Some of the world’s leading architects, designers and engineers will be revealing the future of 3D

Is it possible to use advanced additive manufacturing to finish the construction of the Sagrada Família? Could you build a house on the moon with 3D printers? Could you wear your own designs made from this type of technology? And what about cars or aircraft? Could it help in treating children’s cancers? Top professionals from these sectors will be showing us how it’s done at the first edition of In(3D)ustry From Needs to Solutions, which takes place on 21-23 June at the Italian Pavilion of Fira de Barcelona’s Montjuïc Exhibition Centre, bringing together the main additive manufacturing companies and their industry users.

The event, which combines presentations and a trade show area, is structured around the experiences of four major sectors that use this type of technology in their manufacturing processes (Health, Automotive and Aeronautics, Consumer and Retail, and Architecture and Habitat), featuring renowned professional speakers.

Speakers include New Zealander Mark Burry, who is using 3D designs for work to complete the Sagrada Família in Barcelona; Belgian architect Xavier de Kestelier, a partner in Norman Foster’s practice and responsible for the project to build houses on the moon with 3D printers; and designers such as Israeli Danit Peleg and New Yorker Francis Bitonti, amongst others, who will explain how the use of this new manufacturing option has greatly advanced the way they work. The inaugural address of the event will be given by US scientist Vinton Cerf, widely regarded as one of the ‘fathers of the internet’, who will open the conference sessions.

Other speakers on the subject of Architecture, along with Burry and de Kestelier, include German architect Patrik Schumacher, a partner of the late Iranian architect Zaha Hadid who is perpetuating her projects; and Greek architect Areti Markopoulou, the academic director of the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia. Two Spanish architects who work with the MIT’s Media Lab, Jorge Duro and Laia Mogas, will explain how these new materials can be used in the construction industry.

In the Health section, notable speakers include neurosurgeon Bartolomé Oliver, who uses 3D prosthetics in his facial reconstruction procedures, and Dr Lucas Kruel from the Hospital of Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona, a pioneer in the use of 3D printing in paediatric oncology.

The Israeli fashion designer Danit Peleg, an expert in the design of clothes using domestic 3D printers, and New York architect Francis Bitonti, who created a 3D printed dress for diva Dita Von Teese, will be the stars of the fashion segment. The automotive and aeronautical sector will feature José Manuel Martín Vázquez, an engineer and expert in the manufacture of metal parts for Airbus Defence and Space, and representatives of leading companies such as SEAT and Aciturri Aeronáutica.

The event will be rounded off by the Maker Pro space coordinated by Venezuelan urban planner Tomás Díez, the co-founder of Fab Lab Barcelona, which will show how individual users, known as makers, are the key elements in developing advanced additive manufacturing. This area will be equipped with fully operational 3D printers as well as hosting workshops and conferences and providing a hub for business meetings.

Promoting advanced additive manufacturing
This first edition of the show, which enjoys the collaboration of Barcelona City Council through its Barcelona Activa department, the Catalan Government, through the Secretariat for the Governance of Information and Communication Technologies, the General Directorate for Industry and ACCIÓ, and the Zona Franca Consortium, has aroused the interest of many of the leading manufacturers of these kinds of printers.

In(3D)ustry From Needs to Solutions will be attended by companies such as HP, Hofmann, Renishaw, Arburg and Nexeo Solutions, who will take advantage of a fresh new format in the event’s Arena section to reveal their latest new products and industrial solutions available to end users. In this respect, HP will be presenting the European launch of its new Jet Fusion 3D printer featuring 3D colour printing technology. Other companies such as Asidek CT Solutions, Axis Prototypes, Biotech Dental, Ineo Prototipos, Mastertec, Olivetti, Pantur, Poly-Shape, Repro 3D and Ultimaker are also taking part in the event.

In(3D)ustry From Needs to Solutions will offer the chance to discover the huge array of possibilities offered by this type of technology along with current and future trends thanks to open code software with the participation of Simone Cicero from OS Vehicle, who will explain how electric cars can be built using 3D printers, and Donald K. Carter, director of the Remaking Cities Institute at the Carnegie Mellon University of Pittsburgh in the USA, who will talk about how this kind of technology can transform cities, amongst other speakers.

There will also be presentations of projects featuring this technology created by entrepreneurs, SMEs and technology centres from all over the world in the spheres of new forms, new materials and digital processes in the Innovation Marketplace. Meanwhile, the In(3D)ustry Awards will recognise the four best solutions presented for each of the core industries and one overall award in an initiative coordinated by the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation (IASP).

In(3D)ustry From Needs to Solutions will also host the final sessions of a workshop entitled IMPRIMIDA where artists and designers bring to life their creations by 3D printing. This initiative kicked off at the Fab Lab in Barcelona and will continue at Sonar+D, Barcelona’s advanced music festival, which takes place a few days before Fira de Barcelona’s show.