What's Different About DEVELOP3D Live?

My good friends at DEVELOP3D are organizing a one day event called DEVELOP3D Live at the Warwick University in the UK on the 20th of March. I was curious to know what was different about their event because I already know what makes their magazine different. Its a pleasure to read because it’s articles strike an excellent balance of design and the software tools used in the process, as opposed to talking about the software only.

I asked Al Dean, Editor-in-Chief of DEVELOP3D a few questions about the event.

Deelip: What’s the idea behind the event?

Al: DEVELOP3D is always trying to mix up stories of how designers, engineers and manufacturers are doing thing along with a look at some of the tools and technologies available to make that process work more efficiently. We’re trying to do that in a live context with DEVELOP3D Live. Share some stories, give some inspiration, enable some networking and see what happens.

Deelip: How is it different from other events?

Al: There’s no analysts presenting (we’ll get onto that in a moment), it’s smaller scale, it’s based on what people are doing now and what they can do in the future. Give people an idea of the actual future of their toolsets, of how they can expect things to change and allow them to plan ahead – rather than discussing ease of use and data translation… again…

Deelip: What will attendees gain from the event?

Al: The speaker line is fantastic. Jason Lopes from Legacy Effects talking about building movie props using the same technology we all use, under incredibly tight deadlines and bring ideas to life on the big screen – this guy builds Iron Man’s suits. Who doesn’t want to learn more about that. We’ve got Alice from MakieLab people talking about how they’re building a new business based on mass customization and 3D printing. Paul from PRL is talking about working with the far east and Gustavo from Bose talking about how his group is using tools to aid experimentation in design and development. That’s worth a day out of the office all on its own and there’s more on the agenda each day.

Then we’ve got a select few presentations from software and hardware vendors talking about where their tools are headed, giving people something to think about, something to plan in their strategy for the next few years or perhaps just look at how they work now differently, find some room for improvement or squeeze a bit more efficiency out of their processes.

Deelip: What will sponsors gain?

Al: They’ll get to talk to a bunch of users that are curious about what tools are out there. Not just existing customers, but to showcase what they’re working on, how these tools can be used. There’s a whole tonne of technology out there that doesn’t lend itself to online perusal. Reverse engineering tools like laser scanners, 3D printers and such. And as far as I’m concerned, you can’t beat sitting and talking to someone about what they’ve got to get a real feel for how it works and how it can benefit you.

Deelip: What is special about the speakers?

Al: The ones I’m most excited about are the designers and engineers coming to talk about what they’re doing on a daily basis, the challenges they’ve met, how they’ve overcome them and sharing their stories. We’ve got an interesting mix of both technology vendors from a broad spectrum – software, hardware, rapid prototyping. It’s a day’s worth of talks and hopefully attendees will leave with a head full of thoughts and inspiration.

Deelip: Will there be any analysts speaking at the event?

Al: Umm. No. Why would they? Designers and engineers are curious types. They love to learn about how other people are doing what they do and succeeding and the challenges along the way. And who is it better to learn from, someone that’s living and breathing it or someone that talks to other people that are doing it? Do you want the information first hand or third hand, once it’s been filtered into a billion powerpoint slides? When was the last time you sat in on an analysts presentation that told you something you didn’t know before or couldn’t have worked out all on your own? Don’t get me wrong, analysts have a place in the world, but it’s not at DEVEOP3D Live.

Deelip: Will you be wearing a suit? Why not? 😉

Al: Hell will freeze over first. I could put a suit on, but I either look like I’m working the door or I’m about to try and repossess your television. Martyn is trying to get me to wear a uniform t-shirt too. That ain’t gonna happen either home boy. It’ll be an interesting day, there’s lots to learn and you can’t do that in a suit. You should come along. Bring your fanny pack and baseball cap mate 😉

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You can register for DEVELOP3D Live here.