-founder of 3D Systems, a leading US producer of AM machines. Hull shared the story of his career and spoke about the many frustrations that each inventor has to go through before a product is created that can be manufactured and marketed economically. Today, Hull is 3D Systems’ Chief Technology Officer.
Vol. 3 No. 3 © 2017 Inovar Communications Ltd
BASF: printing metal like plastics Several innovative AM technologies were presented in the exhibit hall which will complement, and possibly compete against, established powder bed AM processes such as laser and electron beam Powder Bed Fusion
(PBF) and Binder Jetting. BASF SE, Germany, introduced a polymer filament containing a high concentration of 316L metal powder. The filament material is based on the company’s Catamold® binder system, which has been used successfully for many years in the Metal Injection Moulding (MIM) industry. In cooperation with
Fig. 1 The modern Exhibition and Congress Centre of Erfurt (Courtesy Messe Erfurt)
Metal Additive Manufacturing | Autumn 2017
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