A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us at FAME Symposium 2026! Your enthusiasm, expertise, and energy made these two days something truly remarkable, and the numbers speak for themselves.
This year, over 100 participants gathered at LUT University’s Lappeenranta campus on 20–21 May, making FAME Symposium 2026 the largest edition yet. From industry pioneers and university researchers to startups, regulatory bodies, and defence organisations, the FAME community continues to grow.
This year’s symposium centred on a theme that is close to the heart of everything FAME stands for: turning research into reality. Under the banner of Industrializing Research in Additive Manufacturing, we spent two packed days exploring what it actually takes to move AM innovations out of the lab and into production lines, energy infrastructure, shipyards, and beyond.
Day 1 opened with a keynote from Benjamin Regener of NuclearIQ Solutions LLC, who tackled one of the most pressing topics in the field head-on: how can additive manufacturing break into critical infrastructure — from regulatory hesitation to born-to-be-qualified components? It was a fitting provocation for a room full of people working to bridge exactly that gap.
Day 2 opened with a keynote from Mika Vaskelainen of Patria Oyj, who brought the theme to life through a concrete case study: the complete redesign of a Hawk jet trainer bracket, taking it from legacy geometry to an AM-optimised component. A powerful reminder of what industrialisation actually looks like in practice.
Over twelve sessions and two parallel tracks, speakers from across Europe covered the full breadth of additive manufacturing today.
Energy and nuclear applications featured prominently throughout both days, with talks from Jukka Mononen (STUK) on AM products for nuclear energy in Finland, Shaafi Shaikh (EOS Finland) on additively manufactured INCONEL 718 for oil and gas, and Atharv Agarwal (LUT University) on tungsten components for nuclear fusion.
The maritime and shipbuilding industry also took centre stage, with Giuseppe Sarago from Fincantieri sharing how Europe’s largest shipbuilder is turning AM challenges into growth opportunities, and Mikael Parvikoski (RMC Finland) presenting DED-Arc applications in ship structural connections.
On the industry practice side, talks from Joonatan Huhtala (Konecranes), Roope Lavinen (John Deere Forestry), and Tommy Enlund (Wärtsilä) brought candid lessons from the shop floor.
Sustainability was woven throughout the programme. Talks from Tuomas Puttonen (Aalto University) and Erik Haapa (University of Turku) tackled life cycle assessment and resource efficiency in metal AM processes.
The programme also featured sessions on AI-driven design (including a standout talk on deterministic AI by Alejandro Carcel Lopez of Cognitive Design Systems and the LUMI supercomputer’s relevance for AM by Jyrki Savolainen of CSC), advanced process control, multi-material innovation, and post-processing at industrial scale.
A special highlight of Day 2 was the Industry Pioneer Talk by Olli Nyrhilä, the developer of the DMLS (PBF-LB/M) process — one of the foundational technologies of modern metal AM. His perspective on what it will take to genuinely industrialise metal AM brought a rare historical depth to the conversation.
Nine research posters were presented across both days, covering topics from robotic metal AM and wire arc additive manufacturing to natural fibre composites for 3D printing feedstock and gyroid heat exchangers. Poster sessions offered researchers a chance to share their latest work and gather direct feedback from an industry-engaged audience.
The symposium also welcomed exhibitors — Cognitive Design Systems, CSC – IT Center for Science, HAMK, LUT University, Oerlikon, and Metal AM Magazine — whose presence enriched the exhibition area and sparked many side conversations throughout the event.
Among the 40 respondents to our post-event survey:
FAME Symposium 2027 is coming — and it will be heading to Vaasa. Date and host details will be announced soon.
If you want to speak, host a workshop, or propose a topic for the next symposium: get in touch. Let’s build it together.
All pictures by Pyry Kortelainen
Thank you for being part of FAME. Together, we make the future of additive manufacturing smarter and more connected.
Warm regards,
