At AIAA SciTech 2026, 3DPrint.com moved between the present ground, exhibitor cubicles, and technical discussions, talking with firms, researchers, and engineers about how 3D printing is getting used at the moment in aerospace and protection, and the place it’s nonetheless evolving.
Throughout these conversations, the identical themes emerged. Primes and authorities labs targeted on scale, qualification, and repeatability, the place elements should meet strict flight necessities. On the identical time, startups and college groups emphasised velocity and iteration, utilizing 3D printing to check new concepts and transfer rapidly from design to experiment. Many discussions additionally centered on measurement, ending, automation, and supplies: work that determines whether or not additively manufactured elements can transfer from early builds into flight-ready applications. And that distinction set the tone for a lot of the occasion.
That blend was clear on the present ground itself. Main primes resembling Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, RTX, Siemens, and extra had been recruiting, assembly with companions, and fascinating instantly with engineers, college students, and startups all through the week. In the meantime, additive-focused cubicles, like VulcanForms, Lithoz, Fathom, Lab AM 24, and ZEISS, confirmed how 3D printing now suits into on a regular basis aerospace work.
The present ground at AIAA SciTech Discussion board 2026. Picture courtesy of 3DPrint.com.
The Function of Measurement and Qualification
One of many strengths of occasions like SciTech is that they place additive manufacturing (AM) inside a much wider aerospace context. Quite than specializing in printing alone, conversations usually moved rapidly into measurement, qualification, and course of management.
On the ZEISS sales space, optical scanning and inspection had been described as more and more essential as additively manufactured elements transfer into actual aerospace applications. Whereas automotive stays ZEISS’s largest market (roughly 70 p.c of its buyer base), aerospace and aerostructures now account for round 20 p.c, with AM taking part in an more and more essential function.
In addition they described the size of a few of that work. One of many largest scans mentioned concerned a C-130 plane. Quite than capturing your entire construction without delay, half of the plane was scanned after which mirrored, a course of that also took two to a few days to finish. Massive geometry takes time if accuracy issues, defined Zeiss.
Nonetheless, based on ZEISS, one of many largest challenges clients face when inspecting 3D printed elements isn’t the scanner itself. It’s preparation. Extremely reflective elements may have a lightweight spray coating. Targets have to be positioned appropriately. Floor prep must be constant. When these steps are rushed or skipped, scan information can find yourself with gaps or voids, undermining your entire inspection course of.
In follow, AM raises the bar for rigor quite than reducing it. Printing may be quick, however qualification takes time, which helps clarify why aerospace AM continues to maneuver fastidiously whilst manufacturing capabilities advance.
Zeiss at AIAA SciTech Discussion board 2026. Picture courtesy of 3DPrint.com.
Universities and the Subsequent Technology of AM Work
That steadiness between velocity and rigor was particularly seen on the college facet of the present.
Probably the most encouraging elements of AIAA SciTech was the robust college presence on the expo ground. Throughout aerospace engineering, supplies science, propulsion, and buildings, universities confirmed how 3D printing is already being utilized in hands-on analysis. The main target was sensible: light-weight buildings, new supplies, sooner testing cycles, and student-built methods that may transfer rapidly from design to experiment.
These applications had been clearly designed for real-world use. The main target wasn’t simply on analysis papers, however on coaching future engineers and connecting college labs with trade, authorities, and protection companions. In a number of cubicles, college students walked guests by printed elements, take a look at rigs, and flight-ready platforms, explaining not simply what they constructed, however why.
Anthony Comer and Zach Atkinson from the Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Analysis and Schooling at AIAA SciTech Discussion board 2026. Picture courtesy of 3DPrint.com.
For instance, on the Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Analysis and Schooling, Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Oklahoma State College, Anthony Comer, described how AM is built-in instantly into flight analysis. Graduate analysis assistant Zach Atkinson defined that the Simulation to Flight Utilized Analysis Laboratory takes novel plane configurations from digital simulation all the best way to bodily flight testing. Utilizing aerodynamic modeling methods, the group designs and builds plane, then compares simulation outcomes with actual flight information, usually utilizing 3D printed elements to maneuver rapidly from design to testing.
Professor Jason Merret from the College of Illinois Urbana-Champaign at AIAA SciTech Discussion board 2026. Picture courtesy of 3DPrint.com.
One other college sales space drew loads of consideration with a hands-on drone setup that felt rather a lot like a small testing area. Aerospace Engineering Professor Jason Merret from the College of Illinois Urbana-Champaign defined that their lab operates as a mixture of instructing and analysis, utilizing 3D printed drones and enclosures to let college students experiment, take a look at, and iterate. The drone lab has been operating for about three years and features a devoted flight room outfitted with a full motion-capture system. With roughly a dozen high-resolution cameras monitoring motion inside a 20-by-20-by-10-foot area, the setup permits a number of drones to be examined concurrently with sub-millimeter accuracy. It may need appeared like a playful sales space, however beneath, it confirmed how AM is getting used to help severe analysis, testing, and hands-on training.
Florida Tech at AIAA SciTech Discussion board 2026. Picture courtesy of 3DPrint.com.
In the meantime, on the Florida Institute of Know-how sales space, AM confirmed up as a part of a broader hands-on analysis surroundings. Firat Irmak, assistant professor of aerospace, physics, and area sciences, alongside together with his graduate college students, walked guests by a spread of 3D printed elements built-in into electronics, movement methods, and lab-scale manufacturing instruments, exhibiting how printed elements are utilized in actual experiments quite than remoted demos. Some workflows had been automated, whereas others had been deliberately hands-on, giving college students expertise validating designs and understanding how printed elements behave in actual methods.
The College of Alabama in Huntsville’s Division of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at AIAA SciTech Discussion board 2026. Picture courtesy of 3DPrint.com.
What stood out was how a lot printed {hardware} was on show. The Florida Tech sales space felt much less like a showcase and extra like a working lab, exhibiting how 3D printing helps analysis, testing, and engineering training.
FAMU-FSU Faculty of Engineering at AIAA SciTech Discussion board 2026. Picture courtesy of 3DPrint.com.
Different establishments, such because the College of Alabama in Huntsville‘s Division of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, FAMU-FSU Faculty of Engineering, Utah State College’s Faculty of Engineering, California Institute of Know-how, and the College of Maryland‘s Division of Aerospace Engineering, confirmed how 3D printing suits into present analysis workflows. It’s a clear reminder {that a} vital a part of aerospace AM’s future is being formed in college labs at the moment, usually effectively earlier than these concepts attain trade or manufacturing environments.
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