The TCT 3Sixty Conference 2026 is where the AM community comes for clarity, direction and substance. Built by the editorial and technical minds behind TCT Magazine and the RAPID + TCT conference, the programme cuts through the noise to deliver the insights that actually matter, guided by an advisory board with more than a century of combined experience at the sharp end of additive innovation.
Located on the show floor and completely free to attend, the conference is designed to give every visitor - engineers, designers, decision makers and newcomers - the tools to make smarter AM decisions.
Ahead of TCT 3Sixty, the TCT team has selected the conference sessions that they are most looking forward to.
Amanda Hull, TCT 3Sixty Conference Manager & Specialist Project Manager
Building Effective Business Cases for Additive Manufacturing in the Automotive Industry | Luke Fox | JLR
Developing a strong business case for additive manufacturing (AM) in the automotive industry is rarely straightforward. This presentation will explore the key challenges organisations face when justifying AM adoption, from navigating complex cost modelling considerations to accurately projecting return on investment. It will also examine the commercial realities that influence decision making — including budget constraints, capital investment cycles, and the need to clearly demonstrate value over conventional manufacturing methods.
Attendees will leave with practical insights and frameworks to more effectively communicate, justify, and secure support for AM technologies and equipment across both technical and leadership teams.
The future of manufacturing within RBSL: Embracing Additive Manufacturing in Defence | Daniel Jackson & Marcus Potter | RBSL
RBSL has been actively engaged on Project TAMPA for the past three and a half years throughout spirals one, two, and three. Under the three spirals, RBSL have developed suitable internal/external processes to manufacture 10 separate parts for the Warrior, Panther, Titan, Cr2 and Terrier armoured vehicles. All parts to date have used the LB-PBF and SLS additive manufacturing techniques, however RBSL also have the in-house capability to manufacture using a metal paste deposition technique as well as numerous polymer AM systems. Capabilities in design for AM, FEA for AM, advanced generative design and topology optimisation have been developed during Project TAMPA. RBSL will be presenting the lessons learnt from Spirals 3a and 3b.
PANEL SESSION: Championing the Next Generation: Stories from SMF Rising Stars | Teula Bradshaw, Sanjay Mortimer Foundation CEO / Charlotte Bridgewater, Newcastle University student / Abby Duckworth, Cambridge Consultants Mechanical Engineer / Zac Smith, Williams F1 Team Manufacturing Technologies
This panel session will highlight how the Sanjay Mortimer Foundation (SMF) champions the industry’s brightest young talents, celebrating neurodivergent young people in engineering and 3D printing. Chaired by SMF CEO Teula Bradshaw, the session spotlights previous SMF Rising Star Award winners - where they are now, what they’re achieving, and how SMF’s support has shaped their development. The panel will explore how early recognition and guidance accelerate skills and open doors for emerging innovators, and how initiatives like the Rising Star Award play a critical role in strengthening the sector’s talent pipeline. The discussion will lead directly into the exciting announcement of this year’s TCT SMF Rising Star Award winner!
Laura Griffiths, TCT Head of Content
PANEL SESSION: AM in Practice - User‑led insights from JLR, Rolls‑Royce, Nestlé and GKN Aerospace | Laura Griffiths, TCT Head of Content / Luke Fox, JLR / Ben O'Brien, Rolls-Royce / Justin Summerhayes, Nestle
TCT Head of Content Laura Griffiths will bring together TCT UK User Group contributors from JLR, Rolls‑Royce, Nestlé and JLR to explore the pressing topics shaping additive manufacturing adoption today. This cross‑industry panel will delve further into the shared challenges and successes AM users face - from building a robust business case and optimising workflows to implementing technology at scale within established operations and creating adept teams. The discussion will explore how organisations are advancing digital integration to unlock greater efficiency and traceability. Attendees will gain user‑driven insights, practical learnings and actionable strategies directly informed by real experiences across industry verticals.
Thermal Management in the Era of 3D Printing: Designing What Physics Actually Wants | Charlie Kelly | ToffeeX
As power densities rise across EVs, aerospace, and electronics, thermal management has quietly become one of engineering's hardest unsolved problems because conventional design methods can't explore the geometries that physics demands.
This talk will explore how physics-driven generative design, combined with additive manufacturing, is fundamentally changing what's possible. The presentation will walk through why traditional thermal design has hit a ceiling, what it means to let the physics — not only human intuition — define component geometry, and why AM is the enabling condition that makes it all manufacturable.
Translating Research into Readiness: Co-Creating Additive Manufacturing (AM) Education with Industry | Professor Robert Kay| University of Leeds
To equip engineering graduates with the skills their careers will demand, curricula must be shaped by industry’s real needs and priorities. In additive manufacturing, persistent skills gaps in areas such as design for AM, materials process relationships, quality assurance, and digital workflows continue to limit how effectively organisations can adopt and scale these technologies. Closing that gap requires curriculum co-design that goes beyond surface level engagement, embedding translational pathways that guide students from laboratory scale experimentation into industrially realistic environments.
This talk will draw on the work of Professor Robert Kay at the University of Leeds, whose dual role as Professor of Advanced Manufacturing and founder of Hydra Manufacturing positions him at the intersection of academic research and commercial production. With over 25 years of experience in hybrid additive manufacturing and a strong track record in patents, spin outs, and technology licensing, Professor Kay offers a proven model for how research progression across Technology Readiness Levels can directly inform teaching through project based learning, industry placements, and research and commercialisation focused teaching.
The talk will reflect on how competency frameworks co-designed with industry partners can anchor these methods in authentic production scale requirements, and what that means for the future of AM education.
Sam Davies, Group Content Manager
Shaping the AM Workforce: How Internships Create Real‑World Engineers| Sofia Barker | GKN Aerospace
Developing engineers who are both capable and confident in additive manufacturing remains a significant industry challenge, and one way GKN Aerospace is helping to address this is by offering hands on internship opportunities. This session will follow the journey of an intern who joined our AM team seven months ago, stepping into the role with strong enthusiasm but limited practical experience. As she navigated real world AM engineering, unexpected technical hurdles, rapid problem solving, and evolving responsibilities, her skills, confidence, and understanding of AM adoption grew quickly. Hearing her story first hand, this session will explore the challenges new users face when adopting and optimising AM technologies, and how hands on experience accelerates growth, confidence, and capability as an emerging AM engineer.
Eaton Corporation Allied Additive Manufacturing Interoperability | Sabina Kumar | Eaton
The adoption of Additive Manufacturing in defence supply chains is hindered by inconsistent certification methods, intellectual property concerns, and challenges in secure cross-border data transfer. Current qualification approaches are typically defined by individual OEMs or AM manufacturers, with no unified standard enabling interoperability between allied nations. This project addresses these gaps by implementing a standardized framework for Operational Qualification (OQ) and Performance Qualification (PQ) on the Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) process.
Led by Eaton Corporation, in partnership with EOS, Material Solutions Limited (UK), and 3Degrees, the effort establishes machine-material equivalency between two platforms located in the United States and the United Kingdom. This program aims to demonstrate a scalable pathway for cross-continental AM supply chain integration between U.S. DoD and U.K. MoD stakeholders.
Additive Manufacturing – Why It’s Now a WorldSkill | Steve Cox, AMFORi Consulting & Bryn Jones, Grwp Llandrillo-Menai & WorldSkills UK
How do we motivate young people to build the additive manufacturing skills and confidence the sector needs for the future? WorldSkills - often called the “Skills Olympics” - is accelerating technical development through real‑world, competition‑based training. Since AM joined the programme, participation and capability have grown rapidly across the UK. This session will explore the competition’s journey and what we’ve learned from watching young competitors push themselves technically and personally.
