Packed conference at SQUARE, Brussels
There aren’t many companies that can pull off a multi-track, two-day conference using only its partner network and top it off with a Jimmy Fallon show-style event complete with its own ‘3D Printed Hearts Band’ made entirely of its staff. But then there aren’t many companies like Materialise, which recently ticked all of those boxes, and then some, when it hosted its biannual World Summit in Brussels.
Materialise founder and CEO, Fried Vancraen, welcomed delegates to SQUARE on April 20th with a brief history of how the Belgian 3D printing company has evolved over the last 27 years.
“We believe co-creation is at the base of many more successes,” Fried explained and that belief set the course for the presentations that followed with a host of Materialise partners discussing everything from aerospace to consumer goods.
The trend for partnerships is a rising one as major players team up to turn additive manufacturing into a viable tool for industrial production. Materialise has been doing this for almost three decades and cemented this belief declaring it no longer talks about R&D but rather RC&D – Research Co-creation and Development. One such partnership is with Hoya Vision Care on the Yuniku platform, which has bold ambitions to “do to eyewear what iTunes did to music”. Collaborations with BASF, Airbus and Siemens, who said, “additive manufacturing is a major opportunity”, also took centre stage throughout the two days.
In a conference highlight, a graphic but incredible talk from Dr. Jonathan Morris at the Mayo Clinic showed some unreal examples of how 3D printing is bridging the gap for healthcare professionals. We saw examples of how the hospital, which produced around 600 surgical case models on its own 3D printers last year, has performed complete cranial reconstructions, removed complex tumours and successfully separated conjoined twins with 3D printed guides and tools. Dr. Morris advised attendees to “not put barriers to people using this technology because they will use it in ways that you cannot imagine”.
Optimised 3D printed wheelchair design.
Stefaan Motte, VP, Software at Materialise spoke about ‘context’ in the industry to ensure the technology adds value, demonstrating that the core of Industry 4.0 is about communication in terms of machines talking to each other in addition to businesses and individuals. We also heard how design is being used to make products more meaningful for consumers. Brilliant examples from LAYER showed how a collaborative process resulted in a custom 3D printed wheelchair and digital supply chain, and how the redesign of a generic charity box increased its revenue by 80%.
Most talks on AM are about the future and who better to talk about that than the people who will be working in it? Welcomed as “three young people from Materialise”, Ayishwariya Menon, Kristel Van den Bergh and ir. Manuel Michiels discussed innovating the future and how “companies cannot afford to stand still." Presentations on 3D printing parts for the SpaceX Mars space station, digital supply chains with Tailored Fits AG, AM for automotive tooling with RapidFit+, and GE Additive provided plenty of pause for thought.
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Exhibit at the UK's definitive and most influential 3D printing and additive manufacturing event, TCT 3Sixty.
The "big reveal" at Concert Noble.
Introducing "Materialise 0.1"
Early on we were teased of a brand new innovation that had just got the green light from Materialise’s Leuven lab. All attendees were shuttled over to Concert Noble where we were promised a first look at “Materialise 0.1”. Was it a new 3D printer? Robot? Time machine? In an elaborate presentation, which included “live video footage” of the company’s CEO transporting the mystery product straight to the event, which was then paraded through the crowd, anyone could see that all was not what it seemed. And we were right; the big reveal was that Materialise 0.1 is all of us, the partners, the collaborators in the Materialise network, further driving home the significance of co-creation.
If there was one key takeaway from the Materialise World Summit, it was the value of partnership. You can’t raise this industry up all on your own and it’s encouraging to see that more companies are willing to make these connections to exchange knowledge and push it forward together. Judging by Materialise’s unshakable lead as the industry backbone that can only be a positive thing.
