The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is positioning itself as a frontrunner for additive manufacturing (AM) within the Center East and North Africa (MENA) area with many ongoing tasks making the information, notably within the development trade. And as curiosity within the expertise grows within the Center East, so do the variety of conferences. The newest convention targeted on 3D printing expertise within the space is AM Conclave, organized by AM Chronicle.

I visited the debut AM Conclave convention within the emirate of Abu Dhabi not too long ago to see what the most recent developments are inAM, each regionally and internationally.

Abu Dhabi – The 3D Printing Emirate

The UAE is made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi being the capital emirate, and in addition the most important. Whereas Dubai will get a number of press consideration for development 3D printing tasks, Abu Dhabi seems to be the emirate’s hub for extra research-focused actions and 3D printing innovation within the UAE. So, what higher place to stage an AM convention?

I arrived on the venue, the Abu Dhabi Nationwide Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), on the primary day of the convention and rapidly headed inside to the air conditioned halls, to flee the 40°C warmth outdoors. 

The AM Conclave Expo

The expo featured representatives from worldwide gamers equivalent to EOS, Caracol, Stratasys, ADDiTEC, Markforged, and Phillips Company. Whereas not each firm has a devoted workplace within the UAE, lots of them have a presence within the area, both by resellers or some type of service settlement with native purchasers utilizing their machines. A number of distributors I spoke to had been fascinated by increasing their presence within the UAE and located the convention as a very good train in networking, and to get a lay of the land.

Copper printed warmth exchanger. Picture equipped by writer.

Along with the worldwide presence on the expo, there have been a number of native entities from Abu Dhabi, equivalent to Immensa (which has the most important robotic plastic printing system on the planet), the Technology Innovation Institute, and Epitum (a neighborhood industrial 3D printer producer).

Duplicate aerospike, printed in steel. Picture equipped by writer.

Naturally, being a 3D printing expo, there have been many bodily examples of printed objects on present, together with quite a lot of aerospike and rocket engine our bodies (seen above).  

Of specific curiosity had been the reveals from ADDiTEC, who had been demonstrating some elements printed on their liquid steel printing (LMP) expertise, not too long ago acquired from Xerox. The LMP tech makes use of a steel wire feedstock, which is heated till molten, after which jetted with magnetohydrodynamics onto the half. What makes this course of notable, is the truth that it doesn’t should be reduce from the construct plate, as with different steel printing processes. In line with the consultant on the convention, the printed half simply pops off the construct plate, very like an FDM print. This alone might contribute to lowering post-processing prices related to steel printing.

The AM Conclave Convention

Adjoining the expo, the convention kicked off with a take a look at the work of the Expertise Innovation Institute (TII), who introduced the discharge of a brand new aluminum alloy powder, regionally developed for AM. The powder, designed for LPBF techniques, is known as AMALLOY, and is notable for its excessive power and excessive temperature resistance.

The convention in full swing. Picture equipped by writer.

EOS’s Markus Glasser gave a presentation on amplifying sustainable product design by additive manufacturing, illustrating with a case of the Airbus A380’s latch shaft redesign which led to vital value, weight, and carbon emissions reductions. A notable emphasis was on a digital manufacturing lifecycle enabling environment friendly monitoring from idea to manufacturing, aiding in figuring out environmental impacts proficiently. 

UAE-based Al Seer Marine revealed its developments in autonomous water vessel manufacturing, with its modern 3D printed eco-water taxi “Sukoon” being a spotlight. 

The Mega II 3D printer. Picture equipped by the writer.

The 2-day occasion concluded with a delegate’s tour of Al Seer Marine’s manufacturing facility in Abu Dhabi, to see the world’s largest robotic large-scale AM operation together with a further knowledge-building expertise. The power at Al Seer Marine has a 36-meter-long robotic 3D printer (as seen within the picture above), developed by CEAD Group. The printer is known as “Mega II” and makes use of a pellet extrusion course of to create composite elements. It’s able to printing elements as much as 36-meters-long, four-meters-wide, and three-meters-high.

Al Seer Marine has been within the press earlier than, most famously for designing the world’s first 3D printed floor vessel. The main target of Al Seer Marine, as you’ll be able to inform by the corporate identify, is certainly maritime engineering, and different tasks had been on present, together with the aforementioned Sukoon water taxi.

In conclusion, the AM Conclave appeared to be a powerful begin for an inaugural convention, attracting a very good mixture of trade, lecturers, and naturally, potential purchasers for corporations promoting their wares and companies. The UAE is aiming to develop into a frontrunner in AM within the area, and AM Conclave appears nicely positioned to function a venue for trade specialists to share concepts and make connections. Will probably be attention-grabbing to see how the convention evolves as 3D printing in MENA grows, particularly as it’s situated in Abu Dhabi, which goes to supply some attention-grabbing and modern AM-themed tales within the coming years.