The RAPID+TCT 2019 annual conference and trade show, produced by SME, convened on May 20-23. Several thousand attendees and 400-plus exhibitors had access to more than 100 additive sessions in the Motor City of Detroit, home to GM, Ford and Chrysler. Though autonomous vehicle technology and 3D printing’s role in automotive surfaced as relevant topics at the show, the auto sector was just one focal point among many on the 3D printing landscape being discussed at the event. Joe Louis, famed boxer, greets guests upon entering the Cobo Center for the RAPID+TCT 2019 annual conference. “This event is an annual…
Materialise, a software developer and 3D printing company largely known for its advances in the medical and automotive fields, hosted a meet-and-greet and factory tour at its facility in Plymouth, MI, on May 19, the night before RAPID+TCT event would start 30 minutes away in downtown Detroit. Several dozen customers and partners of Materialise, including Siemens, BASF and Stratasys, along with the press, visited to get an insider’s look at what’s happening at the company’s Midwest location, in operation since 2009. Materialise, headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, also operates facilities in 17 other countries, and has another U.S. operation in nearby…
