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Rapid.Tech 2015
Rapid.Tech 2015: Germany’s conference and exhibition on AM targets an international audience The Rapid.Tech Conference and Exhibition was first held in Erfurt, Germany, eleven years ago and since then this annual event has attracted ever more visitors. Originally a German language event, the organisers have in recent years worked hard to increase its international appeal and this year the conference was held both in German and English with simultaneous translation. Dr Georg Schlieper reports for Metal Additive Manufacturing magazine.
The Rapid.Tech 2015 Conference and Exhibition took place from June 10–11. The technical conference included 79 oral presentations and the event as a whole attracted almost 4,000 visitors from fifteen countries, many of whom are active in research and development. The combination of a technical conference and exhibition is considered by the organisers to be rather unique in this industry as opposed to the larger trade exhibitions. Rapid.Tech provided a comprehensive overview of the present status of metal Additive Manufacturing in Europe and the diversity of its products. Within the exhibition, a wide variety of metal AM products was on display demonstrating the design possibilities and range of applications. Figs. 2-5 show a number of impressive examples. Besides the high number of equipment manufacturers and research institutions, many AM service providers promoted their expertise to interested visitors.
Vol. 1 No. 2 © 2015 Inovar Communications Ltd
Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is today by far the most widely used technology for metal AM, followed by Electron Beam Melting (EBM). Other emerging technologies such as inkjet printing are further behind on the route to full commercialisation. At the start of the conference, five keynote presentations under the headline
Vision 3D, with two of them covering metal components, highlighted the future of Additive Manufacturing. The event was held in conjunction with FabCon 3.D, an exhibition for start-ups and semi-professional users of 3D printers with a focus on non-metallic materials. Since the focus of this magazine is on Additive
Fig. 1 Messe Erfurt, home of Rapid.Tech (Courtesy Messe Erfurt)
Metal Additive Manufacturing | Summer 2015
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