In this talk, Elle and Troy will return to the magical world of 3D printing with a fresh look at how the technology has grown up. We’ll still explain the fundamentals: how printers work, what filament is, why objects appear one layer at a time and how digital models become physical things. But we’ll also look at what has changed: faster and smarter printers, easier ways to discover and print models, more creative materials and workflows, and the growing role of AI in helping people imagine, design and experiment.

With a new generation 3D printer on stage, we’ll demonstrate how accessible the process has become, from finding inspiration online to sending a model to print with far less friction than ever before. Along the way, we’ll explore how modern 3D printing is opening the door to creativity for kids, makers, educators, engineers and anyone who has ever looked at something and thought, “I wish I could make that.”

This isn’t just a talk about machines that melt plastic. It’s about the changing relationship between imagination and manufacturing, where ideas can move from a thought, to a screen, to the print bed, and finally into your hands. Welcome to a world beyond ink, where the printer doesn’t just put words on a page; it helps bring the world we imagine into reality.