From left: AMUG 2017 keynote speakers Todd Grimm, Stacey DelVecchio and Jason Lopes.
The Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) has announced its keynote speaker line-up for the 29th edition of the AMUG Education & Training Conference.
Attendees can expect to hear talks from Stacey DelVecchio, Jason Lopes and Todd Grimm when the event arrives in Chicago, Illinois, from March 19 – 23, 2017.
Steve Deak, AMUG president, said, “We have an exciting line-up of keynote speakers, including two perennial favourites. Once again, Jason Lopes and Todd Grimm will share their insights and experiences with their passionate, engaging and inspirational presentation styles. Caterpillars’ Stacey DelVecchio will join us, for the first time, to enlighten us on the strategic aspects of applying additive manufacturing (AM) in applications that go far beyond prototyping.”
In his seventh appearance as an AMUG keynote speaker, Todd Grimm, president of T. A. Grimm & Associates and AMUG’s AM industry advisor, will open the conference to shed light on where the AM industry is going and offer guidance on how attendees can get there.
Deak commented: “Todd opens our conference by sharing valuable insights over a broad spectrum in a way that engages the audience and makes them comfortable with developments and issues that may challenge our members. His keynotes are perfectly aligned with AMUG’s intent — sharing information so that the right decisions can be made.”
Stacey DelVecchio, AM product manager for Caterpillar, will step onto the AMUG stage on Tuesday, March 21, to discuss how Caterpillar’s strategy to bring 3D printing from prototype solution to manufacturing method has evolved. Stacey will also share how Caterpillar is leveraging its innovative incubator to “think big…start small…act fast”.
Jason Lopes, of Legacy Effects, returns for his fourth AMUG keynote appearance. In his presentation, he will share how the special effects studio has used 3D technologies bring ideas to life in major film and TV projects including Avatar, Avengers 1 and 2 and the upcoming third and Jurassic World.
Deak added: “For Jason’s keynote, we have a new twist this year. He will begin his visual journey of his use of additive manufacturing for special effects on Monday; continue with video shorts on the following days; and then wrap up on Thursday with a Q & A session. The goal is to illustrate the amazing things the company does and how it selects the right technology for the job.”
The AMUG Conference will also feature the Innovators Showcase, which is an on-stage conversation with Carl Deckard, inventor of Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and chief technology officer for Structured Polymers. The conference will also include over 200 presentations, workshops and hands-on training sessions.
The users group conference is open to owners and operators of all AM technologies. For more info and to register, click here.
