EuroMold 2013 highlights the “countless possibilities” of 3D printing

EuroMold, which takes place annually in Frankfurt, Germany, is more than a leading international trade fair for moldmaking and tooling, design and application development. Today, it is also the major 3D printing and additive manufacturing event in Europe.

This year at EuroMold, attendees can visit the DigiFabb exhibition pavilion in hall 11, where a number of companies are jointly presenting the newest 3D printers, accessories and related services, together with information about the current state of the art, developments and promising perspectives for the technology. 3D printing technology is already being used for prototype development in the fields of design, architecture, mechanical engineering and mass production in medicine and dental technology or the packaging industry.

However, as Dr.-Ing. Eberhard Döring, CEO of EuroMold pointed out: "In the meantime, the countless possibilities are not only recognized in technical and scientific circles." Not only have some of the largest corporations and brands in the world discovered additive manufacturing, people at home have, as well. Hence the printer technology shown in the DigiFabb display is not reserved for industrial use alone, but is definitely also targeted at the consumer market.

Technical know-how and falling costs have fast brought 3D printers within reach of consumers interested in exploring this new production technology.

3D printers for home use are already available for as little as EUR 300, with which users can print toys, jewelry and other small items.

Döring: "3D printing technology is currently in a transition phase from a technology used to fabricate prototypes to a technology for manufacturing end products. Our industry is experiencing this unusual and exciting change in concrete terms."

According to Döring, the further development of 3D printing technology has the potential to shake the existing and previously solid definitions of the entire process chain - such as those of the consumer and the producer. EuroMold, he said, is seeking to "provide a platform for the latest and most interesting technologies and to demonstrate to what extent they will fundamentally define our daily lives in the very near future."

Another additive manufacturing highlight at this year's EuroMold is the 15th International Wohlers Conference, which will take place on Thursday, December 5, titled Business and Investment Opportunities in Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing. Interest and investment in AM technologies are at an all-time high, and they are leading to new businesses, business models, products, services and organizations. The conference includes nine speakers from Belgium, China, Germany, New Zealand, South Africa, and the U.S., all with years of expertise in research, development, business and investment in additive manufacturing.

Fittingly, a company that will debut at EuroMold this year is Arburg, the company that stunned visitors to the K Show in October with its new 'freeformer,' a 3D printer that uses commercially available standard granulate, thus bringing high quality, low unit costs and production efficient manufacturing to the field of additive manufacturing. Two freeformers, manufacturing one-component and two-component parts, will be on display at the company's stand in Hall 11, E 121.