I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that whomever coined the phrase Detroit: Paris of the Midwest, had not spent a lot of time in Paris prior to doing so. Detroit is kind of like Gotham but with Batman refusing to leave the suburbs where he lives in his mansion. The first day was cold with stinging winds that made my eyes water. The streets were so empty I thought Will Smith would show up with a German Shepard. Fueled by a Pastrami Potato Pancake from Que Deli, I was able to make it to the show. Lunch was a hotdog with chili, onions and mustard. There is also a typical Detroit pizza which I have yet to try because I should probably consult with a cardiologist prior to doing so.
With my monthly intake of salt taken care of, I was buoyed by the atmosphere and energy. Rapid TCT is a well organized event that is a keystone in the annual Additive calendar. With US government people unable to travel, the show was noticeably smaller than usual. But, amidst a roller coaster stock market and depression-era tariff, the mood was upbeat. The most popular stand parts were rocket nozzles, so many clearly can still dream, but it was still more real than before.
People were selling real products to the 3D printing industry: from post processing equipment from Oryx which lets you remove water soluble supports quickly and accurately and more sustainable powders from 6K and Continuum, to the Addiblast finishing machines and Solukon depowdering units. Aalberts showcased its HIP and finishing capabilities as a service as did REM. You could find a wealth of binder jetting expertise at B-Jetting, or learn much about electronics 3D printing from nScrypt. People were generally sincere and down to earth. It actually reminded me a lot of how it used to be, around 2010 or so. It was homey, comfortable, friendly and people were sharing knowledge and insights. The a-holes have mostly departed.
I really liked OMD3D, which is continuing to develop the Blackbelt-based 3D printer concept. For many parts, conveyor belt FDM is a still a cost leading solution. Stratasys has a new NEO system that I was very impressed with, and 3D Systems made its EXT 1070 and EXT 1270 machines much faster, while making Quickcast easier also. I really enjoyed RPM Innovations, which was doing cutting edge work in accurate DED parts for aerospace and beyond. Youngstown-based Center Street is a very similar firm, but with robots and large-format polymer. Both of these firms have created complete solutions based on their own machines. You could buy parts from them, develop new materials with them, or get custom machines made by them. This is kind of a “systems integrator meets service” approach that I admire. I think it’s the most logical and successful approach for industrializing additive. One partner you can trust will get you your test parts, make the material you need work, help you design the part you need, and then produce it for you. Are you doing a lot of volume? Then buy a machine from them. I really like this approach. Ottomat3D was also great: this is a super simple built platform removal system that doesn’t use any fancy robot arms or the like, but does work well.
Probably the two most talked about stands were and APES and Manifest. Manifest showcased its Parallax Volumetric Additive Manufacturing (P-VAM) kit. You could lease or buy the kit and partner with them to help determine their roadmap. This is to me the best go to market for such a new technology. It speeds up their contact with the marketplace and gets people to pay to be a part of the platform. Otherwise as a small startup you could waste years with huge firms that turn out to be tire kickers. With their own light engine their volumetric 3D printing approach could win in some applications and I think they’ve taken the right path towards finding those applications.
The other most talked about stand was Advanced Printed Electronic Solutions (APES) which shows us a vision of a multilple gantries, with multiple toolheads, in multiple positions with maglev build platforms that can switch between them in round about ways. This scalable modular architecture is, to me, a very compelling vision of 3D printing at scale. My main takeaway is that were are, perhaps much less popular now but more of a community than before. To me go to market and how to approach partnering and building businesses is the key thing to tackle. There were an awful lot of small software startups for example. If they could easily find clients and partner with machine builders their future could be assured and their tools will make us all faster. But, if they struggle to integrate or struggle to find customers their efforts will be wasted. I think that for anyone making machines, materials or parts the key learning is: you have to let people seamlessly do the journey from idea to part in less time. Similar to Center Street but also some offerings from EOS and companies like Horizon Micro or the products of Conflux, we have to make it easier for people to give us money. We are doomed if we stick to selling boxes we must make it easier for people to make the parts that they need with as little cost or risk as possible.
Surrounded by wide avenues for few cars and giant buildings meant to impress we must change our ways. We used to tell people, here there is magic inside, but to get it you must build a cathedral. Here there is something amazing, but you must construct a Guardian Building to do it. That kind of approach may suit aerospace primes or others that can and must build cathedrals. But, for the rest of the hundreds of thousands of firms worldwide 3D printing is simply not accessible. Any paths to selling intelligent 3D printed products directly or letting people use scalable services are paths towards sustained growths for us all.
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