TCT 3Sixty 2026 opened yesterday at the NEC Birmingham, bringing together additive manufacturing professionals from across the UK and beyond. The event continues to present a mix of technology demonstrations, industry case studies, and practical discussions focused on real-world additive manufacturing adoption. With two full days still to run, here is what the conference offers and why it is worth attending.
On the Show Floor
More than 150 companies are exhibiting at TCT 3Sixty 2026. Alongside live demonstrations and product launches, visitors can explore applications across aerospace, automotive, healthcare and other sectors. The show provides many networking opportunities to connect with suppliers, manufacturers and fellow AM professionals while discovering the latest developments in materials, machines, and software. Free registration also grants access to two co-located events, Med-Tech Expo and Interplas, expanding the exhibition to more than 700 suppliers across plastics manufacturing and medical device design.
Conference Highlights
A major attraction at TCT 3Sixty is its free-to-attend conference program, which spans industry case studies, workforce development, defense applications and emerging technology trends. Sessions combine practical lessons from manufacturers with forward-looking perspectives on design, materials and process qualification, making the program valuable for engineers, managers and decision-makers navigating AM adoption.
What’s Ahead
The defence track begins today at 10:30 AM BST with Edit Barbantan from the UK Ministry of Defence and Kyle Cobb, Deputy Chair of the Joint Additive Manufacturing Working Group, presenting “Project Tampa: Transforming Defence Manufacturing Through Collaborative AM.” Their session sets the tone for a morning focused on UK–US interoperability in defence additive manufacturing. At 10:40 AM BST, RBSL (Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land) presents “The Future of Manufacturing Within RBSL: Embracing Additive Manufacturing in Defence,” sharing insights from more than three years on Project TAMPA and discussing LPBF and SLS applications across multiple armoured vehicle platforms including Warrior, Panther, Titan, Challenger 2 and Terrier. The morning closes at 12:20 PM BST with a panel featuring speakers from Babcock, Eaton, RBSL and Lockheed Martin to discuss practical lessons on achieving interoperability and equivalency in defence manufacturing across the UK and US.
At 3:00 PM BST, Charlie Kelly of ToffeeX presents “Thermal Management in the Era of 3D Printing: Designing What Physics Actually Wants,” exploring how physics-driven generative design is enabling new approaches to thermal management for electric vehicles, aerospace and electronics.
Tomorrow, June 4, at 10:30 AM BST, Steve Cox of AMFORi Consulting and Bryn Jones of WorldSkills UK will present “Additive Manufacturing: Why It’s Now a WorldSkill,” which examines how competition-based training through WorldSkills accelerates technical development and encourages young people to pursue careers in AM. At 10:50 AM BST, Professor Robert Kay of the University of Leeds will present “Translating Research into Readiness: Co-Creating Additive Manufacturing Education with Industry,” looking at how degree programmes co-designed with industry can help close persistent skills gaps in areas such as design for AM, materials processing, quality assurance and digital workflows.
With two days still to run, there is time to attend TCT 3Sixty 2026. If you plan to be there, the show offers a balanced programme of technical talks, live demonstrations and networking that can help organisations move from experimentation to industrial adoption of additive manufacturing.
*All Photo Credits: TCT 3Sixty