Page 15 - 3DMP Summer 2022

3D
FEATURE
Delivers Again in 2022
More than 1800 attendees participated in a solid conference program, featuring the technology- sharing and networking opportunities that make AMUG a must-attend
AM event.
BY LOUIS A. KREN, SENIOR EDITOR
Delivering on its mantra of “for users, by users,” the 2022 Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) Conference took over the Hilton Chicago this past April, with more than 1800 attendees on hand. They took in a program designed to bolster training and hands-on experiences even beyond the formidable offerings of past AMUG con- ferences. As an AMUG Gold Sponsor, 3D Metal Printing supports the AMUG mis- sion and was present throughout the con- ference, where news and developments
were plentiful through 160 presentations and hands-on workshops, and the 138 companies participating in the AMUG- Expo. We’ve assembled many conference highlights here, with more online at www.3dmpmag.com and in future issues of 3DMP. And, turn to page 24 of this issue for a a look at some of the new products and services we saw at AMUG and at RAPID + TCT, also held this past spring.
Innovator Showcase: Andy Christensen
AMUG 2022 featured its seventh annual Innovators Showcase, an on-stage fireside chat hosted by Todd Grimm, president of T.A. Grimm & Associates, Inc., where attendees get to know an innovator in the industry and discover insights from that individual’s experiences. This year’s sub- ject, Andy Christensen, has focused his career on developing and expanding AM medical applications. He founded Medical Modeling Inc., a Golden, CO, medical device-focused 3D-printing service bureau, in 2000, and served as its presi- dent through 2014. During Christensen’s tenure, the company worked closely with surgeons and medical-device manufac-
turers to create toolsets in the areas of patient-specific anatomic modeling, vir- tual surgical planning, personalized sur- gical guides/implants and application of metal 3D printing to orthopedic implants. Medical Modeling, working as a contract manufacturer, produced the first FDA- cleared titanium implants in both the orthopedic and spine spaces. In 2014, 3D Systems acquired the company.
Christensen now serves as chair of the Radiological Society of North America 3D Printing Special Interest Group, as an asso- ciate editor for 3D Printing in Medicine, and as an adjunct professor in the Department of Radiology at the University of Cincinnati.
During a wide-ranging conversation with Grimm, Christensen described his and Medical Modeling’s initial foray into metal AM.
“We bought an Arcam S12 electron beam melting machine in 2006,” he recalled, not- ing that efforts at North Carolina State Uni- versity (NCSU), which installed the first S12, enabled the machine’s ability to print titanium and opened the door for titani- um-AM medical applications at Medical Modeling. “NCSU was doing cool work and I thought, ‘gosh, this is amazing!’ We do a
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