Inside 3D Printing NYC Kicks Off With Excitement and 4,000 Attendees

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The excitement is high for 3D printing.

Yesterday, the 3D printing world saw a new IPO announced and an acquisition.

Belgium-based Materialise NV, which provides 3D printing software to industrial manufacturers and medical equipment makers, filed for an IPO of American Depositary Shares. In the announcement, Materialise said it had provided more than 8,000 3D printing software licenses to over 4,000 customers, including Ford Motor Co, Airbus and Boeing Co.

Meanwhile, 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) announced that it acquired Medical Modeling Inc., a leading provider of personalized surgical treatments and patient specific medical devices, including virtual surgical planning and clinical transfer tools, using 3D modeling and printing that is rapidly changing how reconstructive surgery is done today.

Today, there are 4,000 attendees at the second annual Inside 3D Printing conference and expo in New York City, hailing from over 45 countries and 43 U.S. states. These attendees will hear from 56 speakers and get to shake hands with 37 exhibitors.

3D Systems CEO Avi Reichental started his keynote on a personal note with a story about his grandfather, who was a shoe cobbler and made shoes to measure. Reichental said on a somber note that he did not have a photo of his grandfather, who perished in the Holocaust. 

Reichental said he inherited “his [grandfather's] passion for making,” and sees a connection between his grandfather’s trade and 3D printing, in that 3D printing enables localized digital craftsmanship.

Reichental then showed a picture of the very first 3D printed part, created in 1983 by Chuck Hull, the same man who founded 3D Systems and launched the 3D printing industry. From there, Reichental shared his vision for the future of digital manufacturing, from aerospace advancements to medical devices and beyond.

Below is a photo of Reichental wearing bespoke 3D printed eyewear from pq. No hinges!

Avi Reichental 3D Systems pq eyewear

Reichental highlighted Project Ara, the 3D printed phone coming to market early next year from Google. This phone is modular, allowing a user to swap out components based on whatever is most important to them. This is part of a movement Reichental articulated as cloud-enabled 3D printing at scale.

Reichental continued to dazzle the audience with examples of 3D printing coming to the kitchen, disrupting the toy market, and changing the fashion industry.

The conference is off to a good start! Want to know what else to expect? Read our exclusive preview of Inside 3D Printing.

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