The latest Additive Manufacturing Consortium event held at ORNL earlier this month was definitely time well spent. With an overflow crowd and topic paper presentations from across industry, academia and several government agencies, it was clear that this organization has reached critical mass, and will continue to play a leading role as metal AM applications and acceptance continue to expand.
In addition to the depth of the technical content, everyone was treated to an extensive tour of the ORNL Manufacturing Development Facility (MDF). What a very cool place, doing very cool things. Here we saw the breadth of AM technologies being employed and developed, and real world examples of how these technologies are impacting advanced manufacturing by addressing some of the most critical design challenges in several industries, including aerospace, medical, energy, and automotive. Among the highlights, this facility recently developed processes to produce a low cost, light weight metallic robotic hand manufactured using AM, as well as a full scale version of a Shelby Cobra that was displayed at the Detroit Auto Show.
Attendees also had several opportunities to network with each other and our ORNL hosts during session breaks, as well as at a dinner hosted by EWI.
For more information, or to register to attend a future event.