Fort Collins, Colo. – Wohlers Associates Inc. and DEMAT GmbH, Frankfurt, Germany, have announced that the 12th annual International Wohlers Conference will be held at EuroMold 2010 in Frankfurt, Germany. This year's conference, titled "The Business Impact of Additive Manufacturing," is on Friday, December 3. The EuroMold trade fair runs December 1 to 4 at the Exhibition Center Frankfurt.
Past conferences have concentrated on the latest developments and trends in rapid product development and additive manufacturing (AM). This year's event will examine the business issues surrounding AM technology adoption and how they are influencing strategic decisions in aerospace, defense, medical, dental, automotive, motor sports, consumer, and other industries. Advances in the technology for part production applications are creating:
- new prospects for economic development
- new ideas for products, businesses, and business models
- new methods of processing complex and high-value parts and assemblies
- new approaches to making lightweight structures
- new ways of combining additive manufacturing with conventional processes
- new educational and research platforms
The conference will feature nine speakers from Australia, Germany, Israel, and the U.S. Together, these individuals represent vast knowledge and experience. They have been asked to share what they see as the most important business challenges, issues, and opportunities in applying AM technology to production applications.
"Those who attend this year's International Wohlers Conference will gain insight into the business considerations of using additive manufacturing technology for the production of parts in quantities of one to thousands," said Dr. Eberhard Döring, CEO of DEMAT. "The conference will give individuals a chance to discover the real business impact of AM and how recent activities and trends are fostering ideas that were unthinkable in the past."
DEMAT organizes some of the most successful trade fairs in Europe and around the world. Wohlers Associates is an independent consulting firm that provides technical, marketing, and strategic advice on new developments and trends in rapid product development and additive manufacturing.