RAPID + TCT 2026 is just around the corner, with the conference taking place April 13-16 in Boston. In order to get insight into the conference experience and a sneak peek at what attendees can expect, our team interviewed 2026 conference speaker and former attendee Huba Horompoly.
Horompoly is the managing partner and co-founder of Gravity Pull Systems Inc., an additive manufacturing engineering software tools and consulting company. Along with others at his company, he attends the RAPID + TCT conference to broaden his industry knowledge and connect with other thought leaders in the additive manufacturing (AM) space, including potential partners and clients.
“My view on RAPID + TCT is that it offers the right balance between research and industry. It’s not solely academia-focused or business-focused, like many other conferences are,” Horompoly explains. “It’s more than just AM hype; you can actually see how the technology is used in industry and get input from manufacturers who have real-world AM use cases.”
Attending the RAPID + TCT Conference
The RAPID + TCT conference offers attendees a chance to learn and connect with experts, innovators, and researchers in the AM industry. With nine tracks and over 160 presentations, attendees should curate their conference schedules to experience the sessions most relevant to them.
Horompoly views RAPID + TCT as a conference that provides a realistic view of what is happening in the AM industry. A lot of opinions and hype surround AM, but this conference allows attendees to separate that from reality and learn what is happening with AM in the manufacturing industry.
“The RAPID + TCT conference is for anyone interested in additive manufacturing, because there are lots of different tracks and you can choose the areas you’re interested in. It’s not just one specific technology or area, this conference really covers everything in AM,” Horompoly says.
For Horompoly, attendance is about more than knowledge transfer — it’s also an opportunity to network and help manufacturers who are looking to adopt AM technologies. A lot of manufacturers at RAPID + TCT are still in the research phase, where they want to learn more about AM’s capabilities and about the feasibility of integrating it into their operations.
“It’s not an easy decision for manufacturers, and, having been through this cycle many times with clients, there’s a lot to consider — the cost component, choosing the right AM technology, and building a capable internal team to execute the transition,” Horompoly explains.
Attending the RAPID + TCT conference enables manufacturers to learn about AM and get these questions answered. New this year is a Conference Delegate Reception on Monday evening — a lively networking event reserved for those with a Full Conference Pass. A Conference Pass also provides access to the show floor, where manufacturers can experience industrial 3D printing technologies and connect with everything from service providers to equipment manufacturers to AM software tooling solutions, and more.
Advancing the AM Community
Horompoly is leading two 2026 conference presentations, both of which feature tools that can help manufactures adopt AM technologies more efficiently and economically. The sessions complement each other, describing the current state of AM and offering software solutions.
The Thursday, April 16, session centers on digital certification in metal AM. During the presentation, Horompoly will discuss AM software solutions that make it easier and more cost-effective to qualify and certify a metal 3D printed part. With these solutions, manufacturers can avoid going through costly and time-consuming trial and error cycles of part qualification and digitalize and move their part inspection from costly and lengthy post-process testing to automated in-print certification.
Horompoly’s other session, taking place Tuesday, April 14, is about maximizing profit in AM with intelligent scheduling and machine optimization software that gives manufacturers of metal parts a more realistic idea of the requirements and outcomes of implementing AM into their operations. This includes build print optimization by adjusting machine toolpath, resource allocation, batch re-cycling of metal powder, cost components, and sustainability potential.
“These are solutions that can benefit the entire AM community. If we share information, resources, and tools, the cost component of adopting AM will go down,” Horompoly explains. “If manufacturers can see all the potential cost savings, then AM as an industry is in better shape and we start to combat this misconception that it’s too expensive for average manufacturers to adopt.”
If you’re a manufacturer interested in adopting AM, explore attending the RAPID + TCT conference, April 13-16, 2026, at the Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center in Boston. And make sure to check out Horompoly’s sessions to learn about tooling solutions that can help save costs in AM processes, improve sustainability of material waste, and better scale part certification for metal AM parts.
Biography:
Huba Horompoly, Managing Partner and Co-Founder, Gravity Pull Systems Inc.
Huba Horompoly is currently Managing Partner at Gravity Pull Systems, Inc. He graduated with an MSc. in Chemical Process Engineering and Economics at one of Europe's prestigious universities. Shortly after graduation he started taking interest in optimizing complex engineering problems and processes, in the beginning as Managing Director at one of the Big Four consultancies in the US, and later with his own consultancy in the US and Europe. Prior to founding Gravity Pull Systems he founded a number of software and hardware companies in Silicon Valley and Europe.