Keynote Case Study: PowderMet: Material Science Was Rewriting What Manufacturers Could Build.

At PowderMet 2016 in Boston, I delivered a science-heavy keynote on accelerating material science, advanced compounds, 3D printing, mass customization, advanced robotics and cobotics, and the reinvention of manufacturing business models.

The keynote, “Acceleration + New Manufacturing Methodologies,” A materials industry serving manufacturing customers needed to anticipate how new processes and technologies would transform demand.

A materials industry serving manufacturing customers needed to anticipate how new processes and technologies would transform demand.

Six trends are shaping that shift.

• Advanced Materials. New alloys, compounds and engineered structures expand manufacturing possibilities.
• Metal 3D Printing. Additive processes change how complex metal parts are designed, prototyped and produced.
• Mass Customization. Flexible production enables smaller runs and more specialized products at practical cost.
• Robotics + Cobotics. Automation changes production methods while creating new material and component requirements.
• Faster Science. Material knowledge and chemical innovation continue to compound at increasing speed.
• Business-Model Reinvention. New materials and processes create opportunities that extend far beyond incremental product change.

The future of materials is additive, customized, automated and driven by faster science.

Powder metallurgy sounds like a niche science until you realize it’s quietly enabling everything from lighter cars to stronger aerospace parts — the materials nobody sees, doing the work that makes the visible innovation possible. You can explore more keynote case studies here.