About one year ago, my wife and I had the great opportunity to attend California’s first Inside 3D Printing Conference and Expo, where I was exposed to some of the most amazing technology I’d ever seen, accompanied by some of the most knowledgeable speakers in the industry. Since then, Inside 3DP has grown to cover the entire globe, carrying with it its reputation for being the leading conference in 3D printing. The Inside 3D Printing Conference and Expo is circling back around to California again in one week, this time in Santa Clara, where it will be even more impressive than last year. In addition to the 57 informational sessions, 4 keynotes, more than 60 speakers, and greater than 40 sponsors and exhibitors, the event will include some really exciting new developments in the industry.
Before the seminars officially begin and the exhibition hall opens its doors, October 22-23, Inside 3D Printing Santa Clara will host a series of workshops on October 21, including two tracks covering desktop 3D printing, 3D printing services, and 3D printing in retail. All of the sessions will give attendees a great overview of the technology, as well as information regarding how a variety of businesses can sprout up surrounding 3D printing, from 3D scanning to creating 3D printed jewelry.
The proceeding two days, attendees will be treated to a huge number of exhibitors and speakers. In addition to service and software providers – like Materalise, Sculpteo, and netfabb – and 3D printer manufacturers – such as Mcor, Form Labs, TierTime, and ZMorph – attendees will have the opportunity to see exhibitions that can only be experienced in-person. Stratasys will display on the exhibition floor, a 130-piece 3D printed motorcycle model, while on the other side of the hall, Made In Space will be showing off its Zero Gravity 3D printer, one of which was just installed on the International Space Station!
The informational sessions this year will also feature some important speakers in 3D printing, including one who will be unveiling a much awaited piece of software. Inventor of Selective Laser Sintering, Carl Deckard, will be giving a talk on the history and future of 3D printing. Former Wired Editor-in-Chief and CEO of 3D Robotics will be giving a keynote, where he’ll likely cover a range of topics, including DIY drones. As exciting as they, and the other speakers, may be, I’m particularly enthusiastic about Jeff Kowalski, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Autodesk, who will be displaying the company’s Spark open 3D printing software platform, during his keynote address. Also unique to this event, MecklerMedia and Wohlers Associates will be hosting the series’ first Wohlers Associates Consulting Dinner, in which they’ll be able to dine with the expert consultant and get an inside scoop on the industry.
I wish I could be there to see Spark, as well as all of the other enticing speakers and exhibitors at the event. In my place will be 3DPI‘s Scott Grunewald, but you’ll also have a chance to meet the founders of 3D Printing Industry, Ari Honka and Eetu Kuneinen. Don’t forget: if you register now, you can get 10% off of your Gold and Silver Passports by entering the code “PD14”. Have fun! And say “hi” to my co-workers for me!
