The people moaning about The Longest Day being on a beach in France have clearly not been to Formnext. The second day now seems like the third. This is partly due to the event being lengthened by pre-events from the likes of ASTM, SLM Solutions, and all manner of regional and sectoral collectives. That can cause fatigue to set in earlier in the week than was previously the case. Also, parties and events later on in the week will be less sought after. Due to this and the general efficiency of Formnext, you should probably plan to be at the event longer. Being here for an extra day is super efficient when compared to what you´d have to do in order to see all of these people in person elsewhere.

FutureNext

Formnext is without equal it is the premier event in Additive. Having said that it will have to shore itself up in some way going forward.  AM Power´s Matthias Schmidt-Lehr said this on a panel, stating quite plainly that an application focus would lead to companies attending vertical shows in other industries where their clients are. If you want to sell to prosthetics, go to AOPA. Perhaps this will lead to a reduction in spending by some players. I think that the random nature of Formenxt is a huge strength, however, and this was said by Tuan Tranpham, who stated that meeting random people was his high point always. This is the place where you will bump into that one guy at BWM, that one lady at Airbus, or that one application you´ve never considered. As our industry becomes more interconnected and workflows are more tied meeting and seeing all the LEGO pieces in your process chain becomes more important as well. The happenstance factor, that one chance meeting while waiting for a sandwich is the shows biggest asset. Will we see a migration away from this event, though? We can´t be sure. One of my favorite companies in all of Additive is Domin. They make actuators that exceed the expectations of clients and compete with those from Parker and Moog. A long-term industry expert had never heard of Domin. Marcus, their CEO, didn´t seem to mind. That person and, indeed most everyone else in the room would not be very likely to be in the market for an actuator. Marcus, to me, epitomizes the future of our industry. He masters Additive in order to make a cost-competitive product for another market. Conflux, another one of my favorite companies, is similar. But, people have heard of Conflux, and indeed, they have a stand. They market themselves to our industry as well. For them, based in Australia, the stand and Formnext is a chance to meet everyone over here. And they can also pick up some random people walking around too. At the same time, for Domin and Conflux, seeing all the technology assembled in one place lets them keep up to date on the industry. Both, Domin and Conflux use Formnext as a springboard for new contacts and as a way to meet suppliers and clients. 

One of my favorite stands.

In that context, the show may change a bit, becoming less of a big stand focus and more of a hospitality and information exchange focus. I would really expect the demand for meeting rooms and VIP arrangements to boom in years to come. Restaurants, events, and unique ways to connect with people will become a bigger part of the overall spend. I for one would really love a hotel to stand VIP service for example, that would be a real treat to the downtrodden Formnextophiles. It would also be beneficial to really have benchmarks, technology tours at a high level and real education take place here to facilitate this next phase. Of course, OEMs and materials suppliers will still want big stands. But, one would expect the variety of things on display to diminish overall.

Application Stands

One thing one can do to counter this is to have very good application stands. Farsoon (11.0 E11) had a great example of this, this year. Their stand showed their machine and lots of parts. However, they also had a lot of pillars through which AP Works and other partners, suppliers, and services could show their wares. By integrating suppliers and partners into their stand users would also come into contact with service bureaus and end users as part of their stand journey. To me, this was done excellently this year. That kind of experience makes your brand and overall offering so much more alive, so much more credible. There is not just one big box on the stand and some sales folks, but a living ecosystem is on display.

Some people really did go the extra mile to be at home in Frankfurt and embed themselves in the local culture and community. At the above firm, they had a vending machine for needles. This will be a surefire hit with many of Frankfurt´s more methadone-inclined denizens. A real shot in the arm for many locals. This kind of cultural sensitivity and engagement can go a long way to making your stand really feel a part of the fabric of the local society as a whole. With glass printing on the rise, I would expect ¨Formnext 2025¨crack pipes next year from the likes of Glassomer, Maple Glass, and Nobula. It’s a guaranteed hit!

At the same time we can see a lot of stands really have taken care to select and display lovely applications. Stratasys and HP have done this well for years of course but across the board it is really getting better. Explanations and QR codes for information are also better. A notable exception was the Fraunhofer stand, where there were some better explanations, but a lot of meaningless parts were also displayed without context and explanation. I usually spend hours at the Fraunhofer stand and now I was just in and out like Taco Bell. Another great example of a stand was ColorFabb (12.1 B59). The Dutch filament maker didn´t have piles of tchotchkes but instead, a curated museum-like environment that showcased their key differentiating applications well. Lightweight filament for drones and the latest Zellerffeld shoes were shown in a space that elevated them true to their premium innovation-focused brand. I´ve been a Zellerfed sceptic but a huge proponent of TPU material extrusion shoes. If you see one thing today go to the ColorFabb booth and check out those shoes, the torsion and breathability will change how you think about the possibilities of 3D printed footwear.

A lot of people on a lot of stands clearly did not want to be there and did not interact at all with the public. If you don´t care about your product and are on your phone all day while looking jaded, exhausted from doing nothing 16-year-old draped over a living room couch, how am I going to care about you? The per-hour cost of an employee sitting around at Formnext is staggering. Please do something to engage these people more because they are burning cash and, often, demotivating. What kind of a company do you have? A ship of fools yawning themselves into oblivion? It’s like walking around at the DMV or something. I could take a bus if I wanted to see bored people check Instagram. Also, if you are bored by a bunch of people walking by and have no constructive way to engage them or do anything interesting, am I really going to trust you with making satellite parts? We´re not in insurance people. What we do is fundamentally exciting and varied.