The Northumbria Branch of The Welding Institute's December lecture, 'Additive Manufacturing - 3D Printing in Metals,' was given by Eur Ing Roger Fairclough CEng MWeldI, principal project leader at TWI Rotherham. The meeting was held at The Ravensworth Arms, Gateshead, on the 2nd November. Additive manufacturing, more commercially known as '3D printing,' begins with a three-dimensional model of the component which is sliced into several hundred segments, where it is built upon successive layers through the joining and solidification of the required material, originally in a powder form. Considered a welding process, this essentially allows a part to be produced to the almost near-net shape without the need for extensive subtractive manufacturing processes to be applied, meaning that extremely complex and geometrically challenging components can be manufactured (The exemption to this is where surface roughness is a key feature, such as for mating parts or where flow dynamics are critical).