Chairperson and Vice Chairperson’s Greetings

Chairperson:
Takayoshi Nakano

• Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University

Vice Chairperson:
Atsushi Maekawa

• Visiting Professor, Osaka University
• Senior Fellow, SIGMAXYZ Inc.
  (Former Director, Technical Research Association for Future Additive Manufacturing (TRAFAM))

In recent years, AM has attracted great interest in both academia and industry as a technology that transforms the manufacturing system. Although the basic concept of AM was invented in Japan, amid the wave of digitalization on a global scale, Japan has fallen behind Europe, the United States, and China in terms of research/budget size and the number of reported results.

In order for Japan to once again take the lead in the field of additive manufacturing (AM) and, consequently, lead the world’s materials science (metals, ceramics, resins, cells, etc.) through AM, it is essential to have a ‘space’ for seamless discussion from basic research to the societal implementation of research outcomes, without barriers between industry, academia, and government. Furthermore, AM is not just a method to obtain complex-shaped parts; it is also a technology that allows versatile control of material properties directly connected to the functionality of materials Achieving control over material properties and functionalities by AM transcends traditional methods. Therefore, it is necessary to perceive it as a transdisciplinary and integrative field spanning many areas such as materials engineering, crystallography, computational materials science, welding engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, information technology, civil and architectural engineering, and medicine. Furthermore, the fusion of AM with digital twin technology holds the promise of significant advancements. In order to foster organic collaboration between industry, academia, government, and multiple fields for the creation of outstanding academic research this research group has been established in Japan to further promote practical application of high-value-added products and to steer discussions and decisions regarding the future direction of Japan’s AM field.