Remember when we told you that “being early is the same as being wrong”? Well, this happens to be true for a lot of companies in the Additive Manufacturing industry – be it technology providers or technology users. The truth is, AM is one of these technologies that has been a victim of its own success, thus resulting in several overly early predictions concerning what it could/would do. That was in the mid-2010s.

Fast forward to 2023: the world is facing some of the most pressing challenges of its time: supply chain issues, energy transition, on-site and local manufacturing, etc. The list is non-exhaustive. And today, the advancements in AM and all auxiliary equipment have never been so timely to address them.

The only thing is, once you’ve decided that you want to follow the AM route or reach another level in your AM journey, there are hundreds of questions that still need to be answered: What technology? Why? For which type of applications? How?

The one question we can legitimately answer right now is where you should start and that is at the upcoming RAPID + TCT event, set to take place from May 2nd to 4th in Chicago.

Produced by technology event leaders SME and Rapid News Publications, and touted worldwide as North America’s largest and most influential AM event, the 32nd edition of this AM trade show will host over 350 exhibitors from around the world.

But RAPID + TCT is more than just its exhibition floor. The trade show is packed with industry keynotes and thought leaders, a variety of conference sessions and networking events, as well as SME Additive Manufacturing Community Awards.

This year, for example, the RAPID + TCT Conference features eight tracks specific to additive manufacturing hand-selected by industry-leading experts – with industry insiders from Divergent Technologies, Lockheed Martin Space to GE Research, to name a few. Topics will range from tips on getting started with large-format AM in consumer goods applications to the use of micro-AM in prototyping and designs in healthcare.

Furthermore, the SME Additive Manufacturing Community Awards, made up of the AM Industry Achievement Award, Aubin AM Case Study Award, AM Start-Up Technology Award  and Digital Manufacturing Challenge Award, will all be presented in the SME ZONE. This year especially, three new awards will be granted, for achievements that have been implemented or deployed in a commercial/industrial environment, outstanding use cases of AM adoption and implementation, and technology and an application that solves an existing problem or unique approach.

The spring 3D printing/AM trade show season has officially started – and among the events that should make your list, make sure you count RAPID + TCT in. For a free Expo Pass courtesy of 3D Adept, use promo code RP23BP when registering.

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