AMUG 2026 to Feature LEGO and Aerospace Heavyweights in Cross-Industry Keynotes

LEGO and Aerospace Take Center Stage

The Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) has unveiled its 2026 conference keynote lineup, featuring an unexpected pairing: The LEGO Group and aerospace heavyweights General Atomics and Divergent.

According to AMUG's pre-conference overview, this year's agenda reflects cross-industry collaboration, hands-on learning, and tangible business impact.

LEGO's Additive Manufacturing Journey

Ronen Hadar, who leads additive manufacturing at The LEGO Group, will deliver a keynote offering insight into how a major global brand uses additive technologies. This represents a significant moment for the 3D printing industry—LEGO's involvement signals mainstream acceptance of additive manufacturing as a production technology.

From Hypercars to Defense Drones

The second anticipated session features Steve Fournier of General Atomics and Scott Sawyer of Divergent, presenting "From Hypercars to Defense Drones: How Two Major Industry Innovators Started Their Partnership Journey at AMUG."

The partnership itself traces back to a 2022 AMUG connection following a keynote by Divergent founder Kevin Czinger. What started as an introduction at the conference has evolved into a full-blown collaboration between aerospace and automotive.

The Power of Conference Connections

Fournier and Sawyer will explore a larger question that resonates across the industry: how effective is knowledge transfer at conferences, and what does it actually translate to in terms of growth, differentiated capabilities, and revenue?

Both General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Divergent have independently been recognized as power users of additive manufacturing—one in defense aerospace and the other in automotive hypercars.

What This Means for the Industry

The AMUG 2026 keynotes highlight one of the conference's biggest strengths: bringing together users from different industries who might not otherwise cross paths. For the 3D printing industry, these collaborations represent the kind of cross-pollination that drives innovation.

AMUG 2026 continues to prove that additive manufacturing has matured beyond a prototyping technology into a full-scale production solution embraced by companies ranging from toy manufacturers to defense contractors.