Join Us in Orlando
Expo Hours
| Tuesday Oct 15 | 9 AM — 5 PM |
| Wednesday Oct 16 | 9 AM — 5 PM |
| Thursday Oct 17 | 9 AM — 4 PM |
Venue
Orange County Convention Center
9800 International Drive
Orlando, Florida 32819
About the Expo
North America's largest metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing event heads to Orange County Convention Center in October 2024. FABTECH provides a convenient "one stop shop" venue where you can meet with world-class suppliers, see the latest industry products and developments, and find the tools to improve productivity, increase profits and discover new solutions to all of your metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing needs.
North America's Largest Metal Forming, Fabricating, Welding and Finishing Event
September 13, 2023|12:30 pm – 1:30 pm (ET)
Leadership Exchange: Advancing Robotics in the Fabrication Metal Industry
Modern robotic technology is already contributing to higher quality products and shorter turnaround times in every sector, performing a wide range of human activities with accuracy. These robots are proving to be effective and prone to fewer errors, require less downtime, and are more cost-effective. Robotic trends such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration and rapid design have intensified and have added to an increased demand for manufacturing robots. This panel of experts will share how robotics is advancing the fabrication world in metals.
Panelists
Event Speakers
Aaron Prather
Director, Robotics & Autonomous Systems, ASTM International
Aaron Prather is the Director of Robotics & Autonomous Systems Program at ASTM International, one of the world’s largest and most established standards-creating organizations. Prior to joining ASTM, Aaron spent almost 27 years working for FedEx. During his time there he held various positions, including Senior Technical Advisor, where he helped develop robotic applications for the shipping giant. Aaron is now focused on helping the Robotics Industry to grow and expand through standardization, workforce development, and research efforts. In his current role, he works with researchers, manufacturers, integrators, and end users to develop support structures that speed up robot deployments across numerous industries.
Edward Mehr
Co-Founder & CEO, Machina Labs
Ed Mehr is CEO and co-founder of Machina Labs. He has been a student of engineering, manufacturing and design for twenty years. His expertise in machine learning led to a role as an early employee at SpaceX and Relativity Space, and is one of the inventors on Relativity’s additive manufacturing patent. He co-founded Machina Labs with the vision to radically simplify manufacturing by using sheet metal, AI and robotics to form complex parts without a need for fixed tooling.
Gijs Van Der Velden
CEO, MX3D
Gijs van der Velden is CEO of MX3D, a robotic 3D metal Printing company famous for its bridge for the city of Amsterdam. The company now sells its certfied Turn Key machine M1 worldwide and offers on demand printing services. MX3D has one of the largest 3D metal printing facilities worldwide with 10 industrial grade M1 machines. Companies like BMW Group, ENGIE and Damen Shipyards are among it extensive customer list. MX3D is most active in the verticals: Automotive, Maritime, Manufacturing and Energy. Before running MX3D, Gijs van der Velden was general manager at Dutch Design Agency “Joris Laarman Lab” from 2009-2016. The patented MX3D Technology was first discovered here. The Lab researched a great variety of new manufacturing technologies including new software and manufacturing tools, and experimented with biomimicry and topology optimisation. Gijs is a Law Graduate with a specialisation in International Law. As representative of the MX3D team he received numerous awards from the design, building and 3D printing community for ground breaking work on radically scaling up 3D metal printing. Furthermore the team was awarded the annual “Starts Prize” for the best Technology Project by the European Commission.
Arnold Kravtiz
Chief Technology Officer, Blueforge Alliance
Arnie Kravitz is and experienced Industrialist who has served as CEO, COO, CTO, and Board Member of broad spectrum of publicly traded or privately held, large, small, and and medium enterprises, and start-up companies focused on technology-driven services, product manufacturing and shipbuilding industries. He currently serves as the Blueforge Alliance Chief Technology Officer where he oversees all technical operations. This includes maritime systems, shipbuilding, and the expansion enrichment fortification of the submarine industrial base (SIB) and other untapped adjacent industrial bases (Maritime, offshore communications, energy minerals, and other heavy industries) that can be leveraged to enhance the SIB.
Chuck Brandt
Chief Technology Officer, ARM Institute
Dr. Brandt is the ARM Institute’s Chief Technology Officer. Dr. Brandt leads the ARM Institute’s technical strategy and program planning, manages the ARM Institute program management office, and leads the organization’s headquarters Mill 19 robotic engineering plans and investment strategy. He joined the ARM Institute in 2018 from Innovation Works, where he was the Vice President of Technology Programs. Prior to Innovation Works, he was the CTO at the Technology Collaborative, both Pittsburgh-based organizations. In these and prior roles at Northrop Grumman, Westinghouse, and Raytheon, Dr. Brandt has showcased his ability to coordinate technology initiatives, early-stage product development, and university-based commercialization. Dr. Brandt holds a Ph.D. in Electronic Materials from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Illinois. He has presented over 50 papers and holds 6 patents.
