America Makes, the Ohio-based national accelerator for additive manufacturing will be showcasing a “Game Day” experience at RAPID + TCT 2019 in Detroit this week. The exhibit, featured in the America Makes booth, will mimic the structure of college football coverage.
Managed and operated by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) America Makes is a public-private partnership founded in 2012 by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). As part of the Manufacturing USA network, America Makes is responsible for rapid adoption of additive manufacturing.
Game Day at RAPID 2019
At this year’s RAPID, attendees will be able to engage with almost 500 companies, four keynote addresses, eight workshops, 110 conference presentations, and three networking receptions. 3D Printing Industry is in Detroit for the week to ensure you don’t miss any important news.
Commenting on the abundance of additive expertise at this years conference, Executive Director of America Makes Rob Gorham said, “From the opportunities for engagement and information sharing to the debut of groundbreaking technologies and direct access to industry leaders and experts, RAPID + TCT is beyond compare.”
With so much activity some may find it difficult to keep track of everything that is going on – an issue America Makes decided to tackle. Taking inspiration from the coverage that precedes a day of college football, the America Makes and NCDMM team is structuring its “Game Day” experience with a similar style.
Each morning of RAPID 2019 Gorham will recap and have play-by-play discussions of the keynote speeches. These “Game Day” segments will be videoed and posted to social media channels. Additionally, scouts will be recruiting RAPID attendees to come to the booth and discuss, on camera, their reasons for attending the event.
“We are also incredibly excited to present our Game Day experience and unveil our new booth design, which will serve as platform for what America Makes does best – engage with the additive manufacturing industry as a convener, coordinator, and catalyzer of people, knowledge, and projects within our industry.” added Gorham.
America Makes expands its presence at RAPID
Last year America Makes and ANSI published an update of their additive manufacturing roadmap originally published in March 2017. The Standardization Roadmap for Additive Manufacturing provides a comprehensive view of the industry, and the measures that need to be taken to advance the adoption of additive manufacturing. Over 150 industry stakeholders, including GE, EOS, Autodesk, Arconic, Apple, Boeing and 3D Systems, have participated in the production of the roadmap so far.
This has positioned America Makes as leading and collaborative partner in 3D printing technology research, creation, and innovation.
In line with its expertise the America Make booth will also be exhibiting its “Build Your Membership” tool, designed to encourage smaller organisations to interact with the America Makes program.
“Membership in America Makes is far more affordable than organizations realize, particularly for smaller organizations,” said Tiffany Westbay, America Makes Membership Director.”
Adding, “By interacting with the Build Your Membership tool, in five, easy interactive steps, non-members can tailor our Program cost-share menu to maximize benefits and essentially going from the sidelines to the end zone by scoring a membership.”
America Makes’ presence at RAPID + TCT 2019 also extends to the SME ZONE Theater & Grand Ballroom. Events include a panel titled “Implementing Additive Manufacturing – Challenges and Opportunities in AM Case Studies.” There Rob Gorham, and others, will be discussing how AM has moved beyond just prototyping and increasingly finds a space on the production floor.
This will be followed on Tuesday afternoon by America Makes Technology Director and RAPID + TCT 2019 Conference Advisor John Wilczynski, who will host a discussion on the subject of how AM is impacting the defense supply chain.
You can experience “Game Day” at RAPID + TCT 2019 with America Makes at booth #965.
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Featured image shows America Makes RAPID 2019 poster. Image via America Makes.
