Microcentrum Rapid Manufacturing & Mass Customization Symposium
18 November 2008, ’s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands
A new symposium on 18 November in ’s-Hertogenbosch brings Mass Customization and Rapid Manufacturing together. Organized by Microcentrum, a large Dutch research and high-tech education organization, the seminar brings these two hot topics together.
The text of the pre-announcement describes quite neatly the topic and idea of the event:
Matching mass customization and rapid manufacturing can be compared to writing a letter: Today anyone can write a personalized letter and merge it with data on paper. But why can this be done with letters and not with plastic, metal or ceramic objects? Individuality plays a central role in an increasing number of industrial and consumer products. This topic will be discussed by experts with various backgrounds, including RM guru Terry Wohlers from the United States. I also will have the opportunity to provide a keynote on this event.
The steam engine and the industrial revolution went alongside with each other , and the chip and the second industrial revolution were also closely related. The first industrial revolution was concerned with mechanization, the second one with automation. Mechanization led to many identical objects for many users. The distance between makers and users grew. They became producer and consumer. Automation reinforced this. Mass production exploded in terms of numbers and globalization. The areas in which mechanization and automation took place overlapped each other only slightly and the result was continuous production in large numbers as opposed to a revival of craftsmanship.
Thus the freedom that automation offers does not lead to a greater diversity in products the average individual can obtain. New insights and technological possibilities however, have led to something that lies between the old and new situation: Mass Customization. Products are still made in large quantities. But now the individual does have influence. The Internet plays an important role in enabling the consumer to configure objects to his needs. One of the solutions that has much to offer, despite the fact that it concerns industrial production, is Rapid Manufacturing. The form of objects is no longer dictated by machine tools but rather is directly defined by digital – thus inexpensive – information that can vary for each product and makes each object unique. With this the consumer can also create his own design.
Can sufficient added value be generated with Mass Customization and Rapid Manufacturing for the products to rise above those of the competition? How can both generate profits? This new symposium also targets those responsible for making strategic choices.
The event ‘Rapid Manufacturing & Mass Customization 2008’ will take place on 18 November 2008 in ’s-Hertogenbosch.The conference language is English. Students are entitled to a reduced entry fee.
Organisation: Mikrocentrum. Chairman: Rein van der Mast
Update: Program now online:
09.00 Welcome
10.00 Opening of the symposium
Geert Hellings, director Mikrocentrum
10.10 Introduction: the shortening distance between RM and MC
Rein van der Mast – chairman
10.30 Profiting from Mass Customization: Success Factors and Pitfalls
Frank T. Piller, RWTH Aachen & MIT Smart Customization Group, M.I.T.
11.20 The shape of things to come
Jan Willem Gunnink, Delcam PLc
11.50 Coffee break
12.10 How to get more out of MC, wherever possible with RM
Hans Maessen, Solvagroep
12.40 Realizing the business potential of rapid manufacturing
Martijn Laar, Berenschot
13.10 Lunch break
14.00 The Future of Rapid and Custom Manufacturing
Terry Wohlers, Wohlers Associates, Inc
14.50 Rapid Manufacturing cost-effective?
Mike Ayre, Crucible
15.40 Metal Rapid Manufacturing
Jonas van Vaerenbergh, Layerwise
16.10 Coffee break
16.30 RapidManufacturing.net
Liam van Koert, Array Publications
16.40 Tailored solutions for sourcing Rapid Manufacturing components
Jurgen Laudus, Materialise
17.20 Conclusions
Rein van der Mast - chairman
17.30 Drinks and networking
For more information, check back to the event web site.
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