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AMUG CONFERENCE
AMUG CONFERENCE – WHAT TO EXPECT
AMUG’s AM Industry Advisor Todd Grimm details what we can expect from this year’s Additive Manufacturing Users Group Conference in Orlando, Florida.
The AMUG Conference has been unique in its approach; one that builds on, and facilitates, information exchange between additive manufacturing (AM) users. Yes, that can be done virtually, but most will agree that it just isn’t the same.
That is why AMUG is hosting a live, in-person conference.
The conference program will preserve what members have come to enjoy from past years, albeit with a few modifications to address the times. Elements include an extensive presentation lineup, hands-on workshops, and engagement opportunities throughout the days and into the nights.
Following are a few highlights of what is in store in Orlando, Florida, May 2 – 6, 2021.
THE LIVE PROGRAM
For those that travel to Orlando, AMUG won’t disappoint. Of our 170 presentations and workshops, all but one will be delivered in-person. The exception: the highly regarded Innovators Showcase will be a hybrid presentation. Hans Langer, our Innovator Award winner, will share his thoughts and experiences via snippets of a recorded video. To bring the conversation to life, your AMUG host will orchestrate the presentation from the stage.
Dr. Jonathan Morris, the Mayo Clinic’s Director of the 3D Printing Anatomic Modeling Lab, will be the Thursday keynote presenter. An exceptional speaker, Dr. Morris is informative with an easy-going style that often incorporates his wry sense of humor.
For hands-on experiences, attendees can enjoy Foundry in a Box (metal casting into 3D printed tools), cast urethane instruction, and a new activity, Print Failures MiniExpo, where failures are exposed, diagnosed, and overcome. So bring your own challenging prints and collaborate with other users to troubleshoot printing issues and learn from the AMUG network.
For session topics, insights gained/lessons learned from the Coronavirus will creep into the conversations, but it will not be the focus. In the spirit of moving onward, presenters will enlighten attendees with topics such as AM metals safety procedures; combustible dust controls; soft-touch tooling; AM on the shop floor; and light weighting parts with topology optimization.
Also, on Saturday and Sunday, ASTM will conduct a two-day certificate course on quality assurance for AM.
And sticking with the tradition of unmatched hospitality, full days of information sharing will be augmented with meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), evening activities, and the 2-night AMUGexpo, all adhering to state and federal guidelines.
INDUSTRY SUPPORT
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TODD GRIMM ON STAGE AT AMUG 2019
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THE INNOVATORS SHOWCASE WILL HONOR WINNER HANS LANGER IN A HYBRID PRESENTATION
AMUG CONFERENCE WHAT TO EXPECT
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THE HILTON ORLANDO’S PROMENADE PROVIDES 50,000 SQ. FT. OF OUTDOOR SPACE FOR THE AMUG CONFERENCE presentations, so insights will be plentiful. Attendee registrations are strong (for the times), so you will have plenty of opportunity to engage other AM users to get answers, solve problems, and roadmap your journey.
And commercial support, as event sponsors and exhibitors, has exceeded the capacity available from a socially distanced floor plan. Yes, some past vendors will not be present, but AMUG is working from a waitlist of interested companies that will bring the event to maximum capacity. The 50+ Diamond and Platinum sponsors and 75+ exhibitors will be onsite to share their solutions and answer your questions.
THE AMUG EXPERIENCE WITH A TWIST
So, what will be different for this AMUG Conference?
Versus the venues of the past five years, the Hilton Orlando is spacious, bright, and airy. High ceilings, wide halls and large rooms will let attendees have the personal space they need. Window-lined walkways let the sunshine in to brighten the day. And an expansive outdoor area provides AMUG space for activities, such as lunches.
Yes, the random seating for lunches will continue, but the touchpoint of drawing a table number from a fishbowl will be eliminated, as many others will be.
For safety protocols, AMUG will have a mandatory face covering policy, per established guideline. And social distancing will be promoted at all times, often through physical means like barriers and stanchions. Another change—there will be non-AM users visible throughout the days as hotel staff conduct the cleaning and sanitizing of the conference spaces prescribed by Hilton’s EventReady with CleanStay program.
For those that are able to attend, AMUG looks forward to hosting you and to providing an insightful week. Over the years, the tongue-in-cheek advice has been to prepare for the conference by dieting and getting plenty of sleep. This year add resting your voice so that you can project your insights through a face covering across socially distanced space.
