Organised by Fira de Barcelona, the show promotes the use of additive manufacturing

The first edition of IN(3D)USTRY From Needs to Solutions has underlined the fact that the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution, starring additive manufacturing and the digitalisation of production processes, is already well underway. The event served to showcase the current applications and future challenges of this technology in fields such as architecture, the automotive industry, health and consumer products, and to facilitate business contacts between companies and end users.

The event featured more than one hundred prestigious speakers from a very representative spectrum of the economic and social ecosystem that has flourished around the use of 3D printing. The huge potential of the maker community - the end user - had its own space in the Maker Pro zone where more than 60 projects were on show, while the trade show area featured the leading manufacturers of 3D printers such as HP, Renishaw, Hofman and Arburg, amongst others.

Several business deals were closed at the event which underlines the fact that this new trade fair formula, focusing on 3D applications for industrial sectors, adds even more value to this market. Many of the exhibitors have already said they intend to take part in the next edition of the event on 20-22 June 2017 at Fira de Barcelona's Montjuïc Exhibition Centre. Of the trade professionals who visited IN(3D)USTRY, 40% were in senior management and 60% were purchasing influencers, which further underlines the importance of the event to the sector.

The director of IN(3D)USTRY From Needs to Solutions, Miquel Serrano, expressed his satisfaction at the fact that 'over the course of these last three days, Barcelona has been an international hub of ideas, challenges and solutions in advanced additive manufacturing'.

The presentations, which attracted big audience numbers among visitors to the show, coincided in declaring that we are on the threshold of a new economic model which will also see the widespread use of open collaboration programmes. Featured speakers included Mark Burry, New Zealand architect who is using 3D designs to complete the Sagrada Família in Barcelona; Belgian architect Xavier de Kestelier, from Foster + Partners; designers such as Danit Peleg and New Francis Bitonti or the American scientist Vinton Cerf.