3d Printing and Additive Manufacturing Symposium

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing – Revolutionizing Aerospace and Defense Innovation, Production, Logistics, and Readiness

A recent report from McKinsey Global Institute named 3D printing one of 12 disruptive technologies that will “transform life, business and the global economy” within the next decade. Unlike traditional manufacturing, which involves creating a smaller object  from a larger source material, 3D printing and additive manufacturing take raw materials, feed them through a 3D printer and create a customized object from that material, eliminating excess material waste. The potential ability to exchange 3D printing design and  manufacturing capabilities via file sharing has enormous potential ramifications for reducing shipping and production costs, slashing  production-to-end-user cycle times, dramatically improving SWaP ratios, and significantly reducing the logistics footprint. The range  of potential applications is limitless: spare parts, medical prosthetics, bioengineered human cells, armor and other force protective  equipment, explosives, sensors, and perhaps eventually entire systems, containing printed circuitry, power storage and software.

This outstanding symposium gathers together the government and industry experts who are shaping the future of 3D printing and additive manufacturing for defense and government will examine the latest DoD and government plans for spurring the growth of these dynamic technologies.

• How are DoD and Service manufacturing strategies being shaped by 3D printing and additive manufacturing? 

• How is the state-of-the-science being pushed by NIST, DOE, NASA, NSF and other government efforts? 

• What are the emerging lessons learned from early tacticaldeployments of 3D printing on the battlefield? Aboard ship?  

• What new materials and processes are needed?

• What are the potential cyber security challenges and solutions?

• What is 4D printing? How will 4D printing enable future systems to evolve in response to immediate tactical stimuli? 

• What are the latest 3D and 4D printing and AM capabilities on the industry drawing board? How can you get involved?

These and many other critical questions will be examined during this outstanding two-day event.