Roughly 170 practitioners in robotic large-format additive manufacturing (LFAM) attended the inaugural Addidex Connect event, held on June 30 and July 1, 2026 at 3D Makers Zone in Haarlem, the Netherlands. The two-day gathering was organized around robotic additive manufacturing (AM) workflows, bringing together designers, engineers, software developers, material specialists, researchers, machine builders and production teams from across the field.
Rather than a conventional trade show, the event focused on discussion between disciplines that often address the same technical problems in isolation. Sessions covered the relationship between design and toolpath logic, including multi-axis and non-planar strategies, along with material behavior at scale, adaptive fabrication, software workflows, circular feedstocks such as bio-based polymers and recycled marine plastics, process control, and the transition from prototypes to production.
“Robotic 3D printing has no shortage of talent or ambition,” said Michael John Sweers, founder of Addidex Connect. “What it needs is more connection between the people shaping it. Too often, valuable knowledge stays within one discipline, one machine or one company. These two days showed what becomes possible when people speak openly about both what works and what still does not.”
Held on an Active Production Floor
The event took place on the working floor of 3D Makers Zone, among industrial six-axis robots and active fabrication equipment. Organizers built in long breaks, live demonstrations and panel discussions to allow conversations to continue outside the formal program, connecting technical presentations with production experience on site.
Speakers included Aldo Sollazzo founder of LaMáquina and Noumena, Miguel García Jiménez of Nagami, and Francesco De Stefano of Caracol AM, alongside contributors from TU Delft and TU Eindhoven who presented research on computational design and large-scale fabrication. The broader group drew participants from studios, universities, technology companies and manufacturing organizations internationally.
Better Alignment Across Disciplines Cited as Next Challenge
A recurring theme across the two days was that progress in robotic AM will depend less on machines alone and more on alignment between design intent, material knowledge, toolpath logic, sensing, software and production. Organizers said the field’s next phase will require closer collaboration, more transferable knowledge between groups, and more direct discussion of failure, qualification and scale.
The event was supported by Founding Partners CEAD, MX3D and 3D Makers Zone, Strategic Partners Caracol AM, Polymaker and FibeCycle, and Supporting Partners Smart Materials 3D, Neolithic and More Than Layers. Selected session recordings are expected to be published on the Addidex platform and YouTube channel over the coming months.
Pre-registration for the next edition, scheduled for July 22 and 23, 2027, are currently open.
Addressing Fragmentation in Robotic AM
One of robotic LFAM’s persistent bottlenecks is integrating design intent, material behavior, toolpath generation, and process control into a repeatable production workflow. Without that integration, processes that work in development can become difficult to reproduce consistently in production.
CEAD Group, addressed one piece of that gap through its strategic partnership with Polymaker, expanding access to validated materials for its platforms and bringing machine and material development into closer alignment.
Another part of the challenge lies in connecting design with manufacturing capability. Caracol AM and LaMáquina, both of whom spoke at the event, opened a shared robotic AM hub in Milan with Designtech, giving designers standing access to large-format robotic fabrication and engineering support instead of a project-by-project arrangement.
3D Printing Industry is inviting speakers for its 2026 Additive Manufacturing Applications (AMA) series, covering Energy, Healthcare, Automotive and Mobility, Aerospace, Space and Defense, and Software. Each online event focuses on real production deployments, qualification, and supply chain integration. Practitioners interested in contributing can complete the call for speakers form here.
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Featured image shows Addidex Connect Event 2026. Photo via Addidex Connect.
