Erfurt, March 2013: On May 14 & 15, 2013 the gates of the Erfurt Rapid.Tech open for the 10th time. Beginners and experts offer the congress exhibition, through the close interconnection between expert-led lectures and exhibition presentations, a comprehensive theoretical and practical scientific exchange on all aspects of Additive Manufacturing. The Designer Day on 15th May presents interesting themes and new results, trends and possibilities specifically relating to product development and construction. For the Jubilee Exhibition the organisers expect around 60 exhibitors, over 400 congress attendees and more than 650 trade fair visitors.

Since 2004 Rapid.Tech has developed into a leading venue for the rapidly developing cross-sector technology Additive Manufacturing (AM). "With Generative Manufacture, geometric possibilities and building parts are now realisable, where they were either too complicated to produce or simply unworkable in the past. Examples are stresses on inlaid work pieces and components. The application of Additive Manufacturing also allows for special know-how, that until this point prevented the application of particular construction principles," explains Professor Frank Beneke, Faculty of Machine Construction at the University of Material Science in Schmalkalden, who together with Professor Thomas Seul, Manager at the Laboratory of Machine Construction of Plastic Technology, also at the University of Material Science in Schmalkalden, are responsible for the Design Day program.

The key note speaker David Hayward, Projects & Operations Manager, Design Studio at Bentley Motors Ltd., Crewe (UK), will speak on "Bentley Motors - 3D Printing, Creativity & the Future concentrating on design freedom - ". He shows among other things, how much creative potential is realisable through the application of Generative Manufacturing during the production of a small series of exclusive automobiles and how this potential can be exploited. Under the motto "Unusual features in the process of translating product ideas by means of Additive Manufacturing" he focusses a lecture session on 3D-Print and on the third law. Furthermore the lecture covers the improvement of the surface roughness and the reduction of mistakes on the surface of high performance SLM building components. Successful applications of and points of view about Additive Manufacturing in design and material technology will also be presented. For example the production of thin-walled Aluminium building parts by means of selective laser melting and technologies for the Generative Manufacture of ceramic building components. Moreover the Designer Day focusses on the potential Rapid Product Development and Rapid Manufacturing. "The program maps a process chain that is conceivable and useable in daily working life. It has more to do with evolution than with revolution", explains Professor Thomas Seul about "red" threads.

Rapid.Tech 2013 - all aspects of Additive Manufacturing

Alongside the Designer Day at Rapid.Tech 2013 there are also, in regard to AM, the Aviation, Medical Technology and Dental Technology forums, the user-based conference and the forum of the Fraunhofer-Alliance for Generative Manufacture. "Additive Manufacturing has left the arena of being purely a developmental tool behind it. Generative Manufacture will be used more often and in more industries as a manufacturing tool", reports Professor Andreas Gebhardt, expert advisor of Rapid.Tech. Accordingly the congress exhibition focusses not only on the technological aspects of Additive Manufacturing. Themed at this year's exhibition are also aspects such as reproducibility, monitoring and safety of the build quality as well as legal issues.

FabCon 3.D: The Platform for Fabber, Maker and 3D-Printers

Parallel to the Rapid.Tech on May 14 & 15, 2013, the FabCon 3.D will also be premiering at the Erfurt exhibition centre. The convention will provide the up-to-date hype about "Fabbers", "Makers" and 3D-Printers with an appropriate platform in the German language room. The visitors can expect, alongside a creative workshop and a lecture program a comprehensive exhibition, as well as an evening get-together. Around 25 exhibitors - from commercial 3D-Printer manufacturers to the operation of hacker spaces - will present the most recent trends and achievements in this billion dollar market

Further information can be found at www.rapidtech.de