By Gayle S. Putrich
STAFF REPORTER
Published: October 20, 2014 1:17 pm ET
Updated: October 20, 2014 1:20 pm ET

Image By: Society of the Plastics Industry Inc.

While 2015 will mark the first time 3-D printing will be featured on its own at the triennial NPE trade show, the new pavilion is already bursting at the seams, according to the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc.

SPI, the organizer of NPE and now NPE3D, already has 18 exhibitors booked for the March 2015 event in Orlando and has added eight more booths to the 3-D printing-focused pavilion, said Brad Williams, SPI’s director of sales and marketing.

“From toolmakers to processors to brand owners, many in the plastics industry have a need to know about recent developments in 3D printing,” Williams said in a news release. “NPE2015 will provide the marketplace an opportunity to discuss this technology, its current applications, and the future possibilities.”

One of the highlights of the NPE3D pavilion, according to the release, will be a demonstration of the new Objet500 Connex1 multi-material 3D printer from Minneapolis-based 3-D printing specialist Stratasys Ltd., which can produce parts from three materials in a single run.

After the inaugural NPE3D, held March 23-27, the exhibition will be held every year in a different location, collocating with NPE every third year.