Update Working Group Use Cases

Posted on March 31, 2022March 31, 2022 by Ingo Schepers

Despite unfavorable conditions thanks to Corona, we have made a first mark regarding regulatory frameworks in orthopedic technology with the workshop for orthopedic technicians – requirements for AM manufactured orthoses – on March 22.

The workshop was completely booked out, the interest was great. In addition to representatives from medical supply stores and orthopedic technology companies, representatives from the Berlin Chamber of Crafts and the DIN Institute were also present. We heard two fantastic presentations on experiences from the dental industry and regulatory requirements for AM manufactured medical devices. Everyone agreed on the importance of validated manufacturing processes in orthopedic technology and the need for communication regarding digitalization into the trade to create safety and minimize fears of new technologies. There is still a lot of work ahead of us, but we are well on our way to navigating the regulatory jungle.

Neuer Förderaufruf für die Additive Fertigung in Berlin!

Posted on March 21, 2022April 1, 2022 by Ingo Schepers

UPDATE:

Wir haben uns sehr gefreut, dass am 30. März so viele Berliner zur Informationsveranstaltung AMBER Pro FIT Call zu uns in den Marienpark gekommen sind.
Herzlichen Dank an Berlin Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie für ein wundervolles Berliner 3D-Druck-Netzwerktreffen!

Mit dem Ziel, die Hauptstadtregion als herausragenden 3D-Druck-Standort in Europa zu etablieren, treibt Berlin die Entwicklung seines innovativen Ökosystems im Bereich des Additive Manufacturing (AM) Berlin Brandenburg AMBER, voran.
Berlin wird Testfeld und Showroom für neuartige Produktionstechnologien und innovative Wertschöpfungsnetze, verbunden mit einer wegweisenden Forschung.

Mit dem AMBER Pro FIT Call können Forschungs-, Entwicklungs- und Innovationsprojekte im Bereich der Additiven Fertigung unterstützt werden. Themenfelder sind:

Personalisierte Medizintechnik
Bau und Leichtbau
Additive Fertigung mit biobasierten Werkstoffen
Additive Fertigung im/für den Weltraum.

Weitere Informationen hier: https://www.berlin.de/industriestadt/industriepolitik/artikel.1186217.php
Die Bewerbung geht an direkt an die IBB.

Together We are Strong

Posted on March 4, 2022March 5, 2022 by Ingo Schepers

That’s why we as the Additive Manufacturing Community – an association of various industrial 3D printing companies – want to show a clear sign and stand up for our beliefs with this statement below.

Workshop für Orthopädie- und Medizintechniker | Thema: Anforderung an AM-gefertigte Orthesen und Prothesen

Posted on February 24, 2022March 31, 2022 by Ingo Schepers

Innerhalb unseres Netzwerks nehmen die Prothetik und Orthetik einen immer größeren Stellenwert ein, da dort die meisten Anwendungen für den 3D-Druck zu finden sind. Das Interesse vieler Orthopädietechniker ist groß an dieser Technologie, die Anforderungen allerdings auch.

Deshalb veranstaltet unsere Arbeitsgruppe USE CASES unter Leitung von Dr. Cora Lüders-Theuerkauf am

22. März 2022
von 13.00 – 16.00 Uhr
in Berlin

als 2G+-Präsenzveranstaltung einen Workshop für Orthopädie- und Medizintechniker.

Thema des Workshops sind Anforderungen an AM-gefertigte Prothesen und Orthesen. Der Workshop richtet ich nicht nur an AM-Experten, sondern an alle Interessenten, die sich zukünftig ggf. mit der additiven Fertigung beschäftigen und diese nutzen möchten. Zur Zielgruppe gehören Handwerker, Orthopädietechniker sowie Medizintechniker aus Betrieben, Sanitätsfachgeschäften u.a. Die Berliner Handwerkskammer, das DIN-Institut sowie Vertreter der Landesinnung für Orthopädietechnik Berlin-Brandenburg sind auch mit an Bord.

Wir werden einen Impulsvortrag zu den Erfahrungen aus der Dentalbranche von Gregor Reischle, Experte für AM, hören und uns dann pro-aktiv an die Arbeit machen, um Standards, Normen etc. zu sammeln. Ziel ist es, eine Art Blaupause mit allgemeingültiger Vorgehensweise zu Testmethoden und Prüfverfahren zu entwickeln, die auch dem DIN-Institut für zukünftige Ausschüsse zur Verfügung gestellt werden kann.

Für mehr Informationen kontaktiert bitte Cora

How to train your AM staff

Posted on February 7, 2022February 25, 2022 by Ingo Schepers

One of the greater challenges for implementing Additive Manufacturing in the industry is the education and training of the workforce:

Machine operators must learn how to handle the 3D printers’ special features for producing components that meet the high requirements of the market. Designers should learn to consider the additional benefits of Additive Manufacturing as early as in the development process to promote the technology out of the niche of spare parts business or the reworking of existing components.

For this purpose, numerous market participants offer further education and training on various topics. The search for appropriate offers is time-consuming and the offers are difficult or even impossible to compare. This is due on the one hand to often superficial descriptions of the training content, and on the other hand to the high degree of individuality of the offerings, which are to be developed for customers depending on their needs and prior knowledge.

MGA has recognized these issues and wants to help make the training landscape more transparent. This will support companies, venturing into the field of Additive Manufacturing, to get started and provide guidance in choosing appropriate training.

Based on this motivation, the networks working group “Education” has developed a modular training system that is designed to meet the different requirements of workplaces, based on the experience of various industry participants from all parts of the process chain, together with training providers and certification bodies. It is basically based on the process diagram of DIN Spec 17071.

WeBoostAM.com: The AM platform

Posted on February 5, 2022February 25, 2022 by Ingo Schepers

The biggest goal of MGA is to boost AM into industrial series production. To reach it, we need way more awareness of our technology in all areas of industry as well as certified production processes. There will certainly never be “enough” new applications. One fact is clear to all our members: We will not achieve that goal as individual players. Hence, we agreed on sharing our knowledge with everyone interested in Additive Manufacturing, following the mission of enabling more companies to adopt the technology and thus increasing its impact on the manufacturing industry. Finding an adequate way to share our findings became a key element of our process.

In 2018 the Working Group Education came up with the idea to create a map-based platform with all our network members listed with their own company profile. Based on the member company listings we wanted to create transparency and so we added more listing types step by step. Based on a filter property model elaborated by the Digital Supply Chain Working group, companies are now able to share successfully implemented AM Use Cases to give AM newcomers orientation and good practice examples for their own start in the field of 3D printing.

But we did not stop with companies and use cases, we also added with the help of the Materials Working Group a Materials Compass, that is intended to give all users an overview of which materials are available on the market and, above all, to which mechanical requirements they fit. Because we all know that in AM the range of materials is even greater than the number of different technologies.

Last but not least and again with the help of the Materials Working Group we compiled AM-relevant standards and come up with a filter logic that allows a quick overview of the standards landscape in AM.

So are you looking for a service provider specialised in printing Aluminium? Do you need impressions of Use Cases printed in Steel for your next project? Do you want to get inspiration of the latest innovative ideas from other professionals? Or are you just missing a standard for testing plastic parts? All this and much more can be found on the platform. And the best about it: The entries are connected to each other through their properties and are thus cross-searchable!

MGA: A network of 141 members

Posted on February 5, 2022February 5, 2022 by Ingo Schepers

MGA as a network would be nothing without its members and it is with great pride that we have once again seen an increase in numbers in the past year. Currently we have the following 141 members:

We are delighted to announce that the following 32 members have joined us over the past year:

Q1

Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM)
The Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) is a senior scientific and technical Federal institute with responsibility to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. It tests, researches and advises to protect people, the environment and material goods. As a member it can contribute expertise about different AM processes, non-destructive testing and in-situ process monitoring into the network.

Formlabs
Formlabs is a developer and manufacturer of 3D printing technology. The company was founded in September 2011 by three students from the MIT Media Lab and develops and produces 3D printers as well as the associated software and consumables.

Neue Materialien Bayreuth GmbH
NMB is a non-university research institution that develops novel material variants and the associated processing methods in the thematic field of lightweight construction for plastics, metals as well as fibre-reinforced composites.

Finnester Coatings
Finnester develops and manufactures high-quality specialist coatings for composites and plastics. Their research on ceramifying polymers lead to RED: coatings applied to standard composites and plastics to meet fire protection requirements without disrupting the production.

be-on-Quality GmbH
be on Quality is one of the leading experts in Medical Device Regulation Management – Germany. They want to participate in combining the knowledge about current medical device procedures for market access with the knowledge about AM processes.

KIMYA Additive Manufacturing by ARMOR
Kimya, launched by ARMOR, offers innovative solution of custom 3D materials adapted to the needs of manufacturers. They are happy to discuss high-performance materials with the major European players and bring in their expertise in chemistry and compounding.

NematX
NematX is pioneering the use of a novel class of high-performance polymers for additive manufacturing. With their material-centric approach to AM, the goal at NematX is to enable the production of 3D printed end products for the toughest application environments.

Materion
Materion provides material solutions and high quality technological solutions for long-term success, whether with precious or base metals, inorganic chemicals and powders, specialty coatings, specially developed copper-based beryllium alloys, beryllium and beryllium composites, ceramics or clad and coated metal systems.

Additive Drives
Additive Drives is proud to power the next phase in drive evolution: highly efficient 3D-printed windings for electric motors. The focus is on high-performance copper windings, the main component of every electric motor. The simplified production – directly from the CAD data of the designer – enables shorter development and test cycles.

Q2

University KU Leuven
From Renaissance philosophy to cutting-edge nanotechnology: as one of Europe’s oldest universities, KU Leuven boasts a long tradition of ground-breaking research and high-quality education. They have a clear vision focused on research, education, quality and diversity and extensive knowledge in 3D printing of guides in oral and maxillofacial surgery.

Medical University of Graz
The broad field of competence at Medical University of Graz rests on three main pillars: Future-oriented and innovative education for students and people interested in professional development, Competitive and internationally networked cutting-edge research from basic science to clinical application & personalized and state-of-the-art patient care at University Hospital Graz.

AMPOWER
AMPOWER is the leading consultancy in the field of industrial AM and advises their clients on strategic decisions by developing and analyzing market scenarios as well as compiling technology studies. They also support through targeted training programs as well as identification and development of components suitable for production.

miniFactory
miniFactory is an industrial 3D printer manufacturer driven by passion for high-performance polymer 3D printing. Its technology enables the use of a wide range of specialty polymers in 3D printing and ensures the quality of printed parts. The company has also developed a customized process monitoring system.

SpareParts3D
Spare Parts 3D is a French start-up that provides the most efficient additive manufacturing software solution to identify, digitize and 3D print spare parts. With a fully automated solution, called DigiPartTM, its clients can perform technical and economic analysis on the full scale of their traditional parts inventories, and eventually print parts.
By getting their spare parts inventory “AM ready”, our clients can reclaim control of their spare parts supply chain and create value.

Alstom
Alstom is Germany’s only manufacturer of infrastructure, signaling and digital mobility solutions, offering maintenance, service and modernization of all commuter trains and their components for series of all manufacturers, as well as information systems.

Universität Basel
The Swiss MAM, Medical Additive Manufacturing Research Group of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at University Basel bring in many years of experience in computer-assisted surgery and medical 3D printing as well as a well established network of international contacts.

Q3

Ponticon
Ponticon develops solutions for coating, repair and additive manufacturing of high-performance components. They are a team of passionate engineers, bold entrepreneurs and experienced strategists embedded in strong networks of academic and industrial end-users.

VUB Brüssel
The University of Brussels’ Additive Manufacturing Research Lab has the vision to enable Smart Components through Advanced Manufacturing solutions. Therefore, AMRL specializes itself in the development of Hybrid DED Metal AM equipment and the integration of Embedded Structural Health Monitoring sensors in Metal AM components to enable true Predictive Maintenance.

SRH Berlin
The SRH Berlin University of Applied Sciences is one of the leading private universities in Berlin. They work closely together with other European universities with the goal of establishing a Master level course in Additive Manufacturing.

Universität Bayreuth
The Research Center for Additive Innovations is a unique interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary think tank that bundles technical and non-technical competencies and expertise from 25 chairs and professorships at the University of Bayreuth and non-university research institutions in the field of additive innovations.

School of Finance and Management Frankfurt
Frankfurt School is a leading business school in Europe, focusing on finance and management in research, education and consulting. Having designed and taught a course on “Entrepreneurship in the 3D printing era”, they would like to engage projects at the interface between AM technology, management and human behavior.

Grenzebach
Together with manufacturers of 3D printers and equipment in the AM environment, as well as companies using this process, Grenzebach develops holistic solutions that precisely fit the respective requirements. Grenzebach is also active as a partner in research projects such as Polyline, which focuses the series production of plastic components.

CTC – An Airbus Company
CTC is Germany’s leading center R&D in the design in manufacture of large, complex components of dry fiber of prepreg with specialization on complex aviation-quality components. CTC is a full-service partner for developing efficient series production of components with composite materials.

TU Berlin
The Space Technology Department of the Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics at TU Berlin is the first German chair of space technology. Together with BAM, the Department of Astronautics at TU Berlin would like to advance the topic AM in Earth orbit and on other celestial bodies.

Essentium Europe GmbH
Essentium manufactures and delivers innovative industrial 3D printers and materials, enabling the world’s top manufactures to bridge the gap between 3D printing and machining and embrace the future of Additive Manufacturing. Essentium believes an open ecosystem is the best solution for users who want to innovate their own pace.

AM Entrepreneur
After his time at EOS and TÜV Süd, Gregor Reischle set up his own business as a consultant for AM topics. Active collaboration in the fields of AM business model design, entrepreneurship, digital process chain, distributed manufacturing, platform solutions in AM area, medical manufacturing and process standardization is particularly important.

Q4

Velo3D
Velo3D provides an end-to-end metal 3D printing solution for mission-critical parts used for space exploration, to enhance transportation efficiency, and to produce cleaner energy. The End-to-End supplier focuses on metal printing systems, especially for individually designed, system relevant parts and their software.

3DCeram
3Dceram produces ready-to-use 3D printing systems for ceramic materials, that include printing, firing and cleaning. As a 3D printing process provider for technical ceramics, 3Dceram is specialized in three areas: industry (defense and automotive), aerospace and aeronautics and biomedical (eye implants, cranial implants etc.).

Arnold Umformtechnik
Arnold Umformtechnik is a German automotive supplier focusing on fasteners, cold forming and processing systems. As expert for intelligent fastening systems Arnold Umformtechnik also offer solutions for lightweight construction and electric mobility.

KMUE Consult
With more than 35 years of aerospace and maintenance experience Klaus Müller, owner and founder of KMue Consult, can contribute his knowledge about AM activities of the Aerospace industry, insights into new research fields, equipment and education.

Takeda
Takeda is the largest R&D oriented biopharmaceutical company worldwide and owns its own research centers, focusing on four core therapy fields: oncology, gastro enterology, rare diseases and neuroscience. They are interested in sharing knowledge on AM solutions for machines, spare and format parts.

Institut für Anaplastologie Velten & Hering
The Institute für Anaplastology Velten & Hering has more than 25 years of experience in the field of medical custom-made products and offers epithetic and respiratory solutions, dental technologies and special prosthetics. With the rising regulation and certification requirements in the medical sector, they are looking forward to sharing their expertise with the network.

Review of 2021 – what we achieved last year

Posted on February 1, 2022February 7, 2022 by Ingo Schepers

The pandemic still has its firm grip on the global economy, on supply chains and productions, but nonetheless the network managed to turn the last 12 months into the busiest months since the launch of MGA: 9 companies, one idea – and the MGA network was born. This happened in 2016, so this year we celebrated the 5th birthday of MGA and the countless achievements of the past years. Check out what happened since June 2016…

Potential growth is something everyone is looking for – and we achieved it when it comes to our members. In the past 12 months we welcomed 32 more members into the network, ending the year with the astonishing number of 141 members. Check out who is part of the network!

Our Working Groups have met virtually more times than we can count to produce amazing results:

Our Education Working Group published a Training Modul Catalogue.
WeBoostAM became so much more than a slogan and our knowledge database really kicked off this past year.
Our Mobility Working Group Materials has hosted the first successful “Fuck-Up-Night”, they are establishing a new task force focusing on WAAM, they are dabbling with the topic of printing copper and the Round Robin Test is once again on the table.
We kicked-off two new Medical Working Groups and both Hospitals and Pharmaceutics are already starting to earn their keep.
With Aero+Space we left earthbound mobility behind and focus on AM in the aviation sector and the new Working Group is starting to attract a lot of attention from our members
Medical Approval has not only published the MDR Decision Tree, they also hosted a very successful workshop for orthopaedic and medical technicians on the approval of 3D printed medical products
A greener future is on everyone’s minds so we also relaunched our Working Group Ecological Sustainability that is focused on making AM the sustainable technology that we all know it can be

Unfortunately the year has not only brought good news: With the passing of Uwe Fresenborg, former chairman of the board and Honorary Member of MGA, we lost one of the most charismatic voices of our industry in April. He is dearly missed!

But as the saying goes, the Show must go on, and so the year went on and was filled with event after event:

In July we hosted the Women in AM Summit together with IPM and eventhough the AM Forum was held as a digital-only event, quite a few women travelled to Berlin to network with the female representatives of our industry.
In the summer we celebrated the premier of the MGA KidsCamp and with the amazing support of Autodesk and Ultimaker were able to exited more than 20 children for the topic of 3D printing.
Every two years we are proud to join our mobility members at the Railway Forum in Berlin and even though the pandemic is still on everyone’s minds, this years Forum hosted by IPM was a great opportunity to spread the word on AM in the railway sector.
Last year’s Annual Meeting was very special indeed – not only was it one the 5th birthday of our network, you also voted for a third honorary member and for many of you it was the first face-to-face meeting in a long time.
In November finally the formnext in Frankfurt once again opened it’s doors to welcome the fAMily and we were happy to join Berlin Partner at the Berlin Brandenburg booth and to meet so many of our members at the trade fair.
Last but not least we premiered another event in November: the AM Medical Days were the most successful event that IPM ever hosted (according to feedback received from their participants) and we cannot wait for next year, when this format will once again take place in Berlin.

Throughout the year, we found the ear of more and more politicians and with the 3D industrial initiative have made it our goal to give the AM industry a unified voice. It was great to see how many members of the German parliament followed our invitation to learn more about Additive Manufacturing.

All in all 2021 has been a challenging year, full of never-seen-before hurdles, but we are proud to say that it has been a very successful year for our network.

None of these achievements would have been possible without each and everyone of our members and we would like to thank you all for your contributions and support and are looking forward to the next year with you!

5 years of MGA – celebrating our achievements and our birthday

Posted on January 7, 2022February 7, 2022 by Ingo Schepers

In 2016 companies wanted to face the challenge of printing spare parts faster than they could be produced with conventional production processes without losing quality. But nine companies soon realized that individually they would not be able to overcome the many hurdles on the way to pushing Additive Manufacturing into series production – so the idea of a network was born.

In June 2016 these nine companies, namely Siemens Mobility, Knorr-Bremse, Deutsche Bahn, Leupold Legal, Materialise, eos, Schockemöhle Logistics, Fraunhofer IAPT (formerly Laserzentrum Nord) and SBB Cargo, came together to work out the details for this 3D printing network.

Mobility goes Additive was launched on September 21 2016 at the Kaiserbahnhof in Potsdam, where the first members agreed on the name and the bodies. The Executive Board was made up of Uwe Fresenborg (DB), Johannes Emmelheinz (Siemens), Jürgen Mues (SBB Cargo) and Prof. Dr. Claus Emmelmann (LZN), Treasurer was Philip Janssen (DB) and the Advisory Council was made up of Rolf Härdi (Knorr), Dr. Andreas Leupold (Leupold Legal), Steffen Kuhn (materialize) and Nikolai Zaepernick (eos). And Managing Director has been Stefanie Brickwede since 2016. We celebrate the birthday of the network on October 26 of that year, which is when the official entry in the register of associations happened!

The first year of Mobility goes Additive was filled with lots of talks with other companies and we grew our numbers from 9 foundation members to 55 members within the first twelve months – an achievement that mirrors the need of the industry for an AM network. At the first Annual Meeting in November 2017 in Frankfurt, we welcomed all those new members, presented the results of our first Working Groups “Digital Supply Chain”, “Education & Knowhow”, “Approval” & “Legal” and elected the first honorary member of the network, Peter Sander (Airbus).

At the beginning of 2018 more and more companies became interested in the different aspects of 3D printing and the network started to closely cooperate with IPM to boost Am-specific events and trade fairs. At the AM Forum in Berlin that spring we introduced the first ever Women in AM-Luncheon to help the female members of our industry to connect and help each other – at that time the women’s quota within the AM industry was at a shocking 13 % but since then it has grown and we like to think that Women in AM does not hurt this improvement.

As the AM community and with it the number of our members grew, Stefanie Brickwede and Arvid Eirich soon needed more hands and heads to manage the topics of the network. But it was not just the growing office team that needed space, it also became important, to give the network a physical space where anyone interested in AM could experience the technology first-hand. Therefore, in 2018 and with such esteemed guests as the Secretary of State Mobility goes Additive made the Marienpark, a beautiful historic oasis in the south of Berlin, its home – a place showcasing examples of the many applications of 3D printing to countless visitors in a unique setting.

And the visitors interested in our network already that year were numerous and special: like the delegation from the US Army that came to our office to learn more about AM applications for the defense sector and to teach us a thing or two about printing at the armed forces.

In September 2018 we held our Annual Meeting for the first time at our new premises – and the 3D evening event (Dine, Drink & Dance) at this location made it all the more special. By this time we already had 8 Working Groups in which our members came together to tackle the various problems and it was amazing to see the results of these endeavors on stage.

After the success of the Women in AM Luncheon in 2018 we decided that the female members of our industry needed an even bigger stage: So in March 2019, one day before the AM Forum, the Women in AM Summit took place as a whole day conference at the Marienpark with interesting speeches, coaching and of course a lot of room for networking between the female leaders of the AM industry. The men were allowed to join the women at the pre-evening event for the AM Forum, that we together with IPM also hosted at the Marienpark.

Just one month later, in April 2019, we reached another mile stone in MGA history: we launched MGA Medical – our division focused on AM applications and technologies in the medical sector. Never would we have dreamed of the success that division would have when we started it under the lead of Dr. Cora Lüders-Theuerkauf on a sunny day in the spring of 2019 with lots of ideas and even more plans.

In May 2019 our network tightened its international cooperation: we signed an MoU with the NAMIC network in Singapore and since that day we have worked very closely together with our friends from Asia.

If you needed tangible proof of the added value of our network, in 2019 with the publication of the book “AM Change Management: from hype to implementation” can be bought online. The book is the product of the Working Group “Change Management” and is used by many member companies as a guideline for implementing 3D printing into their daily business.

Many of the achievements of those first three years would not have been possible without the dedication of many individuals and especially a pioneer of our AM industry. Which is why at the Annual Meeting 2019 in the beautiful brewery of Brewdog in the Marienpark in Berlin, our members voted for Uwe Fresenborg to become MGAs second honorary member. His responsibilities as chairman of the board where taken over by Gorden Falk (DB) who was joined by Prof Dr Claus Emmelmann (Fraunhofer), Johannes Emmelheinz (Siemens) and Alain Eicher (SBB Cargo) to be reelected as the executive board of MGA.

Then came the month of November and with it our first MGA participation at the Berlin Partner organized Berlin Brandenburg booth at the formnext in Frankfurt – another example how amazing cooperation can work. The formnext is where we meet the fAMily and in 2019 we met so many members in the halls of the Messe Frankfurt, the 4 days were not nearly enough time to talk to each and every one.

Later that same month, and again in cooperation with Berlin Partner, we hosted the first ever TechJourney, offering a deep dive into Israel’s AM ecosystem with a focus on industrial manufacturing and AM in the medical field. It was a great opportunity to see first hand one of the most forward-thinking nations of our industry, with lots of innovative start-ups as well as research facilities. The group including many members that came together and made the trip to Israel with us was definitely one of a kind and the spirit and comradery of the travelling party was part of what made this trip unforgettable. The TechJourney was a fitting end for a year full of highlights!

At the beginning of 2020 we had all heard of the new virus that had started to spread in Asia – but most of us were quite unaware of what was to come… At the end of February we hosted the MGA/VDI Students Competition here in Berlin. For that great event, more than 60 students from all over Germany as well as Austria came together to face a challenge with the help of 3D printing within a set timeframe and against other competing teams. For our members and partners it was a great opportunity to recruit fresh young minds, for the students it was a chance to meet likeminded people from other universities and to connect with possible employers – all in all it was a really great success!

At the beginning of March, more and more cases of the so called Corona virus, that by now is part of our everyday language but was new to many people two years ago, were reported all over the world. Rumors of potential lockdowns started spreading, but were still a part of the AM Forum and hosted a very small Women in AM Summit in Berlin. And then just a few days later, Germany and many other countries went into a lockdown and the craziness that has been the past two years hit us all in full force. But as always, we did not bury our heads in the sand but quickly organized the network into a new Working Group: 3D printing fights Corona. The initiative hosted webinars on how our members can help the community through the pandemic and was able to donate more than 5.000 face shields to the Johanniter.

Our network powered through lockdowns, home office, travel restrictions, event cancelations and the strained economy. In September 2020 we hosted the first ever hybrid Annual Meeting, allowing members from all over the globe to join us virtually, even if they could not make it to Berlin in person due to the ongoing pandemic, and to also vote for a new member of the board: Güngor Kara (Ottobock) now represents our Medical division on the executive board. Furthermore, at the Annual Meeting our “Approval in Rail” Working Group presented another great milestone that resulted directly from the amazing cooperation within the group: the conclusion and print of the final report “Approval of safety-relevant components for short-distance rail traffic”. And last but not least we opened the Industrial Additive Manufacturing (IAM) Hub Berlin, the first step on the road of making the Marienpark the home of AM in the capital of AM.

Most of us thought that by the beginning of 2021 the pandemic would be over, things would start to get back to normal and we would maybe, just maybe, hit the restart button. But of course that did not happen and 2021 was still dominated by Corona headlines. But our Working Groups did get used to meeting virtually so they continued to produce results and in 2021 some of the hard work of the past years resulted once again in tangible benefits of the cooperation within our network. First of all, our WeBoostAM-platform, a result of the Education Working Group, went online and was soon filled with life through the efforts of our Materials Working Group (of course, our biggest Working Group achieved so much more than that, if you would like to know more, click here). Then our Medical Approval Working Group was able to publish a Decision Tree for easier handling of the complicated and confusing MDR. And last but again not least, our Education Working Group published a “Modul Catalogue of a further education structure in the field of Additive Manufacturing” to help structure and align the different AM training approaches.

During the summer of 2021 the situation started to relax a little more and together with IPM we hosted the 4. Women in AM Summit in Berlin, for the first time without the corresponding AM Forum happening as a physical event the next day but it was nonetheless a success and a platform for female representatives of the AM world to network. What made it even more of a success was the fact that it was the first AM event after the lockdown for so many of us and it was great to once again be able to network with likeminded people from our community in an inspiring setting.

Just two weeks later Autodesk, Ultimaker and MGA welcomed the first participants of the MGA 3D printing KidsCamp: lesson learned was definitely that teenagers are a lot more work than we anticipated but it was amazing to see how easy it is to get 10 – 15-year-olds exited about AM. The kids left the one week camp with knowledge and 3D printed goodies and we definitely inspired some of them to stick with the topic of AM.

Then in September everyone was exited to meet in person again and so many of you came to Berlin to celebrate the 5th birthday of MGA at the Annual Meeting together with our executive board, our advisory council and our office team. It was a blast to see so many of you, to hear from our Working Groups as well as the esteemed guest speakers and of course to have you vote Arvid Eirich to become the third honorary member of the network. For those who joined us virtually and missed the cutting of our enormous birthday cake – sorry, but it really was delicious!

In November Covid numbers were rising once again but we saw many of you at the formnext in Frankfurt, where we were once again part of the amazing Berlin Partner managed Berlin Brandenburg booth. And then it was time to premiere the first ever AM Medical Days here in Berlin. Together with IPM we hosted the two day event that was all about AM in the medical sector and according to the feedback that IPM received afterwards it has been the most successful event ever hosted by them – we could not be prouder and cannot wait for next year when we can hold the event without travel restrictions. Once again, the year ended incredibly successfully and we can only thank each and every one of our members for that.

Throughout the five years of the MGA network, we have grown our numbers from the 9 founders to an astonishing 141 member at the end of 2021. We started off with one Division and 4 Working Groups, now we have 7 Mobility Working Groups with 6 more Focus Groups and 5 Medical Working Groups, meeting more times than we can count.

We have found cooperation partners like IPM, formnext and Berlin Partner who enable us to shape the conferences and trade fairs and to place the most important topics wherever possible and necessary.

Through the contacts in our network, startups have been founded and business contacts have been made that would otherwise never have happened.

Our office team is part of many juries and committees, both political and otherwise, always pushing the topic of AM.

We have found the ear of many politicians and through the 3D industrial initiate we have professionalized our communications with the most important political committees.

Happy Holidays

Posted on December 23, 2021December 23, 2021 by Ingo Schepers

Dear Members, Friends & AM Community,

2021 has been another challenging year but we are happy to have once again spend it within this branch of community – it has been amazing to see the support throughout our industry!

So at the end of this year, we would like to thank you for the last year, for your support, your hard work, your honest words, your achievements and so much more!

We cannot wait to see what 2022 has in store for the AM industry! Let’s keep boosting AM together.

But for the next few days, we wish you all time to relax, to switch off and spend quality time with your loved ones under the Christmas Tree.

Merry Christmas, everyone, and a Happy & Healthy New Year!

Author: Ingo Schepers