It seems like yesterday, but it’s now almost eight years since we published the first issue of DEVELOP3D. Prior to that, many of us worked on MCAD magazine and, back in the day, even a few of us produced a tabloid called CADD.
In those twenty plus years we have witnessed an incredible revolution in product development technology, across all aspects of design, engineering and manufacture.
It seemed to take decades to go from 2D drawings to 3D modelling. Now we are talking about systems that can automatically design optimal structures by running hundreds of thousands of simulated tests, deriving solutions that we could never imagine, which can then be 3D printed in titanium for use in the real world.
While we love writing about these incredible technologies (and hope you enjoy reading about them), there’s no better way to appreciate the power of these tools than by getting hands on, so in 2012 we held our first live event.
We believe DEVELOP3D LIVE is a truly unique celebration of the very latest in design innovation, fabrication, simulation and visualisation. Every year we are blown away by the technology and application of these cutting edge tools.
This year’s presentations and exhibits will raise the bar again, as design tools and models become omnipresent, when Computer Aided Design actually gets Aided by the computer, Fabrication tools empower the desktop and immersive VR becomes a low-cost capability.
With the move to subscription, tools also become more accessible and we can be flexible in choosing our tool palettes.
The conference
This year we have streamlined the conference into five focused segments covering: Design Technology, Product Design, Virtual Reality, Future Fabrication and the Cloud.
As usual we have some incredible designers as well as CEO, CTO and VP level contributions from the technology industry – SolidWorks, Autodesk, PTC, Siemens, Onshape, HP 3D Print and Microsoft to mention a few.
The show
With so much happening and huge demand to attend, we have made some changes to the layout of the show and created more exhibition space.
There are additional areas for hands-on demos and a brand new startup zone for small developers that are new to the market, hand picked by the Editorial Team, offering Industry 4.0 capabilities.
We have a VR zone where delegates can get immersive and experience the current state of the art in Virtual Reality, from experts in the area. As the first consumer-level headsets appear, designers and engineers will be able to experience their models and assemblies in ways they could never have afforded in the past.
Warwick University is one of the jewels in the UK’s Engineering education system, with strong links to local firms like Jaguar LandRover and Tata. On the day, why not sign up for a tour of the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) facilities, or discuss opportunities for joint research and access to technology catapults?
Prizes
As usual there will be prizes at the end of the day together with a round table of industry experts to analyse what we have heard and give insight into where the industry is heading next.
Accomodation
We appreciate that many of you travel great distances to attend the show.
With registration opening at 8:00 am on Thursday 31 March and the event starting promptly at 9.00 am, we are pleased to offer quality affordable bed and breakfast accommodation on-site on Wednesday 30 March.
Cost is £66 inc VAT and includes a full English breakfast, free Wi-Fi and parking. Book your room directly at DEVELOP3D Live (conference registration also required — see box out below).
Event highlights
Here are some of the conference and exhibition highlights of this year’s event. For detailed information please visit develop3dlive.com
Philip Norman – Ross Robotics
With no formal background in engineering, Philip Norman embarked on a journey to develop a modular, scalable and reconfigurable “multi-mission” robot system – no small feat for a writer, caricaturist and fine artist.
At DEVELOP3D LIVE Mr Norman will share insights learned on the long and winding road from art to part, highlighting working practices discovered at the intersection of the creative arts, natural principles and engineering.
Startup zone
DEVELOP3D LIVE will give you the chance to meet future technology face on.
Our new Start-Up Zone brings you nine of the latest design and fabrication tools from around the world.
From lightweight CAD in the Cloud, to featherweight VR headsets; desktop fabrication without need for software, to the latest in robotics programming, the zone will give you the chance to meet the companies, ask questions and try out the technologies.
Freefly VR headset, as featured in the June 2015 edition of DEVELOP3D
VR & design viz
Virtual Reality is set to go big this year. Previously the preserve of large design and engineering firms, with affordable VR headsets like the Oculus Rift, it is now within reach of even the smallest companies.
London-based creative studio Rewind will headline a panel of speakers to give us the low down on all the latest technologies, how they can be applied to the product development process and where this exciting new technology could take you in the future.
Cloud
From collaboration to computational power, the cloud is starting to have a major impact on product development.
In DEVELOP3D LIVE’s dedicated cloud conference stream you will hear from Onshape and Autodesk on their new generation cloud-based CAD tools, from SimScale on webbased simulation and IMSCAD, one of the leading lights in graphics virtualisation.
An EBM seatpost part (printed by Addaero Manufacturing) as its support structures are removed Credit: Spencer Wright
Future fabrication
Additive manufacturing is changing the face of fabrication with new materials, distributed manufacturing hubs and the ability to create incredibly complex forms.
Louis Baldez from HP’s 3D Printer division will head up the main stage while we have plenty to keep you excited in our dedicated Future Fabrication break out session.
Andre Wegner, Authentise will explain the importance of software for optimising Additive Manufacturing, while Brian Garret of 3D Hubs will focus on distributed manufacturing through 3D printing.
Spencer Wright, nTopology will explain how lattice design can provide big benefits in performance and design speed and we’ll also hear from Clive Martell Renishaw, Director of Global Additive
Manufacturing.
Product design
DEVELOP3D Live provides a platform for some of the most exciting design talent in the UK, who will share their experiences of using technology to bring products to market.
Industrial designer Duncan Fitzsimons of London-based design and invention studio, 7TH, will share his secrets on how to turn design concepts into reality.
We also welcome Poppy Faruggia, Dominic Eggbeer and Tom Wheeler of NotBroken on the role of CAD and 3D printing in the development of an exoskeleton arm brace for paralysed mountain bikers.
Andrew Redman, Design Director of the Headkayse, will continue the cycling theme sharing his secrets when developing the World’s first multi-impact, one-size-fits-all, foldable cycle helmet.
AMD FireRender
Design visualisation
There will be a whole host of design visualisation technologies being demonstrated at DEVELOP3D LIVE, including a number of physically-based rendering tools.
These include photorealistic rendering software, V-Ray; realtime ray tracing application, KeyShot; advanced visualisation plug-in Lightworks Iray+ for Autodesk 3ds Max; SolidWorks Visualize; and AMD FireRender, a new free plug-in for 3ds Max and other applications.
Also on show will be a wide range of native rendering tools for all the major CAD applications.
Simulation visualised in Autodesk VRED
Simulation
Finite Element Analysis (FEA), Computational Fluid Dynamics software (CFD) and multiphysics simulation technologies will all feature strongly on the show floor.
SSA will showcase its consulting services, and the Dassault Systemes SIMULIA branded products of Abaqus, Isight, Tosca and fe-safe.
GRM will show its Advanced Engineering Optimisation Software, while SimScale will demonstrate its simulation platform that can be accessed via a standard web browser.
Autodesk, Siemens PLM Software, PTC and SolidWorks will also present a range of simulation technology.
Formlabs Form 2
3D printing
Check out the exhibition show floor for the very latest in professional-grade 3D printing technology and services.
There’ll be all manner of machines and 3D printed parts from FormLabs, Stratasys, Concept Laser, Roland DG, and 3D Systems, joined by Renishaw’s metal powder bed fusion additive manufacturing technology and HP’s Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing technology.
Meanwhile, Malcolm Nicholls will be showcasing its high quality 3D prints/models, 3D Print bureau and 3DPRINTUK will be offering a range of services and Proto Labs will be presenting its custom prototype and low-volume part service.
Vero VISI
CAD/CAM
CAD software will be in abundance on the exhibition floor with demonstrations of leading product development software including Autodesk Fusion 360, Siemens NX, PTC Creo, SpaceClaim, SolidWorks and Onshape.
Also on show will be EPLAN for electrical engineering, DriveWorks for design automation and solidThinking for industrial design and developing structurally efficient concepts. Thereom Solutions will be demonstrating its 3D PDF Publishing and Multi-CAD solutions.
There will also be a wide range of manufacturing technologies from Delcam, Tebis and Vero including 3D tool design, 2D, 3D and 5-axis machining, reverse engineering and quality control.
HP Z240 Small Form Factor (SFF)
Workstation tech
There’s never been a more exciting time for workstations with a whole range of new technologies just having come on stream, from CPUs and GPUs to faster SSDs and higher capacity memory.
Expect to see the most powerful desktop workstations and the most slender mobile workstations from HP and Fujitsu. AMD FirePro, Nvidia and PNY will also be showing the very latest in desktop, mobile and virtual graphics technology for advanced 3D design.
Meanwhile, Samsung will be giving demos of its high-performance SSDs and 3Dconnexion will be presenting its 3D mice.
Dual Renishaw probes being driven concurrently by CNC
More exciting tech
Laser scanning technology will feature prominently, with Concurrent Design Group (CDG), Faro, and Physical Digital all presenting a variety of kit for capturing the real world.
For inspection, Delcam’s PowerINSPECT will be on show for comparison of parts, prototypes and tooling against CAD data, while Faro will promote its Faro Arm Edge with LLP.
For data management, CSI will be on hand to discuss DesignDataManager (DDM), while Kenesto will demo its cloud-based Engineering Data Management and Lifecycle Collaboration solution.
Claim your FREE ticket
We look forward to welcoming you to DEVELOP3D LIVE 2016 on Thursday 31 March at Warwick Arts Centre, CV4 7AL. With three conference streams and over 70 exhibitors we advise you to bring your team to try and get the most from the day.
develop3dlive.com/register-now
What to look forward to at this year’s event
Default
