Anticipating the Inside 3D Printing Event – San Jose

I’ve never been to a conference before.  Well, maybe I went to a video game expo when I was a kid (where I got to meet Sonic and Tails).  But I definitely haven’t been to a 3D printing conference.  And neither has my fiancé, Danielle.  So, we’re flying up to San Jose, where I’ll be covering the Inside 3D Printing conference and I couldn’t be more excited!  The only thing is, Danielle and I will probably want to see different things. I, as a praised “expert” with almost (1) year in the field, will be interested in the cutting edge developments to the technology itself, while Danielle, as a novice with almost (1) year of listening to me talk about being in the field, will probably be more interested in the applications of 3D printing.  But, based on the list of great speakers and exhibitors, I think that there will be plenty for both of us to enjoy.

Mike

I’m pretty excited about seeing the Stratasys and 3D Systems booths. Generally, I’m on the Maker side of things, so I’ve seen Replicators, Printrbots, and Bukobots up close, but I haven’t gotten a glimpse of the high-end machines that are making all of the headlines. That’s all going to change starting September 17 as I begin covering the event and writing for 3DPI full-time.  For the same reason, I’m looking forward to the Industrial Scale AM Tech talk given by Chuck Alexander of Solid Concepts, which will cover the various types of 3D printing tech, from Streolithography (SL) to direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), and how they apply to large scale manufacturing.

Danielle

At first, Danielle expressed interest in the Growing Objects talk by Ulf Lindhe, of netfabb.  The talk, which will discuss design inspired by objects in nature, such as “the way corals aggregate or leaf veins grow” (according to the expo’s website). To her, it makes sense to design based on the principles in nature because nature’s already proven its design skill for billions of years.  So, she was hoping that the talk might cover things like using stem cells to grow semi-organic objects.  When I told her that it might just be about interior design and consumer goods, she said, “If it’s about a 3D-printed chair, I’m going to be pretty bummed.” In the case that Growing Objects is about cups modelled after coral, Danielle thought she’d be much more excited about the 3D Printing Pioneers talk, which will include all of the original founders of 3D printing technology, like Scott Crump (Stratasys) and Chuck Hull (3D Systems). While she was aware that AM had been around for awhile, I don’t think she realized that it’d been in existence since the 80s and I think she’s fascinated by stories about the technology’s origins. I think she imagines a sort of This American Life about the inventors of 3DP.

Mike

As a proponent of a probably unrealistic open source world in which everyone shares everything with everyone, I would definitely like to attend the talk titled “3D Printing and the Future (or Demise) of Intellectual Property”, where attorney John Hornick will discuss all of the questions relevant to 3DP and IP law, including “Will IP survive, or are we headed for a worldwide open technology community?”  Fingers crossed that it’s the latter.  Then, to get an alternative perspective on the topic, I’ll see what James E. Malackowski and Peer H. Munck have to say in “Preventing the Napsterization of 3D Printing: Areas for Industry Collaboration and Transparency”.  Why anyone but Metallica and big record labels would want to prevent Napster, I don’t know, but as Kevin Spacey said in regards to the Netflixiation of TV, “And through this new form of distribution, we have demonstrated that we have learned the lesson that the music industry didn’t learn: Give people what they want, when they want it, in the form they want it in, at a reasonable price, and they’ll more likely pay for it rather than steal it. Well, some will still steal it, but I think we can take a bite out of piracy.”  Hopefully, their talk will work along the same lines as Spacey’s.

Danielle

Though she has some interest in the future of patents, understanding that 3D printing is likely to change the ownership of ideas and designs, it doesn’t scream out to her like the lecture titled “Robots will print your food.”  I was showing Danielle one of Pablos Holman’s many Ted Talks and told her that he’d be talking about 3D-printed food at the conference. She was immediately stoked, saying “I was really excited when that Japanese guy made meat from poop, so I’d probably really enjoy anything that makes food production more efficient.” She then added, “They got 3D-printed poop, yet?”

I should mention that she’s already come up with one idea for a 3DP invention — modifying the 3Doodler 3D printing pen to use foods, like chocolate or cheese, to create elaborate garnishes for gourmet food.

Here’s the aforementioned Ted Talk^[1]:

Both Mike and Danielle

I think that both Danielle and I will be torn between the talk given by Mcor’s Dr. Conor MacCormack and USC’s Prof. Behrokh Khoshnevis.  On the one hand, Mcor’s paper-based 3D printing model could have a huge impact on the affordability and sustainability of the technology.  On the other hand, Khoshnevis has made a name for himself with the idea of 3D-printing large buildings.  His talk, which will cover the potential for automated construction of “mega-scale” structures with contour crafting to create emergency shelter, low income housing, and lunar habitats. After writing that sentence, I’m leaning towards seeing Mcor’s booth in the exhibit hall and attending Khoshnevis’s lecture.

It would be hard for anyone not to want to see the talks on 3D printed electronics or organ printing, and the booth from Made in Space.  It’s in those arenas that it becomes evident just how ridiculously sci-fi this whole technology is.  As Janos Veres discusses incorporating the layer by layer creation of circuit boards into the additive manufacturing of objects or the folks from Made in Space show us the 1st 3D printer that will print amongst the stars or the CEO of Organovo passes out free 3D-printed tissues samples (maybe I’m getting carried away), it will be impossible to deny that we are living in the future, that maybe the futurists are right and that all we have to do to make life survivable is to invent, invent, invent.  If it weren’t for their hard-headed belief that “technological progress” is always the answer to every problem.  I mean, who wants to live forever?

Then, of course, there’s the Networking Reception Sponsored by 3D Systems. I’m not the best networker and the people I really want to meet are probably going to be too busy to talk to me.  I’m talking about the head honchos, like Organovo CEO Keith Murphy or the inventor of 3D printing, Scott Crump.  I want to introduce myself to Hod Lipson, creator of the Fab@Home – tied with RepRap for the first home 3D printer – and author of Fabricated, and tell him that I’m going to write a book on 3D printing too! Hell, maybe I’ll even get to pose with Cody Wilson, if he shows up! And, of course, who wouldn’t want to meet this face?

Wish me luck at my first Inside 3D Printing conference! After all, I’m just a writer, more of an inventor of words than things.  But, if all goes well, maybe they’ll invite me to talk next year! In the words of Bobby Dylan, “I’m a poet. I know it. I hope I don’t blow it.”