This series of conferences started in Manchester UK in April 2008 with an attendance of 150 people and was followed by conferences in Greenville, South Carolina, USA in April 2009, and Wuhan, China in April 2011. We are pleased to announce that the Fourth conference will return to Europe on September 10-11, 2012. The host will be the ,Institut für Textiltechnik der RWTH Aachen’, which is a leader in textile engineering education and research in Germany with a strong activity in 3D fabrics. The advances in the textile-technology for 3D fabrics are diverse. Solid 3D woven fabrics, which can be made on commercial machinery either as flat panels or 3D shapes, are of importance in composites. They give a potential for major reductions in aircraft weight and have significant applications in military hardware. The stimulus to development given by these uses opens up possibilities in automotive, construction, medical and many other fields. Hollow woven fabrics with multiple voids can be used in protective composites. Tubular forms can be multiply branched. For some forms, braiding is an alternative to weaving. Advances in knitting mean that whole garments can be produced, so that stitching together of separate pieces is eliminated; similar developments are taking place in weaving. This technology can be adapted to make complex 3D shapes for technical uses. 3D shells can be made by nonwoven technology.

The application of information technology through CAD-CAM is important for the growth of the technology through efficient manufacturing. The meeting of the engineering requirements for demanding end-uses needs reliable specifications for product performance. Predictive modelling of mechanical performance will be an important feature of the conference.