ORLANDO, FL (February 8, 2016) — The Laser Institute of America (LIA) will host their annual Laser Additive Manufacturing (LAM®) Workshop on March 2-3 in Orlando, FL. The two-day event will focus on ‘why lasers?’ in the flourishing field of additive manufacturing. There will be fascinating keynotes, sessions, exhibits and networking opportunities taking place during the workshop, as well as a line-up of notable speakers and industry experts. LIA’s 2016 LAM workshop is a must-attend event for professionals involved in manufacturing of complex, lightweight, metal and other structural materials.
Paul Denney, General Chair of LAM 2016, along with his Co-Chairs Ingomar Kelbassa and Jim Sears, have designed this year’s program around analyzing how people are using additive manufacturing, and where, when and why lasers are the best solution compared to other technologies.
“We are hoping this year’s workshop will help attendees better understand the pros and cons of laser-based additive manufacturing over the other technologies. Hopefully it will also provide direction to those looking to improve on the status of the laser additive manufacturing and what technologies need to be developed and/or improved upon,” said Denney. The program will provide an overview on the many diverse options that are available today to create formed parts, which ones to choose and why you should choose them.
The first day of the workshop will begin with a keynote by Professor Sudarsanam Suresh Babu of The University of Tennessee at Knoxville, presenting Recent Advances in Metal Additive Manufacturing at Manufacturing Demonstration Facility: Role of in-situ Process Monitoring, Computational Modeling, and Advanced Characterization. Following the keynote, speakers will come from companies involved in alternative technologies and laser additive manufacturing, including companies using gas metal arc welding (GMAW), ultrasonic welding and electron beams. Sessions on the latest in additive equipment directly from major manufacturers, including Concept Laser and Optomec, Inc., are also on the program. After a session on new additive approaches from academia and industry experts, the first day will conclude at the Exhibitor Happy Hour Reception, an excellent networking event.
‘Bridging the gap’ of laser additive manufacturing from research to application will be the theme for the second day of the workshop. Staring off, a keynote address by Professor David Bourell of The University of Texas at Austin, Director of the Laboratory for Freeform Fabrication, will discuss the current status of additive manufacturing. Afterwards, the morning sessions will provide insights from government, corporate and academic labs and how they are taking their work from the lab to the factory floor. The afternoon will discuss job shops and their use of additive manufacturing for their customers. These topics will fascinate those who may be interested in developing prototypes and production parts using additive manufacturing processes, but unsure where to begin. The workshop will wrap up with a session on the latest in process monitoring and control, two of the essential aspects to developing robust manufacturing processes.
Peter Baker, LIA’s executive director, is excited about this year’s workshop, stating “Now in its 8th year, LAM has become a premier event in the additive manufacturing arena. We are grateful to the contributors and sponsors who create this valuable workshop.”
With growing interest in additive manufacturing, based on maturing technologies and processes, this is an excellent time to educate, network and benchmark laser additive manufacturing against other technologies. Users from diverse industries such as oil and gas, aerospace, agriculture automotive, defense, marine, transportation, power generation, construction and tool and die, can all benefit from the knowledge gained at LAM.
Those interested in attending LAM 2016 can visit the LIA website (www.lia.org/lam) for more information and register today.