WorldSkills Opens: China's 3D Printing Team Goes for Gold-3DPTimes

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WorldSkills Opens: China's 3D Printing Team Goes for Gold

October 15, 2026 News 9266

The 48th WorldSkills Competition opened in Shanghai on September 22 and runs through the 27th. With 1,400 competitors, over 70 countries and regions, and 64 skill categories, it is the largest edition ever. Additive manufacturing is one of the events.

So what exactly does this event test? It is not about who prints fastest. Competitors receive a physical part, digitize it through 3D scanning, then use CAD to reverse-engineer and optimize the model. After that, they print it using both FDM and metal SLM processes, and finally check precision with equipment such as a coordinate measuring machine. The whole workflow covers scanning, design, printing, and quality inspection.

In the technical standards, 3D scanning accounts for 15%, reverse engineering and print preparation for 20%, and part/structure optimization for 25%. Knowing how to design and optimize matters far more than knowing how to press a button.

China's main competitor is Cheng Xiang, a student at Ma'anshan Vocational and Technical College. The alternate is Shen Hui from Shanghai Advanced Technical School. At the last WorldSkills in Lyon, Luo Xiaojiao took silver, while the gold went to a South Korean competitor. The gap was only 19 points—not a blowout. Xu Ziqian, a member of this year's technical support team, said he is eager to see a Chinese competitor win the first gold in additive manufacturing. He also noted that this year's event could see competitors using AI-assisted design.

Domestic manufacturers such as INTAMSYS and Shining 3D are sponsors of the competition. When young technicians from over 70 countries compete on your machines for five days straight, stability and user experience are all under the magnifying glass.

The hidden value of WorldSkills is this: it defines what a qualified additive manufacturing technician should know. That skill map is spreading from the competition floor into vocational education and corporate hiring. South Korea's gold last time shows that Asian countries are already ahead in cultivating 3D printing talent. Competing at home this year, can China turn silver into gold? It is not just about a medal—it is a message to the industry that China also has a say in the skill standards for 3D printing.