Partners Establish First AM Consortium in Latin America

Said to be the first such organization in Latin America, the Additive Manufacturing Consortium (Conmad) was formed to increase the scientific, technological and innovative cooperation of the center-north region of Mexico. A recent agreement signed by various organizations including the Center for Research and Advanced Studies (Cinvestav) integrated the consortium and confirmed the partners’ commitment to collaborate in joint projects. 

The signing ceremony was attended by the director of the National Council of Science and Technology (Conacyt), Enrique Cabrero; the governor of Querétaro, Francisco Domínguez Servien; the Minister of Sustainable Development of this entity, Marco Antonio del Prete; and the director of General Electric in Querétaro, Vlatko Vlatkovic. All the parties jointly undertook to design, manufacture, repair, characterize parts and components through additive manufacturing.

The consortium includes industry, government, higher education institutions and public research centers such as the Cinvestav Querétaro Unit, the Center for Industrial Engineering and Development (CIDESI) and the Advanced Technology Center (Ciateq). Its objective is to help regional companies validate and explore the manufacturing processes as viable technologies, and can be implemented in their production chains without acquiring them in advance.

The investment budgeted for the implementation of the infrastructure contemplated in the consortium is more than 13 million dollars, which will be contributed by all the participating parties.