In its third year, the formnext powered by tct conference will become an exceptional think tank for additive industries. After the huge success of previous years, the conference from 14 – 17 November 2017 in Frankfurt am Main will present the future of additive manufacturing for the first time on two stages in parallel. In cooperation with partner TCT, the conference will show the applications, developments, and findings of leading international industrial companies and research institutions. By providing an ideal platform for sharing knowledge and experiences, it offers added value to speakers and visitors alike.

With the conference now on two stages for the first time, it will deliver not only twice as many presentations, but will represent more intensively the entire bandwidth of the topics and technologies shown in the exhibition halls. Discussions will include key aspects such as automation, design, quality assurance, personnel, and value-added chains.

First-hand information from representatives of prominent companies

In the multi-facetted program, the application of additive manufacturing in the industry plays a key role. Participants will get first-hand information from representatives of prominent companies like Airbus, Deutsche Bahn, Honeywell, Premium Aerotec, and Volkswagen on how additive manufacturing is being used within these companies, how this is increasing efficiency, and what future developments are already planned. Special focus will be given, for example, to the industrial areas of medicine and aerospace in individual sessions.

In his keynote, Uwe Fresenborg, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors at DB Fahrzeuginstandhaltung, will discuss how additive manufacturing at Deutsche Bahn is revolutionizing spare parts supply. In the past two years, 1,500 parts have already been produced using additive manufacturing. Fresenborg will share his wide experience of how Deutsche Bahn is selecting suitable spare parts for 3D printing and how exactly this production technology is being implemented within the company.

At the Volkswagen Group, too, additive manufacturing is already an important and established technology. Luis Pascoa, Pilot Plant Manager at Volkswagen Autoeuropa, will talk at formnext about the efficiency level that the Portuguese VW subsidiary Volkswagen Autoeropa has already reached by using 3D-printed devices, tools, and support mounts in the assembly line. This allows VW to reduce not only costs but the development time for tools – from weeks to just a few days.

Conference participants will discover, for example, how glass can be produced using additive manufacturing and what opportunities this opens for areas such as optics, medicine, chemicals, biotechnology, data transfer, and others. Information about the latest digitalization concepts will be shared by Nilay Parikh from the Additive Manufacturing Post Graduate Program at Dafoss, an international engineering company.

Leading additive manufacturing experts will show participants not just the latest business trends but give them an exclusive insight into the future. The conference is incorporated directly within the exhibition hall in a separate area. This will give participants immediate access to exhibitors and exhibition events during breaks and after sessions.

For more information about the conference and a detailed program, visit formnext.com/conference.