AM for Defense Industry

Jakajima and 3D Print magazine organize Virtual AM for Defense Conference

Jakajima, matchmaker for innovators, and 3D Print magazine join forces. Together they will organize the Virtual AM for Defense Conference. In four sessions, top speakers explain why the defense industry is going to adopt additive manufacturing in the coming years, the potential applications, the impact on the supply chain and what we can learn from the leaders in this industry.


The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a boom in webinars, for which 3D printing is a popular theme. However, Jakajima and 3D Print magazine see a growing need for more in-dept information about the use of additive manufacturing. Presentations highlighting the topic from the perspective of the end customer (i.e. the army), the solution providers and the supply chain. “In our Virtual Conferences we therefore take a specific market segment or application as a starting point. We then address the question of what’s the added value additive manufacturing offers, what are the requirements, which solutions are available and how can the supply chain benefit from AM’s growth,” explains Pieter Hermans, director of Jakajima. The Virtual AM Conferences provide the answers to:

– what and why (do you want to print 3D and what difficulties do you run into),

– the how,

– the solutions that are already there,

– experiences (the practical cases and what we can learn from them).

Defense industry: AM growth market

The Virtual Additive Manufacturing for Defense Conference is the first event in the series. Defense is seen as one of the important growth markets for additive manufacturing. Some market researchers expect that by 2028 this sub-market will be as large as last year’s total AM market. As of October 13th, a two-hour virtual conference will take place every week till the beginning of November. In each session, three speakers will discuss the theme. Afterwards, there will be plenty of room for the conference participants to ask questions and enter discussions with the speakers.

Interesting discussions

To support the conferences, 3D Print magazine publishes preliminary articles explaining the opportunities and challenges for additive manufacturing in the defense industry. “Online events have been increasingly used as a marketing tool in recent months. That’s OK, as room for physical events is still limited. But I have noticed that the titles sounds sometimes more exciting than the content and often you miss the context. That is why we provide in-depth information in advance in a special English-language section on 3D Print magazine, and we also post interviews with the speakers. If you want to take part in the Virtual Conference, you can make a better decision for yourself and start better prepared. That will make the discussions afterwards even more interesting,” says Franc Coenen, editor in chief of 3D Print magazine. Besides this, participants get a comprehensive view of the chances additive manufacturing can offer, both for endusers as suppliers.

In addition, some speakers will be interviewed for the JakajimaTV Channel prior to the conference.

Program Virtual AM for Defense Conference

The program for the Virtual AM for Defense Conference is:

  • October 13th:
  • Session 1: Additive manufacturing: a gamechanger for the defense industry? Chances and opportunities!
  • October 20th:
  • Session 2: Additive Manufacturing for and in the battle field: science fiction or reality? The Applications!
  • October 27th:
  • Session 3: The AM Defense supply chain: who is going out of business and who will not?
  • November 3rd:
  • Session 4: The frontrunners: lessons learned

The international speakers come from ministries of Defense in different countries, army units, Research organizations, AM solutions providers as well as from Tier 1 suppliers in the Defense industry. They will be announced in the coming weeks. By starting at 4 p.m. (Western European time), the conference is also easily accessible for participants from North America. You can sign up for all four sessions or for each session separately. More information about the program and the participation fee can be found here.

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