Even in its fourth year, Formnext is setting new and impressive records. On an exhibition area of more than 36,000 square meters, 550 exhibitors will present numerous innovations, world firsts, and trailblazing industrial applications. This will make Formnext - being held from November 13 to 16, 2018 - the international guiding star for additive manufacturing and modern industrial manufacturing methods.
The two levels of Exhibition Hall 3 were already fully booked ten weeks before the start of the trade fair. "This shows how dynamic the growth of Formnext is", according to Sascha F. Wenzler, Vice President for Formnext at Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH. In addition, the leading trade show for additive manufacturing and modern industrial manufacturing methods is using the areas adjacent to Hall 3 for events within the framework program. For example, the TCT conference @ Formnext is being held in the Europa Room of Hall 4.
Additive solutions for numerous user industries
At Formnext 2018, exhibitors from 33 nations and the world elite of additive manufacturing will be represented. At around 55 percent, the proportion of international exhibitors underscores the global importance of Formnext. After Germany, the major exhibitor nations are China (13.4% of international exhibitors), USA (10.8%), Italy (8.2%), UK (7.5%), as well as France, Spain and the Netherlands (6.6% each). 165 new exhibitors from 26 countries will exhibit for the first time.
Alongside market leaders such as 3D Systems, Additive Industries, Addup, Adira, Alphacam, Arburg, Arcam, BeAM, BigRep, Concept Laser, Carbon, Dassault, Desktop Metal, DMG Mori, Envisiontec, EOS, ExOne, Farsoon, Formlabs, FIT, GE Additive, HP, Keyence, Markforged, Materialise, Matsuura, O.R. Laser, Prodways, Renishaw, Ricoh, Siemens, Sisma, SLM Solutions, Stratasys, Trumpf, Voxeljet, and XJet, numerous other companies from all over the world are expected.
An even wider range of topics will be covered along the relevant process chains, and key areas such as software, material, and pre- and post-processing (for example, for powder removal, surface finishing, or heat treatment) will also receive increased attention. Here, traditional companies such as BASF, Böhler Edelstahl, HC Starck, Höganäs or Linde are demonstrating their latest developments and their industrial application know-how. Numerous start-ups and young companies are also offering visitors ground-breaking innovations, ranging from AI software to specialized additive production technologies. In this way, Formnext 2018 is offering a unique spectrum of innovations that enable visitors from many user industries to unlock the potential of additive manufacturing in their own production processes.
Transatlantic summit on AM standards
On November 14, the international nature of Formnext will be underlined by the standardization summit, "AM Standards Forum", which is being organized by Formnext in cooperation with the U.S. Commercial Service, along with German and American partners, for all interested parties. The latest developments for additive manufacturing standards will be presented at the summit and discussed with respect to special areas of industry. Participants at the summit will include high-ranking representatives from the political sphere, leading international companies, and standards institutions.
Forward-thinking highlights
TCT, Formnext’s content partner, is also organizing another high-quality conference program in Hall 4 that will bring the AM industry’s leading minds together with industrial users during the exhibition.
The Start-up Challenge has already established itself as an important competition for promising young companies. The 2018 winners will be honored at Formnext and appear in an area bearing the same name. Here visitors can be inspired by the pioneering innovations such as printed micron-structures, automated component optimizations or solutions for additively manufactured medical products and composite materials.
The international competition for ideas – the "purmundus challenge" – will also be staged at Formnext 2018 on the theme of "Preparing for the Future with 3D Printing" and will give recognition to creative companies. The hotbed of ideas at Formnext is rounded off by young companies showcasing their abilities in the area sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi).
The real advantages that can be gained through additive manufacturing in industry and mechanical engineering will be demonstrated by the Ready4industry user case area. This is again being held by Formnext’s conceptual sponsor – the Additive Manufacturing working group, part of the German industry association VDMA.
The AM4U platform, which started successfully last year, will continue and offers career opportunities, further training, and the chance to make new contacts in the additive manufacturing industry. The diverse agenda includes an international cooperation exchange, a career day, and the Discover3Dprinting seminar series. This is geared toward midsize companies that are looking to get started in additive manufacturing and is being organized in cooperation with the Aachen Center for Additive Manufacturing (ACAM).
For the first time, applications and opportunities for additive manufacturing in the construction industry will be presented within the scope of AM4U. To this end, Formnext is cooperating with TU Darmstadt and the BE-AM Symposium, with the aim of making the potential of additive manufacturing usable to an even greater extent for the construction industry and architecture.
A glance into the future of Formnext
Impressed by the huge demand of the exhibitors was Sascha F. Wenzler: “The fact that we’ve been able to occupy all the exhibition space so well even after expanding again underlines the highly dynamic and sustainable growth of Formnext, which is impressive confirmation of the exhibition concept that we have developed together with the industry.” To meet the growing demand also in the future, Formnext will next year be moving to the newly built exhibition Hall 12 of the Frankfurt exhibition grounds, which combined with Hall 11, provides exhibition space of around 58,000 square meters.
