Formnext ups the tempo

Contrary to the rather subdued economic development in most industrialized countries, Formnext is showing excellent registration figures and thus reflects the high dynamics of the AM industry. "In economically challenging times, additive manufacturing plays an outstanding role in the further development of industrial production," says Sascha F. Wenzler, Vice President Formnext at the organizer Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH. "This is because companies can use state-of-the-art manufacturing methods such as industrial 3D printing to gain a real competitive advantage and meet the increasing demands for more sustainable business practices."

Visitors can look forward to numerous innovations and world premieres at Formnext from 7 to 10 November 2023, the organizer promises. AM suppliers from all over the world, start-ups and established industrial companies, will cover the entire additive manufacturing process - including materials, software, design, hardware, production solutions, post-processing and quality assurance. The already very high level of international participation has been increased to over 60 percent, attracting even more international experts for industrial production to Frankfurt.

Special show "Service Provider Marketplace"

One of the highlights of this year's supporting program is the Service Provider Marketplace. This special show, organized in cooperation with Daimler Truck & Buses, is celebrating its premiere at Formnext this year. AM service providers will showcase examples of applications from the automotive sector to demonstrate how additive manufacturing can be used successfully and the importance of service providers. At the special show, well-known automotive companies such as Daimler Buses and Brose will also present how they use additive manufacturing in their own companies.

Focus on sustainability: partner region Nordic

This year's partner region of Formnext is the Nordic region. Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland are home to the world's leading manufacturers of AM equipment, material suppliers and a large number of innovative start-ups and medium-sized AM companies. At the same time, the region in northern Europe is a leader in sustainable thinking and will also be presenting innovative solutions in this area at Formnext. Numerous delegations from the Nordic region have also announced their attendance. For example, there is great interest and development potential for additive manufacturing in the oil and gas, fish farming and processing and boatbuilding industries.

Enhanced conference concept

Formnext has also further developed its conference concept. This year, for the first time, the lecture program will take place on three stages (Industry Stage, Application Stage, Technology Stage) distributed throughout the exhibition halls. The different focal points cover important AM trends, applications and innovations from exhibitors and help visitors to find the right offer conveniently and efficiently. In this way, Formnext will further promote the important exchange between technology providers and users and make the content publicly available to all stakeholders in the halls.

The Formnext Start-up Challenge will also be held for the ninth time and awards prizes to innovative and viable business ideas from young companies. The exhibitors in the Start-up Area will present themselves in short presentation rounds as part of the Pitchnext event.

At the Career Day on November 9, job seekers can find out about career opportunities in the AM industry and at the same time take part in a job consultation and have a current application photo taken. For companies looking to enter the AM industry, the established daily Discover3Dprinting seminars, held in cooperation with ACAM, offer excellent insights and advice.

The Additive Manufacturing Working Group in the VDMA, the conceptual sponsor of Formnext, is presenting a special show with valuable AM applications from the world of mechanical engineering. The BE-AM special show will use real applications to demonstrate the advanced developments of the increasingly important topic of 3D printing in the construction industry. At the same time, the BE-AM Symposium will present numerous backgrounds and future developments in this field.