As with every major industry event, JEC World 2026 provided an opportunity to assess the current state of the additive manufacturing and composites sector. At this composites conference taking place in Paris, France, additive manufacturing was presented not as an isolated technology, but as a key component of advanced manufacturing. According to JEC Composites Magazine, the global composites market reached 15.9 Mt (million tons) in 2025. This figure demonstrates the demand at the fair for a transition from manual processes to large-format automated systems capable of managing the complexity of composites.
To understand the adoption of additive manufacturing with composites, it is necessary to analyze the behavior of the materials. One of the main challenges is anisotropy. Because the strength of the part follows the direction of the deposited layers, poor path design can weaken the structure. Added to this is the thermal challenge: temperature differences between layers generate internal stresses that can end up bending or detaching the part. So, real success is not so much about scale as it is about the ability of machines to control how fibers are aligned and how the material is cooled.
Photo Credit: 3Dnatives
To overcome these limitations in precision, which also affect the finish, the industry has turned to hybrid manufacturing systems, a trend that dominated this edition of JEC World with platforms such as those from Moi Composites and Belotti. The appeal of these systems lies in the versatility they offer. Instead of using two separate machines and processes, the hybrid system prints the part and, without removing it from the platform, changes a milling head to correct tolerances and eliminate the roughness inherent in printed layers.
These systems are only possible thanks to software. During the fair, Stefan Harban, Strategic Account Executive at AiBuild, highlighted that the success of integration lies in flexibility. When asked about the difficulty of adapting their software to different robotic arms, they pointed out that it is a straightforward process: “Customers come with their robotic arm, and we select the right extruder and integrator. Our software brings the system to life.” Through the use of digital twins and dynamic extrusion control, the software ensures optimal fiber orientation, preventing structural failures in complex geometries.
Photo Credit: 3Dnatives
Finally, the fair reminded us of another of the biggest challenges in the industry in general: the cost and time involved in manufacturing metal molds. This is where large-format additive manufacturing shone during JEC World 2026. Leading companies in materials science are demonstrating that 3D-printed molds are not an alternative, but an evolution to help their customers. Various companies claim to use large-format additive manufacturing and composites to eliminate manual labor and speed up processes in sectors such as shipbuilding, aerospace, and defense.
The fair has shown that 3D printing is a technology that gives composites real agility, through the creation of complex molds in short times and through hybrid manufacturing.
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*Cover Photo Credit: 3Dnatives