RAPID + TCT 2027 · April 12–15, 2027 · Huntington Place, Detroit
RAPID + TCT 2027 booth design & build in Detroit
Custom and rental exhibits for printer makers, material suppliers and additive service bureaus, built around the machine and the part in the visitor's hand. Purple engineers the floor loads, lights the sample library and runs installation at Huntington Place with our own project manager.
- April 12–15, 2027
- Huntington Place
Every last fee listed upfront, in full, on paper. 3,000+ exhibitors · 10,000+ booths built · 4.9★ client rating · Since 2015
Close view of machinery with electrical wiring and electronic components
01 Purple at RAPID + TCT 2027
What makes RAPID + TCT different, and how we build for it
RAPID + TCT is produced by SME, and it is the North American floor where a buyer can compare printers, powders, resins and service bureaus in a single walk. The SME AM Awards and TCT Awards, the Executive Perspectives Keynote Series, Pitchfest and the CAMF certification course pull senior engineers into Huntington Place for all four days, and the AeroDef Manufacturing Showcase, Healthcare Showcase and StartUp Showcase give aerospace, medical and early-stage companies their own addresses on the floor. Visitors arrive with a drawing in mind. A booth that pairs a running machine with a well-lit part library and a table for the engineering conversation gets the meeting that the aisle demo alone never does.
Parts they can pick up, labels that name material, process and application, and a specialist who can talk tolerances and build orientation without a script.
Proof of repeatability and throughput: machine envelope, post-processing route and cost per part, discussed at a table away from the aisle.
Qualified materials, traceability and certification stories, with a printed example from their own sector in the aisles around the AeroDef and Healthcare showcases.
Your team in Detroit
Two shops, one project manager, every hall
We build in our own production shop in Fishkill, NY and our Las Vegas hub, ship to the Huntington Place, and install with our own project manager on the floor and vetted local labor. Predictable 30–45-day turnarounds, secure storage and pre-show QA.
Your team lands to a lit, stocked booth. You just show up.
02 Booths & pricing for RAPID + TCT 2027
Pick a footprint. We price it as a rental, a custom build, or a hybrid.
RAPID + TCT floors are set by the printer manufacturers, who take 20×30 and larger islands with machines running under hanging signs. Material suppliers and service bureaus mostly hold 10×20 to 20×20 spaces built around a parts library. Exhibitors here usually choose a 10×20 with one machine, or a 20×20 island with a demo zone and a meeting table.
A backlit parts wall, one desktop printer on a counter and a stool, for a material or software company with one clear story.
Shown: TechnoBend / KSM Synergy Pte Ltd, a Purple inline booth
See 10×10 rental booths →
One industrial printer with operator access, a lit sample library sorted by application and a small table for drawings.
Shown: Bizarre International, a Purple inline booth
See 10×20 rental booths →
An island with a machine in the corner, a post-processing station, a parts library on two faces and an open meeting area under a hanging sign.
Shown: TM AI Corp, a Purple island exhibit
See 20×20 rental booths →
Two or more production systems on engineered floor plates, a walk-through from model to finished part, private meeting rooms and sample storage.
Shown: Senzani, a Purple island exhibit
See 20×30 rental booths →In Purple's price
- Design and a 3D rendering, revised until it is right
- Structure, printed graphics, counters and storage as specified
- Lighting and power distribution inside the booth
- Installation and dismantle, with our project manager on the floor
- Every show-service order and deadline tracked for you
Billed by the show and its contractor
- Booth space (paid to the organizer)
- Material handling / drayage
- Electrical service, internet and rigging
- Booth cleaning and any union labor the venue requires
We estimate every one of these on your proposal, so the total is on paper before you sign.
All-in 2026 ranges for design, structure, graphics, installation and dismantle. A custom-built booth runs roughly $100 to $250 per square foot depending on finish level. A rental of the same footprint usually lands at 35 to 50 percent of the purchase price for one show. Get an exact number for RAPID + TCT with the booth cost calculator or read the 2026 booth cost guide.
Send the show, your booth size and what the space needs to do. We reply within one business day and send a rendering and a fixed proposal, usually within a week. No charge.
03 Built by Purple
Booths we have designed, built and installed
Case study · KLEEMANN
KLEEMANN at industrial technology exhibition
An interactive booth for a global elevator manufacturer: digital simulations, real product showcases and a floor plan that guided visitors from first step to last.
Read the KLEEMANN case study All case studies →“Purple Exhibits made us look good. The booth was one of the nicest displays in our section of the convention center and generated a lot of positive comments from both customers and industry peers. Their attention to detail, professionalism, and willingness to go above and beyond made a huge difference.”
Kimberly Owens, Brand Manager, Owens Products · more client reviews
Trusted by exhibitors including
04 Designing for additive manufacturing and 3D printing companies at RAPID + TCT
Four things we get right for RAPID + TCT exhibitors
1Curate parts as a sequence
We select pieces that each explain a decision: a build-stage part, an intermediate finish and the final component read better together than a shelf of trophies. Touchable examples get stable supports, fragile geometry gets a case, and the application note travels with the part rather than living on a screen.
2Decide early whether the machine runs
A live printer earns its space when the visitor sees something meaningful in three minutes. When the key steps are enclosed or slow, we pair the machine with prepared build stages and a short process recording, and we plan power, material handling and ventilation around your technical team's operating requirements.
Light the surface, not the wall
Sintered, polished and as-built finishes need different light. We aim narrow fixtures at the sample library so layer lines, lattice and surface texture read from arm's length, and we keep colored wash off the parts so a titanium bracket looks like titanium and a nylon housing looks like nylon.
Engineer the floor for machines
We take machine weights, footprints and access needs from your spec sheets, design floor plates and clearances for Huntington Place, and sequence unpacking so equipment is set before walls and counters close around it. Samples and demo equipment stay traceable from crate to counter.
Concept rendering
Every proposal comes with a rendering like this
You see the booth in 3D before we cut a single panel: layout, graphics, lighting and product positions, revised until it is right. Shown: a Purple concept for Pinhalens.
Start my RAPID + TCT concept05 Huntington Place · Detroit
Logistics for RAPID + TCT 2027, handled
RAPID + TCT returns to Huntington Place in Detroit after the 2026 edition in Boston, so every freight and receiving instruction is new this year and none of last year's Boston paperwork carries over. Heavy printers and post-processing equipment travel crated on a booked target date, and hanging signs over islands go through the show's rigging order. We read the RAPID + TCT exhibitor kit, file every form, book your freight targets and material handling with the general contractor, ship the booth and floor plates to the advance warehouse, and put our project manager and Detroit labor on the floor for installation, a pre-show QA and dismantle, so your technicians only level, load and start the build.
What Purple handles
- Exhibitor kit, general contractor orders and target dates
- Floor plates, clearances and power planning for printers and post-processing
- Graphics printed in house and proofed against your parts
- Freight to the advance warehouse and material-handling paperwork
- Installation, dismantle and return shipping with our on-site team
- Hanging sign rigging orders for island booths
Timeline, counted back from move-in
- Late January 2027Design sign-off, machine specs locked and island drawings submitted for approval.
- February 2027Production in Fishkill, NY; graphics proofed against real printed parts and brand colors.
- Mid-March 2027Booth, floor plates and sample furniture ship to the Detroit advance warehouse.
- April 10–12, 2027Targeted move-in at Huntington Place; machines set first, then walls, lighting and parts library; pre-show QA.
- April 13–15, 2027Exhibit hall open; a Purple project manager is on call for the whole run.
- April 15–16, 2027Dismantle, machines and samples packed to your return plan, booth to storage or the next show.
RAPID + TCT exhibitor questions
Questions exhibitors ask us before RAPID + TCT
How much does a 20×20 at RAPID + TCT cost?
A 20×20 custom island for RAPID + TCT runs $50,000 to $120,000 all in for design, structure, graphics, lighting and installation; a 20×20 rental with your graphics lands between $16,000 and $40,000. Machine floor plates and a hanging sign move the number. Send us your equipment list and we return a fixed quote.
Can you install a running printer at Huntington Place?
Yes. We take weights and footprints from your spec sheets, design floor plates and access, order power and material handling through the show contractor, and our crew sets the machine before the walls close so your technician only has to level, load and start the build.
Can we rent a booth for RAPID + TCT?
Yes. A 10×20 rental with custom graphics and a lit parts library runs $7,500 to $15,000, and most first-time RAPID + TCT exhibitors start there. Hybrid builds, a rental frame with a custom sample wall and machine counter, are the most common upgrade for the second year.
When do we need to decide?
Design sign-off by late January 2027 gives a 30–45-day build and a mid-March ship to the Detroit advance warehouse. Later is possible into February; the trade-off is finish choices and freight cost, and hanging sign orders have their own earlier deadline that we file for you.
Do you handle the contractor orders and drayage?
Yes. We place the general contractor orders, book your target move-in date, manage advance-warehouse receiving and material handling for crated machines, and keep you copied on every deadline so nothing depends on a form you never saw.
Before you sign with anyone
Five questions to ask any exhibit builder for RAPID + TCT:
- Is every fee on the proposal, including what the show contractor bills?
- Who builds the booth: your own shop or a subcontractor?
- Will your project manager be on the floor for install and dismantle?
- What exactly is in the rental, and what is billed by the show?
- Where does the booth go after the show, and what does storage cost?
Common situations
Already own a booth? We refresh the graphics, repair what is worn, ship it, install it and store it between shows. You keep the structure you paid for.
Exhibiting from outside the US? We are your team on the ground: freight to the advance warehouse, show-service orders, installation and storage, with one project manager answering your emails in your time zone.
Short on time? A rental with your graphics can be ready in two to three weeks. We tell you on the first call what is realistic for your date.
Get a proposal
Tell us about your RAPID + TCT booth
What happens next
- We reply within one business day with questions about your products, goals and footprint.
- You get a concept rendering and a fixed proposal, usually within a week. Every last fee listed upfront, in full, on paper.
- We build in 30–45 days, ship to the advance warehouse and install before the hall opens.