May 2026
President’s Report
We are in month FIVE of 2026…time is moving so swiftly. Sometimes I can feel the time passing; other times it’s already passed before I even took notice! I am a constant work in progress in the skill of slowing down. I’ve got to-do lists for days, and as I have said before, I love crossing things off. And so, in my attempt to complete tasks, I can miss moments. I’m working on it.
One current task is working with our board of directors as we wrap up and evaluate AMUG 2026, while also planning for AMUG 2027 and the years beyond. These items fuel yet another list of discussions, tasks, and plans. We’ve had a great board serving our organization in the last year (as you know, positions are up for change every 2 years). Those of us who will not be returning to our positions are working hard to ensure our successors are equipped to step in and serve.
Shannon VanDeren
President
You likely already know this, but AMUG runs largely on volunteer efforts (we now have three employees). Beyond the board, we absolutely require the help of committee chairs and committee members. We are still accepting volunteer forms for those of you who wish to serve on a committee. You’ll find the link here. Submissions are accepted only until June 1.
On the volunteer form, you’ll have the option to identify up to 3 committees that may be interesting for you to serve on. From there, our chairs will build their committees…and then the fun begins! AMUG Conferences are events and technical exchange platforms meant to be experienced. Volunteering with AMUG makes AMUG more purposeful for those who serve.
As we continue to assess, reflect, and plan for AMUG and future conferences, we will do it with YOU in mind. You truly are the reason that AMUG exists, that AMUG grows, and that AMUG inspires. Each decision we make is filled with the intent to fulfill our mission and serve this community.
As I always say, if you have questions or comments, or would like to discuss anything with me, please reach out through president@amug.com.
Make it a marvelous month of May.
Shannon VanDeren
President
President@amug.com
Last Call to Volunteer: Sign up to Join an AMUG Committee by June 1
AMUG thrives because of the passion and dedication of its members—and committee volunteers are at the heart of that success. With the June 1 deadline approaching, now is the time to raise your hand and help shape the future of AMUG.
Serving on an AMUG Committee is a meaningful way to support the organization while gaining valuable professional experience. Committee participation takes place over a 12-month term, with time commitments designed to be both impactful and manageable.
Whether you want to help shape future AMUG Conferences, strengthen partnerships across the AM community, or contribute to the long-term success of the organization, there is a committee where your skills and perspective can make a difference.
Committee service offers the opportunity to expand your network, develop leadership skills, and work closely with fellow AMUG Members who share a commitment to advancing AM. If you’ve been considering getting more involved, this is your moment.
The deadline to sign up is June 1. Complete the AMUG Committee Volunteer Form and select the committees that interest you most. Your involvement helps ensure AMUG remains a strong, member‑driven organization—now and for years to come.
Registration Committee members working behind the scenes at AMUG 2026.
Li Yang, Scholarship Winner: AMUG 2026 Feedback and Thoughts
Perhaps the AMUG annual conference is not on the radar of many academic researchers as a regular choice, but it has been a must-attend event for me since my first time in 2014. To me, this event is a unique annual escape from my typical life in the academic world, which I often feel is an ivory tower that is somewhat blind to the rapidly changing landscape of AM.
The AMUG Conference has given me the precious opportunity to stay in touch with the front-line AM engineers over more than a decade, and through this experience, I have been able to track the growth of the AM industry, which is mirrored by the growth of the conference.
A decade ago, research and development in AM focused on processing techniques and new materials, and mainstream industrial adoption still seemed like a moonshot on the drawing board. The success story of the GE fuel nozzle tip, which had just come out to the public, still sounded like a niche that was almost too expensive to scale. For most engineers, AM was still perceived as a novelty and often a luxury toy, and the community was so small that the entire AMUG Conference could fit into a desert resort in Tucson, AZ.
Li Yang, with his scholarship award, following his presentation at AMUG 2026.
AM looks very different today. It has stopped being a catchphrase or novelty, becoming a ubiquitous tool engineers routinely use to enable new design ideas. The most significant challenges to AM adoption are no longer about the lack of familiarity with the technology, but instead, on the more stringent and specific design requirements that exploit its boundaries and full potential. Advanced computational tools such as thermomechanical simulation and machine learning optimization are becoming integral parts of the AM workflow. With so many applications and spill-over of technology domains, the AM users group is becoming so diverse that I am half expecting that in the near future it might be split into many “sub-user groups” with more focused scopes of technology domains.
On the other hand, I hope the AMUG Conference continues for many more years. It creates a unique environment that brings together diverse interests, opinions, and expertise in a way that always inspires me. Despite the community’s significant growth over the years, the conference magically maintains its charm as one of the most intimate and information-rich events in the AM world.
I also find it almost necessary to take advantage of opportunities to learn about the needs and interests of the industries. Too often, we are trapped in the mindset of academic research and end up ignoring the significant needs on the application side, or, perhaps worse, lacking a clear vision of the ultimate goals and values of our work. The AMUG Conference is my perfect antidote for this.
After many years in Chicago, the change of location for this year felt really refreshing. Although the size was not as large as in recent years, I felt the same relaxing yet vibrant atmosphere at the conference. Kudos to the AMUG team for keeping the soul of this conference alive.
There were also some things new. Throughout the conference, a new hidden buzzword is AI, which has not yet penetrated deeply into the AM field, looming at the corner of many people’s minds and popping up in conversations here and there. While AM could likely be an early champion of AI-enabled manufacturing and benefit the most, this prospective approach also poses an almost impossible question of how we should update the development roadmap to ensure that both AM technologies and the workforce could adapt to an AI future. However, there was also a lot of optimism in most of the conversations. This is not surprising, as this is also the unique spirit of this conference—enjoying being in this community and always open to new possibilities for making things better.
I am already looking forward to Atlantic City next year.
Li Yang
University of Louisville
2026 Randy Stevens Scholarship winner
New Members at AMUG 2026
As we reflect on an outstanding 2026 AMUG Conference, the New Member Committee extends a sincere thank you to this year’s new members. Your enthusiasm, curiosity, and willingness to jump in headfirst helped make this year’s event truly special. From packed technical sessions to hallway conversations and evening networking events, your participation and engagement were felt throughout the entire week.
Special congratulations go to Joshua Boykin, who made an incredible impression by winning the Technical Competition as a new member. Achievements like this highlight exactly why new voices and fresh perspectives are so vital to our community.
Looking ahead to AMUG 2027, today’s new members will return as AMUG veterans. You now know the value of attending sessions outside your comfort zone, asking questions, and sharing your own experiences. We encourage you to build on that momentum by inviting coworkers, peers, and industry friends who have never attended before and helping them discover what makes the AMUG Conference unlike any other event in AM.
We also invite you to take the next step by becoming more involved. Share your feedback on sessions, events, and member experiences. Volunteer your time and expertise—whether it’s helping new attendees, supporting technical sessions, or serving on a committee. These contributions are essential to helping AMUG grow and evolve while staying true to its member-driven roots.
Thank you again for being such an important part of AMUG 2026. We look forward to seeing many of you return in 2027—not just as attendees, but as active contributors helping to shape AMUG’s future.
Kicking off AMUG 2026 with the New Member Welcome Meeting.
2026 Conference Photo Gallery
We captured the energy, activities, and engagement of our 2026 AMUG Conference in photos. Visit the photo gallery to flip through over 800 images.
The images are organized into 10 categories to help you navigate your visual journey.
If you find a “gotta-have” photo, simply click to download a high-resolution JPEG for your files.
Enjoy!
Flip through the AMUG 2026 photo gallery.
Joe Allison Inducted into TCT Hall of Fame
At RAPID + TCT 2026, during the awards gala, Joe Allison was inducted into TCT’s Hall of Fame, becoming just the 21st to be recognized with this honor. Congratulations, Joe!
Dozens of respected and distinguished AMUG Members were present to celebrate Joe’s induction into the Hall of Fame. Amongst them were Scott Crump, Todd Grimm, and Brennon White (pictured with Joe).
While the photo captures the spirit of community and friendship fostered through AMUG, the story runs much deeper. These four long-time AMUG Members, with participation dating back to the 1990s, have amassed an impressive list of achievements from their leadership and contributions:
- Four AMUG DINOs
- Three TCT Hall of Fame inductees
- Two AMUG Innovators Award recipients
- One recipient of SME’s AM Industry Achievement Award
Beyond the accolades and AMUG legacy, another common thread is woven from engagement, involvement, and service. The takeaway is clear—get involved (in AMUG and throughout the AM industry) to grow personally and professionally.
Four AMUG DINOs (from left): Scott Crump, Todd Grimm, Joe Allison, and Brennon White celebrating Joe’s Hall of Fame induction. (Photo credit: Trinity Wheeler)
SPONSOR NEWS
AMT PostProamtechnologies.com
The Role of Vapor Smoothing in Patient-Ready O&P
In orthotics and prosthetics (O&P), surface quality is not just a cosmetic consideration; it directly impacts patient comfort, hygiene, and device durability. O&P components are worn in direct contact with the body and used throughout daily activities, making low friction, a clean surface, and long-term reliability essential.
A recent case study developed in collaboration with the Atlantic Clinic for Upper Limb Prosthetics demonstrates how vapor smoothing can improve the performance of 3D-printed prosthetic components. By creating a smooth, sealed, low-friction surface, the process reduces skin irritation, improves interaction with clothing, enables easier donning and doffing, and increases resistance to staining and daily wear.
Beyond its functional benefits, surface finishing also enables more refined and personalized designs, supporting patient acceptance and confidence.
As AM continues to expand in healthcare, understanding the role of post-processing becomes essential for delivering reliable, patient-ready outcomes.
AMT will be exhibiting at OTWorld (May 19–22, Leipzig, Hall 1, Booth H53). If you are attending the show, stop by our booth to say hello.
Learn more here.
3D-printed & vapor-smoothed upper limb prosthetics, manufactured by the Atlantic Clinic for Upper Limb Prosthetics.
GoEngineergoengineer.com
Meet Our Latest Offering–WAZER
Manufacturing engineers are under constant pressure to deliver precision parts faster without sacrificing quality or driving up costs. GoEngineer is excited to now provide you with access to the WAZER desktop CNC waterjet. This compact yet powerful solution brings industrial-grade cutting directly into your shop for a wide range of materials, including everything from aluminum and stainless steel to glass, composites, and plastics.
Unlike thermal cutting methods, waterjet technology produces clean, precise cuts without heat-affected zones, preserving material integrity and eliminating secondary finishing. Whether you’re prototyping, building jigs and fixtures, or running low-volume production, WAZER empowers your team to move faster and keep critical work in-house.
Are you ready to simplify your workflow and expand your capabilities? Explore how the WAZER can transform your manufacturing process.
Making cutting easy.
Stratasysstratasys.com
Stratasys Selected for Multi-Million Dollar U.S. Department of War AM Program
Stratasys Direct™, Stratasys’ parts-on-demand business, has been selected to take part in the U.S. Department of War’s (DoW) Joint Additive Manufacturing Acceptability (JAMA) IV Pilot Parts Program, a multimillion-dollar initiative to accelerate qualification and deployment of 3D-printed parts across military platforms and systems.
As a Program of Record for the U.S. Air Force and Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), Stratasys continues to expand its role in advanced manufacturing across aerospace and defense production environments. Unlike aspirational AM initiatives in defense, Stratasys Direct, the contract manufacturing division of Stratasys, delivers qualified production-scale parts to defense organizations for operational use across active platforms.
Foster Ferguson, Vice President, Industrial Business Unit of Stratasys, said, “Stratasys Direct already ships over 100,000 parts annually to the defense industry, and programs like JAMA will accelerate qualification of parts so organizations can deploy them faster across operational platforms.”
U.S. defense AM funding surges toward $3.3 billion as adoption expands across sustainment and modernization.
MEDIA SPONSOR NEWS
Metal AM magazinemetal-am.com
Live with NASA: GRX-810 and the Future of AM-enabled, High-temperature Propulsion
What happens when a high-temperature alloy is designed for AM, rather than adapted to it?
NASA’s GRX-810 is one of the most important materials stories in metal AM today: an oxide-dispersion-strengthened superalloy developed to push beyond the limits of legacy AM materials in extreme-temperature propulsion environments.
Following their in-depth article in Metal AM magazine, NASA’s Dr. Timothy M. Smith and Dr. Paul Gradl will join us live for a dedicated webinar on GRX-810 and the future of AM-enabled high-temperature propulsion.
This is a unique opportunity to read the technical background first, then put your questions directly to the people behind the alloy during the Q&A session.
Join us:
June 9, 2026
09:00 PDT / 12:00 EDT / 18:00 CEST
Read the article, come prepared, and join the discussion.
Join the June 9 webinar to learn about GRX-810.
3D Printing Industry3dprintingindustry.com
Get the AM Advantage in Healthcare
The healthcare sector is evolving rapidly. From personalized care and digital dentistry to regenerative medicine and distributed production, AM is reshaping how medical solutions are designed, produced, and delivered.
Join AMA: Healthcare 2026, an online conference that brings together healthcare leaders, researchers, device manufacturers, and AM innovators to explore real-world applications and scalable adoption across the medical and dental sectors.
June 4, 2026: Online Event
Featured speakers include:
Dr. Gerald Mitteramskogler, Incus GmbH
Dr. Priscila Melo, Newcastle University
Ankush Venkatesh, Glidewell
Matthew Shomper, Not a Robot Engineering
Dr. Kjeld van Bommel, TNO Holst Centre
Also, the call for speakers is now open for AMA: Healthcare, AMA: Aerospace, Space & Defense and AMA: Automotive & Mobility.
Register today and discover how AM is shaping the future of healthcare.
Join the June 4 AMA: Healthcare 2026 online conference.
3DPrint.com3dprint.com
HP Celebrates 10 Years and Reveals the New MJF Printer
At RAPID+TCT in Boston, HP Additive Manufacturing Solutions celebrated ten years in the AM market. The company launched its Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing technology in Barcelona back in 2016 and officially unveiled the solution at RAPID that same year—it’s come a long way since then.
The company shared a veritable smorgasbord of product announcements at RAPID 2026.
“As we mark a decade of innovation in additive manufacturing, these latest advancements across our portfolio reflect HP’s focus on bringing industrial-grade capabilities closer to where ideas take place. By lowering cost per part and simplifying workflows, we are making it easier for customers to adopt additive manufacturing and scale it across new applications,” said Alex Moñino, SVP and GM, HP Additive Manufacturing Solutions, in a press release.
HP’s 10th anniversary celebration (at the conclusion of the first day of RAPID) was held at a cool seafood restaurant near the convention center. The drinks were freely flowing, appetizers and cake were passed, and all attendees gathered to hear remarks from HP executives and a panel of leaders from some of the company’s best partners and customers.
Before the news was made public, those at the anniversary party also got to hear a little about HP’s latest innovation, which the company officially unveiled live at RAPID just this morning: the new Multi Jet Fusion 1200 3D printer.
Read the full story here.
Alex Moñino, standing in front of the new Mult Jet Fusion 1200, addresses RAPID attendees following the reveal.
Digital Engineeringdigitalengineering247.com
Generative Design Covered in Special Focus Issue
The April Special Focus Issue of Digital Engineering magazine takes a look at trends in generative design, including an overview of new software tools for the AM space; how material data and simulation are improving fatigue life of 3D-printed parts; and the need for advanced GPU compute to support generative design.
You can download the issue here.
Out now: special focus issue of DE on generative design.
3D ADEPT3dadept.com
Additive Talks, Season 6, Episode 1 is Live
When two of the most demanding users of AM in aerospace compare notes in real time
Hauke Schultz from Airbus and Steve Fournier from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) sat together for the first episode of Additive Talks Season 6. Two organizations. Two sets of constraints. And not always the same reading of where the industry stands.
The conversation cuts through the noise on a few questions the AM industry tends to sidestep. They include, for instance, what does “factory of the future” really mean once you strip out the marketing? Can distributed AM actually respond to aircraft-on-ground situations, or is that still largely wishful thinking? And who is genuinely driving the push for AM at scale?
What emerged was a grounded, honest exchange, including some diverging views on the state of distributed metal AM between the European and U.S. defense contexts, and a clear signal that smarter approaches to qualification are gaining traction over legacy part-by-part certification.
If you work in production, engineering, supply chain, or business development in high-performance industries, this is a conversation worth an hour of your time.
Steve Fournier (top right) and Hauke Shultz (bottom) join Additive Talks for a discussion on aerospace.
3Dnatives3dnatives.com
A 3D-Printed Hydrogel Implant Could Treat High Blood Pressure Without Medication
High blood pressure is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular disease worldwide. For many patients, standard drug treatments are not sufficient. Researchers at Penn State University may have found a potential solution in a small bioelectric implant made using 3D printing.
The device, called CaroFlex, is manufactured using 3D printing with hydrogel, a soft, flexible material similar to gelatin. This choice is not incidental. Unlike traditional bioelectrodes made from rigid metals and plastics, CaroFlex mechanically adapts to living tissue and adheres to it without the need for sutures, thanks to a built-in, non-toxic adhesive layer. Eliminating sutures addresses one of the key limitations of conventional implants: the gradual damage to arterial tissue caused by the natural expansion and contraction of blood vessels. To learn more, read the full story here.
Tests conducted in animal models yielded promising results: four reduced blood pressure by more than 15%. (Photo credit: Tao Zhou)
VoxelMattersvoxelmatters.com
VoxelMatters Polymer AM Focus 2026 eBook
As spring progresses, we are turning our sights to a major segment of AM, polymers. Comprising hardware, materials, and services, this segment was worth nearly $10 billion in 2025 and continues to grow as adoption expands and applications continue to develop.
In the Polymer AM Focus 2026 eBook, we are presenting a variety of pieces that showcase the breadth of the polymer AM landscape, from consumer-grade initiatives to industrialized production ecosystems. First up is our analysis chapter, which leverages VoxelMatters report data to showcase the key growth drivers within polymer hardware, materials, and services. Next, in cooperation with Axtra3D, we have a feature that illustrates how its HPS-based workflow is enabling industrial series production through integrated, highly automated steps.
From there, we turn to the education segment for a use case out of the Hamburg University of Technology, where engineering students use Creality 3D printers to explore concepts in a hands-on way and develop innovative tools. Next, we go to the UK, where 0rCA has developed a containerized, easily deployable system for turning plastic ocean pollution into high-quality PA6 for 3D printing. In our mapping chapter, we highlight a selection of the most influential and innovative polymer 3D printing hardware companies. Finally, VoxelMatters’ own Davide Sher reviews Formlabs‘ Form 4 industrial SLA system using tough resins.
VoxelMatters’ Polymer AM eBook can be viewed or downloaded by clicking here.
eBook: Polyer AM Focus 2026.
