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Is there any difference between 3D printing and additive manufacturing? The answer doesn’t have much impact on the Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) and its annual conference, but the need to ask the question certainly does.
According to Gary Rabinovitz, AMUG president: “Our annual users group conference is open to anyone that owns or operates any machine that uses additive technologies. Call them 3D printers or additive manufacturing machines; if you have one, you are welcome to join our conference.”
He noted that an even bigger issue is the misconception that additive manufacturing is aligned only with production applications to make finished goods. “We adhere to the ASTM definition that states that additive manufacturing addresses all applications from simple model-making to final part production,” Rabinovitz said.
He continued: “What really made this issue real was that the winner of last year’s Technical Competition, Mike Pierce, almost didn’t attend the conference. His area of interest was in prototype development. Mike told us he thought all the conversation would be about manufacturing!”
The AMUG Conference runs April 14 – 18, 2013, in Jacksonville, Florida USA.
