Composites are produced through a wide range of processes, machines, and materials. A walk through JEC World, the leading international composites show, quickly reminds you that additive manufacturing is only a small part of a much larger ecosystem. And in that sea of technologies, attracting visitors’ attention is no small feat.
Some exhibitors rely on bold claims. Others rely on glossy samples.
Thermwood chose something riskier: printing live.
I have always believed that live 3D printing is not for the faint of heart. What happens if the print fails halfway through the presentation? Suddenly, the technology you are promoting becomes a very public demonstration of what can go wrong.
But Thermwood clearly wasn’t worried.
At this year’s JEC Live Demo Area, where only a handful of companies demonstrated different composite manufacturing processes, the company stood out as the only one showcasing large-format additive manufacturing in action. Over the course of the show, it produced a pair of drone molds live on its LSAM AP510 additive system using advanced carbon-fiber-reinforced materials from Airtech, SABIC, and Techmer PM.
After careful consideration, and a conversation with Scott Vaal, I understand why.
It’s been almost five years now that the US company has been collaborating with Purdue University’s Composites Manufacturing Simulation Center (CMSC) on how to achieve “first-time-right” production of advanced composite parts. Last year, they reached a key milestone in this research today by merging predictive simulation with large-scale 3D printing, emphasizing how this convergence of simulation and hardware is designed to accelerate development cycles, reduce costs, and open the door to stronger, more complex composite structures produced straight from the digital model to the factory floor.
A convergence of simulation and hardware
The integration of predictive simulation software developed at Purdue University with Thermwood’s LSAM large-scale additive manufacturing platform allows engineers to simulate the entire printing process before manufacturing begins, predicting distortions, residual stresses, and other process-induced defects.
Additive3D, the physics-based simulation software platform at the heart of this convergence, integrates multiple datasets (material models, process conditions, and fiber orientation) into a finite-element framework that predicts how manufacturing affects the final part performance.
In practice, the software works as a digital twin of the printing process, enabling engineers to simulate how a part will behave during printing and post-processing before the machine ever starts.
When paired with Thermwood’s LSAM platforms, capable of producing massive composite molds and tooling, the predictive capability becomes particularly valuable. For users, it means the possibility of validating designs, optimizing process parameters, and compensating for distortion before committing material and machine time, bringing large-format additive manufacturing closer to a first-time-right production workflow.
Want to discover more about our walk through JEC World 2026? Read here.
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