Like NPE3D’s exhibitors, a slate of six speakers at SPI’s Business of Plastics Conference will enlighten attendees on various facets of additive manufacturing.

For example, Dave Kazmer of the University of Massachusetts-Lowell will address low-volume production strategies from 3-D printing to injection molding. He plans to present examples of a “relatively small medical device and a mid-sized electronic housing.”

At UMass-Lowell, “We’re looking at cost models for 3-D printing as one of four increasingly common strategies for manufacturing low to medium production volumes. The four strategies we’ve evaluated and will compare are direct production with fused deposition modeling; injection molding with prototype molds made by stereolithography; injection molding with aluminum tooling; and injection molding with production (Class 103) tooling. We’ll also compare the trade-offs with respect to production time and product quality.”

Meanwhile, SABIC is scheduled to offer three speakers. “SABIC will be discussing processing technology and the performance of high-performance polymers in 3-D printed applications for industries including aerospace, rail, healthcare, and automotive,” says Tony Cerruti, marketing director of the company’s Innovative Plastics business in the Americas. “As the adoption of additive manufacturing technology increases, expanded material options will be necessary to meet customers’ application requirements.”

Using additive manufacturing to create forming tools, Cerruti notes, “can help manufacturers reduce the time required to go from concept design to prototype to production, versus conventional tooling. SABIC will be addressing the evaluation of two 3-D-printed forming tools developed for aerospace applications. Operating conditions, test results, and best practices will be shared.”

Other scheduled speakers are Nadav Sella, solutions sales manager for Stratasys, who will address how 3-D printing offers a “giant step” for short-run injection molds, and Lou Young, director of new business development for Linear Mold & Engineering, who will discuss 3-D metal printing and conformal cooling.