AMTIL has recently unveiled details of its Unlimit3D Conference, scheduled to be held on Tuesday 14 and Wednesday 15 May at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. With the theme ‘Unlocking Additive Manufacturing Opportunities’, the Conference will feature a number of keynote presenters from around the world as well as many local companies that have implemented additive manufacturing technology into their production processes.

As a keynote presenter at our conference, we are pleased to have Rob Gorham, Executive Director of America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute at the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM). America Makes is the US’ leading collaborative partner in additive manufacturing and 3D printing technology research, discovery, creation, and innovation. Structured as a public-private partnership, America Makes innovates and accelerates additive manufacturing and 3D printing to increase the US’ global manufacturing competitiveness.

Rob previously served as the Director of Operations and Deputy Director of Technology Development, where he led the development of a robust member-driven additive manufacturing roadmapping methodology and shaped the America Makes’ project call process, which has resulted in a $300m research & development portfolio. Rob also led the NCDMM, Siemens, and Deloitte team in the creation of the America Makes Digital Storefront, an innovative PLM-based data management tool to access and consume America Makes’s intellectual capital assets.

Prior to joining America Makes, he was Senior Manager of the Manufacturing Exploration and Development Group at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics – Advanced Development Programs, also known as The Skunk Works. In this position, Rob was responsible for leading the transition-focused development and application of affordable manufacturing technologies for Lockheed Martin.

Rob will give the America Makes story and make some comparisons to where Australia currently sits with the establishment of the Additive Manufacturing Hub.

Another highlight of the speaker program will be Bruce McLean, currently an Advisor with international additive manufacturing consultancy The Barnes Group Advisors. Bruce has broad qualifications and experience in aircraft engineering with both the New Zealand and United Kingdom Royal Air Forces, including A&P Mechanic, Aeronautical Diploma, Honours Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a post-graduate Aero-Systems Engineering Degree. More than half of his 40-plus years of experience have been in aviation-related industries – both in military and commercial airline operations, maintenance, repair & overhaul and design.

Bruce was a founding partner and the Senior Engineer with Zenith Tecnica in New Zealand since early 2014, which led to the successful commercialisation of electron beam melting (EBM) additive manufacturing for the aerospace, space, motorsport, medical and marine sectors among a global customer base. Consequently, Bruce has established a worldwide reputation as a technology and industrialisation specialist with EBM technology.

Elsewhere during the conference, John Croft will be providing an overview of the opportunities that the Additive Manufacturing Hub has to offer. Led by AMTIL and generously supported by the Victorian Government, the AM Hub has been established to grow and develop additive manufacturing capability. Its goals are to: promote and market additive manufacturing capabilities; support the creation of high-quality additive manufacturing jobs; provide a forum for dialogue and communication for the additive manufacturing industry, to encourage R&D, innovation, collaboration and provide a strong, cohesive voice on additive manufacturing sector development.

John is uniquely well placed to oversee the direction of the Additive Manufacturing Hub, having been at the forefront of the adoption of additive manufacturing technology in Australia for more than two decades. In the early 1990s he launched Interact Plastic Services, the first private company in this country to move into AM, having purchased a Stratasys FDM 2000 3D printer.

Joining Rob, Bruce and John will be Stefan Ritt, Director of 3YOURMIND, a German-based additive manufacturing solutions firm, and Rolf Frohberger, Business Development Manager of SLM Solutions also based in Germany.

The speaker program also includes a number of companies that have implemented additive technology into their business, including Bastion Cycles, voestalpine, Aurora Labs, Conflux, BAE Systems and Anatomics. Their stories, trials and tribulations will make for interesting listening.

I look forward to seeing many of our readers attending this new event.

To register for the Unlimit3D Conference; visit:

www.amtil.com.au/events/unlimit3d-conference-2019