One of the main events of the year in 3D printing took place last week in New York. Part of Mediabistro’s global tradeshow series Inside 3D Printing found it’s way back home to New York for the second time in it’s history. The first show hosted over 3000 visitors over two days, and this year things were set to be bigger – a lot bigger. The latest edition happened in Berlin last month and was praised by all the people I met who had attended.
I don’t even know where to begin, as I am still feeling a little light headed, not only over an incredible show, but also due to two 30 hour flights within seven days and 11 hours time difference.
Our trip started 2am in Bangkok, from where we took the first flight to Dubai. Quite standard flight, nothing really to report – basic Emirates stuff. The second leg to New York was with the Airbus 380, and I have to say that it is quite an amazing airplane! Flying economy was actually like flying business class with some less respected carriers. Finally landed safe and sound in New York and felt the +15 degrees (+30 in Bangkok…) in my every bone while waiting for a taxi.
We met with Alan the next day at Mediabistro office. It was really nice to catch up with him on the latest and to meet their marketing, content and IT teams. It’s always nice to put faces on names. Briefly said hello to John, who was also presenting the 3DPFund at the show.
The Inside 3D Printing Conference & Expo New York was set for 3 days. First day consisted mostly of workshops and the actual expo started on the second day.
3D Printing Industry was well represented at the show. In addition to us founders, Rachel, Mike and Danni also made the trip. In fact it was the second time we met with Rachel in person and the first time we met Mike and Danni. Well, starting to get used to this kind of setup already. It’s always great to see Rachel, although we speak regularly, but nothing beats meeting in person. I unfortunately missed the first dinner with Mike and Danni, but finally met them at the show. What a lovely couple and genuinely nice people.
This year’s show was slightly different for us, as we had a booth at the expo, which kept us somewhat tied up to that – in a positive way. Also I didn’t have a chance to attend that many presentations, just some of the keynotes, such as Avi Reichental, CEO 3D Systems and Carl Bass, CEO Autodesk, who are both experts not only in 3D technologies, but also in engaging audience in their presentations.
We met tons of people in the booth, mostly people new to us, such as Ioan Florea the creator of the 3D printed Ford Torino, Joseph Scott from Afinia, Matthew Finlay from Rising Media, who co-organized Inside 3D Printing Berlin. Some familiar faces also showed up, such as Brian Federal, Geoffrey Doyle and Francis Rabuck. Too many to list all. The booth also worked as a filming station for interviews for 3DPI.TV. We got some good interview footage on Avi Reichental, CEO 3D Systems, Terry Wohlers and John Baliotti. It’s coming soon at 3DPI.TV!
It was really nice to see Cathy Lewis from 3D Systems and their team. They always put together an amazing booth for their products. In fact it just gets better and better every time I see it. Last year they had a guy playing Olaf Diegel’s 3D printed guitar. This year they had the whole band! The amount of cool items on display just goes on and on, but the sugar printed section was really impressive.
We spent some time with Terry Wohlers outside the show as well, talking some very interesting developments. He is such a nice guy and truly a heavyweight in the 3D printing industry.
It was great to catch up with the Mcor team: Conor, Deirdre and Julie. Things seem to be moving fast for them, which was great, but expected to hear. Their booth was really busy everytime I walked past.
I had the chance to exchange a few words with Dr. Anthony Atala, the man who became famous with the fully functional 3D printed liver – not organic – years back. He was such a down-to-earth guy and really pleasing to talk to.
Next stop for Inside 3D Printing is Sao Paolo, Brazil next week, after which the focus moves to Asia Pacific. Seoul, Korea in June, Melbourne, Australia in July, Hong Kong in August and Tokyo in September. Read the Singapore show recap from last year here.
Many thanks for the Mediabistro team and everyone who participated!
