TCT 3Sixty 2026: Everything You Need to Know About the UK’s Biggest AM Event
TCT 3Sixty 2026 opened yesterday at the NEC Birmingham, bringing together additive manufacturing professionals from across the UK and beyond. The event continues to offer a mix of technology showcases, industry case studies, and practical discussions focused on the realities of AM adoption. With two full days still remaining, here is what the conference has in store and why it is worth making the trip.
On the Show Floor
More than 150 companies are exhibiting at TCT 3Sixty 2026. Alongside live demonstrations and new product launches, visitors can explore applications across industries such as aerospace, automotive, and healthcare. With networking opportunities running throughout the event, the show offers a chance to connect with suppliers, manufacturers, and fellow AM professionals while discovering the latest developments in the sector. Your free registration also covers entry to two co-located events, Med-Tech Expo and Interplas, giving access to more than 700 suppliers across plastics manufacturing and medical device design.
Conference Highlights
A major draw of TCT 3Sixty is its free-to-attend conference program, which covers everything from industry case studies and workforce development to defense applications and emerging technology trends.
What’s Ahead
The defense track opens today at 10:30 AM BST with Edit Barbantan of 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,” setting the scene for a morning focused on UK-US interoperability in defense AM. RBSL (Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land) follows at 10:40 AM BST with “The Future of Manufacturing Within RBSL: Embracing Additive Manufacturing in Defence,” sharing lessons from more than three years on Project TAMPA covering LPBF and SLS applications across five armored vehicle platforms including the Warrior, Panther, Titan, Challenger 2, and Terrier. The morning closes at 12:20 PM BST with a panel bringing together speakers from Babcock, Eaton, RBSL, and Lockheed Martin to discuss real-world lessons on achieving interoperability and equivalency in defense 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 opening new possibilities in thermal management for industries including electric vehicles, aerospace, and electronics.
Tomorrow, June 4, at 10:30 AM BST, Steve Cox of AMFORi Consulting and Bryn Jones of WorldSkills UK present “Additive Manufacturing: Why It’s Now a WorldSkill,” exploring how competition-based training through WorldSkills is accelerating technical development and encouraging young people to build careers in AM. At 10:50 AM BST, Professor Robert Kay of the University of Leeds presents “Translating Research into Readiness: Co-Creating Additive Manufacturing Education with Industry,” examining how degree programs co-designed with industry can close persistent AM skills gaps in areas such as design for AM, materials processing, quality assurance, and digital workflows.
With two days still to run, there is still time to be part of TCT 3Sixty 2026. Register here and join the UK’s leading additive manufacturing event.
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*All Photo Credits: TCT 3Sixty
