From Volkswagen Autoeuropa's custom 3D printed tooling in 2017 to Westinghouse Electric Company's commercial nuclear fuel flow plates made with additive manufacturing in 2024, the TCT Awards has always sought to highlight the additive manufacturing applications and technological developments that are making an impact.
The TCT Awards, a celebration of additive manufacturing and 3D printing excellence, is back for 2025. With 11 awards categories across two key areas - Innovations and Applications - the TCT Awards is now welcoming submissions of 3D printing projects in Automotive, Healthcare, Aerospace, Consumer Products, Creative industries and more.
Read more: Submit your entry for the TCT Awards 2025
Each year, hundreds of submissions are reviewed by an esteemed panel of AM industry judges. We asked them to tell us what they are are looking for in a winning TCT Award submission for 2025. Read their thoughts below and submit your entry here.
TCT
From left: Kat Ermant, Peter Rogers, Sarah Goehrke and Kristian Arntz
Kat Ermant, Lead Prototype Technician, Peloton
“As a TCT Awards 2025 judge, I am looking for submissions that can maximize the benefit and impact on people and communities. In the entry form, it is really important that the submission have a people-centric narrative, posing the project as an advantageous investment towards the betterment of mankind. Creativity spans beyond material and aesthetics, so it's also really good to demonstrate a problem solving approach that utilizes the technology in a way that is unique to the process. In other words, why was this 3d printed and why could it have not been done in any other manufacturing method? So often we see the novelty of 3d printing being exercised without deeper thought to all of its impact, so it's vital to make the best use of it with all its considerations, good and bad. I want to see more submissions that are not focused on maximizing profits, but rather investing into the future of the technology, people, and a sustainable future for all. I believe that authentic and true innovation is not motivated by money, but rewarded by it. Good luck to all!”
Peter Rogers, CEO at Layered Ltd
"We have all seen very flashy 3D printing applications in the past, but this year I am excited to review some innovative applications that have deeply considered the economics of manufacturing and really drive home the value of the technology, outside of just the geometric freedoms."
Sarah Goehrke, Founder, Additive Integrity
“As a TCT Awards 2025 judge, I am looking forward to this year's entries surpassing previous barriers we've seen in this industry. That might include innovations in technology, as we'd expect, but also might mean a significant improvement in one step of the manufacturing process rather than reinventing the wheel, as it were. Most specifically, I hope to see realistic, realizable, repeatable solutions that are market-ready, or near to being so. We've seen a lot of overhyped promises in AM, but for 2025, I would consider an AM innovation or application to be one that can be implemented to achieve real-world results.”
Kristian Arntz, Professor for manufacturing technologies and machine tools, FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences
“As a TCT Awards 2025 judge, what I am especially looking at this year are innovations, that connect AM with traditional manufacturing and offer solutions to our most important challenges connected to reduce the consumption of resources and energy”
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From left: Candice Majewski, Terry Wohlers, Melissa Orme and Jonathan Rowley
Candice Majewski, Senior lecturer in Mechanical Engineering, The University of Sheffield
“As a TCT Awards 2025 judge I'll be looking for genuinely new innovations, and clear statements of how they're making a difference. Showing us how a new approach is moving Additive Manufacturing forward is key to convincing me it's an award-winning application!”
Terry Wohlers, Head of additive manufacturing market intelligence, ASTM International
“As a judge, I am looking for something that is special and really stands out. So much great work in AM is underway, but only a small fraction is unique and could have a lasting impact on the industry.”
Melissa Orme, Vice President Additive Manufacturing, The Boeing Company
“I’m looking for innovation in additive manufacturing applications, processes, or materials that has societal and business impact. I’d like to see an application that thoughtfully describes the innovation from a technical perspective, it’s significance from a societal and business perspective, its positive business case and stakeholder acceptance, and how the technology (new application, process, or material) and its business case were validated.”
Previous TCT Award-winning applications:
- At home with AM: Westinghouse on its adoption of additive manufacturing
- #collaborate: How 3D printed Personal Fit Breast Prosthesis are giving wearers newfound freedom
- An additive embrace: How Boltenstern is delivering bespoke jewellery pieces with precious metal 3D printing
- The Ultimate Printing Machine - How BMW is applying 3D printing to commercial vehicles
Jonathan Rowley, Industry Consultant and Educator, Advanced SLS
“During the course of the year I often come across AM applications that would absolutely merit submitting an application to the TCT Awards. When I candidly suggest this to their authors, I often hear that they don't believe it's interesting enough, ground breaking enough or significant enough for them to even consider doing so. This modesty is often even more telling and these more subtle applications have significantly more going for them. I am interested in seeing the simple yet effective use of AM applied to particular applications that can provide inspiration to those working with the technology in other fields. These annual awards are an opportunity for the entire AM world to take a look at examples of innovation and best practice across all sectors where intelligent users of AM should be understanding the shortlisted projects (not only the winners) and thinking to themselves; "what else might this be?" The message is, please don't underestimate your AM expertise and overwhelm the judging panel with all your brilliance!
P.S. Please fill in ALL of the sections of the application as fully as is necessary to do the project justice. Good quality photos that clearly demonstrate the text content are really impactful.”
TCT
From left: Tali Rosman, Chris Sutcliffe, Jennifer Johns and Carl Dekker
Tali Rosman, Business Advisor, RHH Advisory
"As a TCT Awards 2025 judge, I am looking for true industry impact with this year's entries. There are a lot of interesting innovations in our industry, but those that are able to demonstrate true customer value are the ones I will be focusing on."
Chris Sutcliffe, CEO, Meta Consultancy
“As a TCT Awards 2025 judge I will be looking for truly innovative AM technologies, novel use of AM in any field and applications that make a difference to businesses and the quality of life of users.”
Jennifer Johns, School Interdisciplinary Research Lead & SIMBE Research Director, University of Bristol
“I am looking for entries that clearly demonstrate how and why their innovation is transformative, rather than just telling us it is! Avoid buzzwords and provide evidence. I pay particular attention to the business case, asking if it is financially feasible and the potential for scaling. Successful applications often have positive social and/or environmental benefits that are outlined and evidenced.”
Carl Dekker, President, Met-L-Flo Inc
“I would only want to include something that speaks to new or advanced AM technology. Something that speaks to volumetric, 4D, new energy source, or just something that might require another process per ASTM/ISO.”
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From left: Claire Scott, Daniel Johns, Phill Dickens and Kristin Mulherin
Claire Scott, Technology Adoption Specialist, Made Smarter
“As a TCT Awards 2025 judge, I am eager to see innovative applications of additive manufacturing that deliver tangible benefits to businesses and their sectors. Whether through advancements in sustainability, reductions in costs, or improvements in lead times, I am looking for entries that tell a compelling story of impact and transformation.”
Daniel Johns, CEO at 3T Additive Manufacturing
“As a judge, I think like an investor, so I would be drawn to applications that convey some key points: Why is it different and interesting? How does it differentiate from the current landscape? Is there a market for the product/service? What is the commercialisation potential e.g can it make money? There are many great ideas out there, but the ones that have long term impact are the ones that can sell (or at least have the potential to sell). So for an application to be interesting, it needs to balance the technical and business credentials.”
Kristin Mulherin, Director, Additive Manufacturing, Hubbell
“As an awards judge I'm looking for things that will advance the reality as well as the recognition of additive manufacturing in industry. One of the biggest hurdles of AM being adopted across all industries is the fear of the unknown. People are inherently skeptical, especially under the current market conditions, and it's important to identify applications and initiatives that are truly driving the success of AM for production scale manufacturing. We need to demonstrate applications that get people to start thinking differently from a design perspective but also, and possibly more importantly, highlight the many and lesser-known value drivers of implementing AM for production manufacturing.”
Phill Dickens, Founder, Added Scientific Ltd
“I am looking for something that advances the state of the art in Additive Manufacturing. So it needs to be different to what has gone before. The best examples are always one where I think – I wish I had thought of that!”
The TCT Awards is an annual celebration of the very best innovations and applications of 3D printing and additive manufacturing technology globally. TCT Awards 2025 will take place on June 4th at the NCC, Birmingham, UK.
