NAMIC closes successful 13th edition of GAMS
The event saw over 500 attendees and several high profile deals signed
NAMIC, Singapore’s National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster, hosted its 13th Global Additive Manufacturing Summit, or GAMS for short, on October 15-16, 2024, at the Singapore Expo Max Atria, drawing an impressive 500 delegates. This year’s theme, “Digital Transformation with Additive Manufacturing for a Sustainable Future”, emphasized the summit’s importance as a gathering for AM industry leaders, innovators, and experts to discuss and shape the future of Additive Manufacturing (AM) amid global sustainability efforts.
GAMS highlights and keynotes
As the Guest of Honour, Alvin Tan, Minister of State for the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Trade and Industry, inaugurated the summit with a speech emphasizing the alignment of Singapore’s national goals with the potential of AM. He highlighted that AM can play a pivotal role in the nation’s “green growth,” while supporting innovation in artificial intelligence (AI) and encouraging the formation of strategic partnerships.
Founder and CEO of Moveon Technologies, Chee Teck Lee, delivered a keynote speech on the “Challenges & Future Trends of Additive Manufacturing.” His address highlighted AM’s transformative impact across diverse sectors, including micro-optics, tooling, and medical technology, illustrating the technology’s potential to reshape global manufacturing processes and redefine traditional production.
Intersecting mega-trends in AM, AI, and sustainability
The summit showcased the convergence of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence with AM, illuminating how these forces can drive sustainable manufacturing practices across the industry. This alignment includes the integration of recycled materials and the adoption of on-demand production models, both of which are essential to fostering a more environmentally friendly manufacturing ecosystem.
In line with the summit’s commitment to industry insight, five specialized tracks offered panels and presentations to highlight AM’s versatile applications across key sectors. These tracks provided a forum for in-depth discussions and insights, all geared toward driving AM adoption and technological growth on a global scale.
The first track, “Breaking Barriers: Business Strategies in Additive Manufacturing for Today’s Challenges,” explored AM’s role in overcoming modern industry challenges with innovative business strategies. The second track, “Additive Manufacturing’s Role in Shaping the Clean Energy Transition,” addressed AM’s capacity to support clean energy initiatives. The third track, “Additive Manufacturing: Game Changer for the Aerospace and Space Industries,” examined how AM innovations are propelling advancements in both aerospace and space exploration. In the fourth track, “Future of AI in Advanced Manufacturing and Design,” experts discussed the integration of AI with AM, a combination that has the potential to redefine both manufacturing and design processes. Finally, the fifth track, “Digital Rights Management: The Role of Secure Digital Workflows to Enable Scale-Up AM Adoption,” focused on the importance of digital security in enabling scalable AM adoption.
Strategic partnerships
Several significant announcements underscored NAMIC’s commitment to advancing AM through collaborations and partnerships. Medairum announced the launch of its ISO13485-certified AM facility, designed to meet rigorous manufacturing standards within the medical field. Additionally, NAMIC unveiled the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Centre of Excellence (TCOE), established in partnership with Eng Teknologi International Pte Ltd (Eng Tek). This center aims to position Singapore as a leader in advanced manufacturing research and development.
In a major workforce development initiative, NAMIC introduced the National Additive Manufacturing Jobs-Skills Accreditation Framework (NAAF), a project completed in collaboration with SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). This framework is expected to strengthen alignment between skills development and the needs of the AM industry. NAMIC also launched the Digital Design Innovation Centre (DDIC), in collaboration with Jaringan Semangat Sdn Bhd (JSSB), to promote innovative design within digital manufacturing.
