ProtoCAM: Additive Manufacturing, 3D Printing and Rapid Prototyping.

Mid-2021 Review: Celebrating ProtoCAM!

July 2, 2021

We’re midway through 2021, and we wanted to take a moment to reflect on what we’ve accomplished so far, and where we’re headed in the second half of this year!

As we entered into 2021, we moved forward with new hopefulness and a mind to innovate for the future after a tumultuous 2020. Throughout the year, we’ve made a point to celebrate things both large and small, in an expression of gratefulness for our continued operations and loyal customers.

Of course, we are also aware of the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our company, as well as our local community, which is why we sought to share our experiences helping others, including our development and production of protective equipment, via a case study summarizing our efforts. In the case study, we shared our response and high standards for safety and production within our facility, as well as our distribution of various protection materials. With the release of a vaccine and lowering rates of infection, ProtoCAM continues to monitor the situation at hand and adjust measures taken accordingly, while at all times maintaining a safe and efficient facility.

Though the pandemic continues to limit our ability to attend and present at trade shows and other events, it has afforded us the opportunity to reach more customers and prospective customers by placing a new emphasis on webinars. We have showcased several webinars this year already, including a webinar featuring our newest technology, Carbon Digital Light Synthesis, and presented by additive manufacturing expert Jason Lopes, Carbon’s first beta tester of its technology and former Lead Systems Engineer with Legacy Effects. ProtoCAM’s own Ed Graham, Vice President of Additive Manufacturing, also presented his webinar on the four key changes he prescribes for reorienting the additive manufacturing industry for production, which we are currently releasing as a four part series. All these videos and more are available via our ProtoPoints video page.

Also on the education front, ProtoCAM teamed up with Nitschmann Middle School in this year’s 2021 student video contest, “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” In a somewhat altered event, local manufacturers worked together digitally with 18 middle school teams from Lehigh, Northampton, and Carbon counties to create videos demonstrating how manufacturing can be fun and interesting, as well as a viable career choice.

Our community efforts extended this year with an increased focus on digital, distanced education wherever possible. In honor of Earth Day, ProtoCAM partnered with Northern Lehigh School District to help provide hands-on education about recycling to first grade students. The project culminated with ProtoCAM’s donation to a future STEM Resource Room at Peters Elementary School.

Also as part of ProtoCAM’s continuing education efforts, Digital Marketing Director, Dale Bond continued her tenure with the PA Dream Team this year. This vivacious group of young individuals is assembled by the Manufacturers Resource Center in Allentown, PA, and has a goal to educate local youth about the various careers available within the manufacturing field. Bond has committed to two years (2020 & 2021) of involvement and participation in the various educational efforts of the PA Dream Team,  and embraces the problem-solving opportunities that have persisted in reaching local students face-to-face as a result of COVID-19.

We’re more committed than ever to publishing new and educational content for both those in the industry and for new customers. To that end, we’ve published several blogscase studies, and videos so far this year covering everything from the positive impact the additive manufacturing industry and ProtoCAM are contributing to our environment and world sustainability, to highlighting women, diversity, and people of color making history in the industry, to our assistance in helping to create C. F. Martin & Co.’s innovative SC-13E electric acoustic guitar, to our celebration of all things (and people!) DINO at ProtoCAM. Stay tuned, as we’re always publishing interesting and up-to-date content about what’s happening in the industry!

We welcomed a new member of our team this year; Jared joined us as Administrative Assistant in our customer service department. Jared came to us as an experienced jack of all trades of many different industries, with an extensive background as a sales specialist and coordinator. We’re so thrilled to have him here at ProtoCAM!

Though we’re still restricted by COVID-19 regulations, we did have the opportunity to attend and present at a number of trade shows, and still have several events we’re hoping to attend in the second half of the year. Some of the highlights of those we’ve attended so far include the annual Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) Conference, where we won second place in this year’s Advanced Finishing category of the Technical Competition (check it out in our Advanced Finishing Gallery!) and the virtual xpand3D 2021 event hosted by Cimquest, at which Ed Graham, our Vice President of Additive Manufacturing, presented on “Additive Manufacturing: Reorienting the Industry for Production Manufacturing.” We’re still looking forward to Mid-Atlantic Design-2-Part in Oaks, PA and Atlantic Design & Manufacturing in New York, NY, among other fall and winter-scheduled events. We hope to meet with many new and current customers at these upcoming events!

There’s always something happening at ProtoCAM, and we love to share what we’re doing with our valued customers! Be sure to check out our learning center to always be up to date on the latest happenings around our facility. A couple upcoming events you can already look forward to are our various upcoming trade shows and our Manufacturing Day event in October, the latter of which will feature a tour of our facility, with our additive manufacturing experts on hand to answer any and all questions. We’re looking forward to continuing to participate in new and exciting events, and we can’t wait to share it all with our customers!