Conference attendees during the Opening General Session at POWDERMET2018, San Antonio

The annual AMPM and POWDERMET event, held at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio, Texas, USA, from June 17-20, 2018, was attended by 872 delegates from twenty-five countries, reports organiser the Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF). The co-located conferences comprised four days of the latest research and development in metal Additive Manufacturing, Powder Metallurgy and particulate materials, as well as its annual awards presentations and a number of popular networking events.

During the Opening General Session, John Sweet, the MPIF’s President, provided an overview of the current State of the PM Industry in North America. In his address, he stated that 2017 saw modest growth for the PM industry, with PM tooling and equipment makers reporting favourable results. Based on the 2018 PM Pulse Survey conducted by the MPIF, sales are expected to remain the same or increase throughout 2018. Keynote speaker Casey Selecman, Associate Director, Advisory Services, IHS Markit, followed the overview with a discussion of disruptive forces in the automotive industry.

Several key changes were incorporated into this year’s conferences to meet the growing demand for content relating to metal Additive Manufacturing. The AMPM2018 conference was extended with an additional day of technical sessions, and all AMPM registrants were offered the ability to attend the full programme of POWDERMET2018 technical sessions and events. Additionally, a new exhibit hall event, the ‘PM Evening Alehouse’, was introduced to allow attendees to network with exhibitors after the close of technical sessions on Monday, June 18.

For the second year running, the National Science Foundation sponsored 40 US college and university students to attend POWDERMET2018. The 2018 programme was enhanced by providing students with an opportunity to present their posters during Grant TNT: Talk ‘N Technology sessions throughout the conference. Students also attended a meet-and-greet reception for students and mentors, and student resumes were posted at the conference and within the conference app for iOS and Android. Four CPMT/Axel Madsen Grant recipients were also included in all student opportunities.

Other conference events included the PM industry Luncheon, which recognised the second ever Vanguard Award recipient, the 2018 Distinguished Service to PM Award recipient and APMI Fellow recipients, and the Design Excellence Awards Luncheon, at which nineteen award-winning components were revealed.

AMPM2019 and POWDERMET2019 will be held in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, June 23–26, 2019.