AMUG: User-Centric Learning Sets the Tone for Best Practices
Among additive manufacturing conferences, AMUG has emerged as the benchmark for practical, user-driven insight. The 2026 Additive Manufacturing Users Group conference again distinguished itself through carefully curated keynotes and deeply technical sessions that focus on what actually works in production. Talks from sectors as varied as aerospace, motorsports and consumer goods emphasized that additive manufacturing (AM) must complement, not replace, conventional processes, and that the real differentiator is doing what other methods cannot. Lego’s leadership, for example, stressed that quality thresholds are now being met, but cost, throughput and automation remain decisive. Parallel tracks explored issues such as metal surface finishing, 3D printing safety and polymer powder recycling, alongside panels on how to start and scale AM businesses. As a result, AMUG is shaping the conversation around realistic deployment, helping attendees turn experimentation into robust workflows and sustainable AM business gatherings.
Formnext Asia Shenzhen: AM Moves into AI Liquid Cooling Solutions
Formnext Asia Shenzhen is sharpening its focus on one of the fastest-growing applications in the 3D printing industry: AI liquid cooling solutions. As high‑density AI server chips surpass the limits of air cooling, the event will spotlight how additive manufacturing can produce complex internal channel geometries inside cold plates and heat exchangers that traditional machining struggles to deliver. By printing these components as monolithic parts, engineers can eliminate leak‑prone joints while following chip contours more closely to maximise heat transfer. Organisers plan to cover the full production chain for thermal management components, from metal powders to finished parts and batch services, supported by a dedicated forum on AM for liquid cooling and heat management. Alongside this, the wider exhibition will showcase metal and polymer systems, materials, software, scanning and post‑processing, underscoring how thermal management is becoming a central theme at leading 3D printing industry events.
BMW’s Automotive AM Conference: From Prototype to Series Production
Automotive additive manufacturing is accelerating, and BMW Group’s “Additive Manufacturing @ BMW Group” conference illustrates how far it has progressed along the production chain. The two‑day event gathers engineers, researchers and manufacturing leaders to examine AM’s role from early prototyping through to series production. Attendees can join a guided tour of BMW’s Additive Manufacturing Campus in Oberschleißheim, covering metal production via laser powder bed fusion and wire arc additive manufacturing, as well as polymer production, process development and quality assurance. Presentations explore how AM is integrated into BMW’s operations, AM‑enabled product innovation, and strategies for scaling, including automated wire arc additive processes for series use. The programme broadens on the second day to the wider automotive ecosystem, with contributions from motorsport and major manufacturers on metal AM in racing, infrastructure development and its role in vehicle development, plus a poster session on applying artificial intelligence within additive workflows.
AMS in New York: The Premier AM Business Gathering Evolves
While some additive manufacturing conferences prioritise technology, Additive Manufacturing Strategies (AMS) has become the definitive AM business gathering. Returning to New York for its 10th edition, AMS X will convene more than 100 executives, investors, analysts, startup founders and manufacturers to debate the industry’s next phase. Recent editions have mirrored a sector pivoting toward production-focused applications in aerospace, defense, healthcare, dental, electronics and energy. Discussions have centred on profitability, operational efficiency, supply chain resilience, qualification and the realities of scaling AM. A widely discussed keynote from Stratasys CEO Yoav Zeif framed the market as entering a more mature phase, with desktop systems expanding adoption at one end and industrial applications opening new opportunities at the other. With major sponsors like Stratasys, EOS and HP increasing their presence, AMS reinforces that the strategic questions of consolidation, AI and industrialisation are now as critical as the machines themselves.
Specialised Fluid 3D Printing Events Round Out the Conference Landscape
Beyond the flagship additive manufacturing conferences, a growing layer of specialised events is emerging around fluid 3D printing and materials handling. Companies such as ViscoTec and other dispensing and dosing experts are convening focused workshops and seminars dedicated to printing highly viscous materials, multi‑component fluids and functional pastes. These gatherings complement broader 3D printing industry events by addressing questions that often sit at the intersection of hardware, rheology and application engineering: how to maintain process stability with challenging fluids, how to design components for precise internal flow, and how to link printed geometries with performance in sectors like medical devices, electronics and thermal management. As liquid‑based applications gain attention—from AI liquid cooling solutions to advanced functional coatings—these niche events provide the detailed process know‑how that larger shows can only touch on, helping convert promising lab demonstrations into reliable, scalable production processes.