3D Printing Blog

After years in which the additive manufacturing (AM) industry gained a reputation for its hype outpacing its performance, an interesting development has emerged recently. In certain market segments, at least, the reality has started to reflect the forecasts. While there’s much we can learn, for instance, from how AM adoption has proceeded in the defense…

Spain’s IMDEA Materials Institute has worked with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to detect and identify differences in different 3D printers. This could be important in eliminating run-to-run differences in prints and printers. It could make it easier to print the same part with the same performance in Wellington and Medellin.That could make 3D printing for MRO…

Kyle Bass has spent much of his career looking at big economic trends before everyone else does. The founder of Hayman Capital Management became famous for betting against the U.S. housing market before the 2008 financial crisis, a move that put him among a small group of investors who saw the crisis coming before most…

Published in the International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, a paper titled “Part scale prediction of residual stress through thermomechanical modeling of additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V” seems to point to the benefits of using PanOptimization. So named for founder Pan Michaleris, and not for the goat-legged god of shepherds, or indeed the cooking utensil, PanOptimization is…

Overall, the additive manufacturing (AM) industry has stayed impressively restrained in terms of trying to leverage any potential coattail hype from the AI boom. Perhaps the leading enterprises left standing after the collapse of previous hype cycles are those most likely to proceed with caution under such circumstances. It’s not as if there are no…

In this series, we’re using cutting-edge AI research tools, including an unreleased deep research tool to look at the desktop 3D printing filament market. We’re then comparing it with our known data to see where AI research tools make sense, and where (and how) they make mistakes. The idea is to at the same time…

A decade ago, Conflux Technology was founded around a simple idea: heat exchangers might be one of the best applications for metal additive manufacturing (AM). At the time, much of the industry was focused on what 3D printing would someday achieve. Conflux took a different approach, spending years developing a technology it believed could eventually…

Matthew Shomper has worked on 3D printed medical devices for many years. There, he specialized in new geometries, cutting-edge designs, designing implants, FEA optimization, approval processes, 510(k) submissions, textures, and more. He worked with surgeons and implant companies and went through the entire process from design to implant for spinal cages, plates, and more. Now…

Bambu Lab is expanding the role of MakerWorld, its community platform for 3D printable models. The company has partnered with camera maker Insta360 to launch the Luna Ultra Design Challenge, making Insta360 the first camera brand to establish an official presence on the platform. Running through August 9, the collaboration gives makers access to official…

We’re starting with material distribution news in this weekend’s 3D Printing News Briefs, and then on to outer space. We’ll end with a story about an ancient board game. Read on for all the details! 6K Additive Names AMPERE Alloys as New European Distributor 6K Additive’s UniMelt® enables the sustainable manufacture of high-performance metal powders,…

GKN Aerospace and RTX unit Pratt & Whitney will collaborate on additive manufacturing for the F135 engine. This is an important engine. The turbofan powers the F-35 Lightning II, but has been beset by quality issues. Cracked blades, incorrect titanium, micro cracking, fires, and slow production have plagued the program. So GKN and Pratt can…

For years, co-founders Paul Sieradzki and Petra Wood ran a 3D printing service bureau in New York. As they worked day to day with the printers, they experienced firsthand the challenges of scaling the business. Desktop machines needed constant attention and repair, while industrial systems were expensive and often locked users into proprietary materials, software, and…

Lithoz says that its materials revenue has risen 40% year on year. This is a good sign pointing towards higher utilization and production volumes by its customers. Service bureaus and medical firms boosted Q2 revenue growth. The company also says that 20% of its customers run 50% of all the CeraFab systems worldwide. On the…

For years, thermoplastics have been the workhorse of additive manufacturing (AM). They are pretty easy to process, available, and compatible with many of today’s industrial 3D printers. From prototypes to production tooling, thermoplastics have helped push 3D printing into factories across aerospace, automotive, defense, and consumer products. But as the industry takes on larger and…

In 2024, RIC Robotics, the additive construction (AC) firm based in Denver, completed the build of an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) in Walnut, California, which was apparently an industry first. In his post about the build that he wrote at the time it was announced, Joris Peels noted how ADUs could be a winning application…

Leading industry analyst firm Additive Manufacturing Research (AM Research or AMR) has been providing market reports for the 3D printing/AM sector since 2013. It recently published the “Q1 2026 3DP/AM Market Data and Forecast” reports for the polymer AM and metal AM markets, as well as its “3DP/AM Market Insights: Q1 2026” report. The Q1…

HeyGears has officially launched the G1 Series on Kickstarter. The world’s first Desktop Full-Color 3D & UV Printer, the G1 Series combines full-color 3D printing, 3D-textured UV printing, and 2D UV printing in one modular system. Designed for creators, artists, customization businesses, and small production studios, the G1 Series helps users turn digital ideas into…

The first half of July brought continued investment into Asia’s additive manufacturing sector, with major funding rounds, manufacturing expansion, and new metal 3D printing systems leading the news. Elsewhere, companies advanced applications in defense, construction, medical devices, and hydrogen-powered motorsports, highlighting the breadth of activity across the region. Here are 11 developments worth watching. China…

Beehive Industries and the state of Ohio have each been killing it in the metal 3D printing game. Naturally then, it was only logical for Beehive and Ohio to combine forces, with Beehive announcing last month that it would be acquiring the assets of two machine shops in the Cincinnati area. Now, in partnership with…

For decades, braces have followed a pretty simple formula. Manufacturers make millions of identical brackets, orthodontists bond them to patients’ teeth, and then spend months making adjustments to get each smile exactly where it needs to be. According to orthodontist and early LightForce advisor Dr. Bryan Lockhart, that process has remained largely unchanged because the…

For decades, braces have followed a pretty simple formula. Manufacturers make millions of identical brackets, orthodontists bond them to patients’ teeth, and then spend months making adjustments to get each smile exactly where it needs to be. According to orthodontist and early LightForce advisor Dr. Bryan Lockhart, that process has remained largely unchanged because the…

We’re covering business and energy news in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs. Würth Additive Group has closed its doors, and BigRep delisted from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. RA Wind received a grant for robotic 3D printing of wind turbine blades. Finally, Ampera has completed production on a 3D printed microreactor module. Würth Additive Group Business…

Every major technology wave comes with big predictions about how it will change the world. Today, many of those predictions center on artificial intelligence (AI). Futurists like Ray Kurzweil and Michio Kaku argue that AI and future technologies will put very powerful tools into the hands of individuals. Most of today’s AI headlines are about…

Western governments don’t really have a coherent view on how to engage China on trade, and how could they? They vacillate between intimate economic cooperation and antagonistic bluster, depending on the issue and the day, and there is very little in terms of a united front that connects all the various countries that comprise ‘the…

Every earnings season, executives at publicly traded additive manufacturing (AM) companies face questions from Wall Street. While the companies change strategies, launch new products, or enter new markets, many of the voices asking the questions stay the same. A rather small group of analysts follows the sector quarter after quarter, helping shape how investors understand…

Peter Richards is the CEO of Deep Manufacturing, a supremely ambitious company deploying DED to build underwater habitats. Additionally, the company makes pressure vessels and large certified metal structures for clients. He tells us how Deep scaled so quickly, what the company wants to do, what roadblocks were in the way and how it hopes…

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has brought a new look to the hardware engineering domain. Using generative design algorithms, engineers put performance parameters and weight constraints together and the program generates complex, natural-looking topologies that are strong but lightweight. But when these designs become tangible parts, challenges arise: AI is great for creating the perfect design but…

As many as ten million desktop 3D printers may be sold this year. This makes the desktop filament market potentially a significant business. I’ve interviewed key participants in this industry, users, and OEMs to develop a consolidated picture of the current market. I’ve made tables of major filament producers, compared pricing, and done analysis on…

Given that additive manufacturing (AM) is so closely adhering to the classic industrialization blueprint whereby military adoption pushes a new technology to commercialization, I’ve thought for a long time that much of the AM industry’s potential over the course of this decade will depend on how NATO can integrate AM capabilities across all of its…

Welcome to Printing Money Episode 40. Matthias Schmidt-Lehr (AMPOWER, Executive Partner) joins Danny for this episode and we are very thankful to have him back. In Episode 40, Danny and Matthias approach markets and deals largely with AI in mind. AI is a huge enabler for the 3DP/AM industry, but in different ways for different…

3D printing has been around for decades. For most of that time, it was a prototyping tool. Engineers used it to check if a design looked right before spending money on tooling. That changed. Today, 3D printing shows up in hospital operating rooms, on factory floors, inside rocket engines, and in consumer products that ship…

Dutch firm Hembased is launching a cold compostable filament. Cold compostable means that the material should return completely to nature in a regular compost bin that you may already have in your home. This contrasts with industrially compostable materials, which are meant to break down in heated industrial composting sites. Cold compostable materials must degrade…

In this weekend’s 3D Printing News Briefs, Massivit has opened its first European Service Center to support its RapidWings platform, and nScrypt was granted a patent for its high-viscosity material dispensing technology. Titan America launched a commercial concrete product line for automated construction, and Empa researchers are investigating how to use 3D printing to extend…

Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) have successfully used WASP 3D printers to make a 6-meter-tall model of an aircraft control tower. Zaha Hadid Architects’ Tech Lab made the tower in-house for the ZHAviation booth at Passenger Terminal Expo 2026. The design was created by ZHA and made out of PETG. The company used a WASP HDP XL Extruder. The…

Josh Jakson’s path into digital dentistry started long before he had a job title. He grew up around it. His father, a Polish immigrant, started the family’s dental laboratory in Buffalo, New York, about 30 years ago. Before that, Jakson’s grandfather had worked as an engineer in Poland and later in the U.S. automotive industry.…

In Part 1, Ulf Lindhe examined how advances in beam control, point melting strategies, and process monitoring are changing the way engineers think about electron beam powder bed fusion (EB-PBF). In Part 2, he looks at what those developments mean for industrial users, difficult materials, qualification, and the future role of EB-PBF in metal additive…

Additive manufacturing is at a crossroads. Simultaneously, we find ourselves between certain very different modalities, applications, and industries. Rather than being able to explore them all, companies will now have to specialize, focus, and concentrate their efforts to win outsized opportunities. Success will be more explosively rewarded but will be more difficult to achieve. Three…

Garbage in, garbage out: that cliche is currently associated most often with AI, but it really refers to the universal principle whereby a final outcome is only as useful as the quality of the data that led to it. The principle is highly relevant to any emerging technological field, with the potential for future progress…

The AM market is projected to reach $20.3 billion by 2030, but growth is shifting toward proven applications, production value, and disciplined investment. In 2025, the additive manufacturing market’s growth appeared increasingly tied to applications with clear production value, especially across aerospace, defense, medical, and industrial use cases. This shift reflects a broader trend across…

We’ve got a lot to cover in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, from business and additive manufacturing (AM) in Europe to automotive 3D printing, and generative design. Read on for all the details! Velo3D Added as Member to Russell 3000 Index & Russell Microcap Index Metal AM firm Velo3D announced that it’s been added to…

Swiss satellite manufacturer SWISSto12 has closed a $70 million Series C round. This follows $84.8 million that the company received from ESA and ESA member states, and previous rounds that were around $22 and $30 million. SWISSto12 seems to have spent the money they have gotten wisely, saying that revenue grew to $140 million and…

According to the latest data from Additive Manufacturing Research (AM Research or AMR), the 3D printing markets totaled $4.35 billion in the first quarter of 2026. The leading industry analyst firm, which has been providing market reports for the 3D printing/AM sector since 2013, just recently published its “Q1 2026 3DP/AM Market Data and Forecast”…

Modena-based CRP, a CNC and 3D printing service to some exacting customers as well as a material vendor, has been an incredible innovator for many years. Whether it is creating 3D printed parts for the bridge manufacturing of sports cars, developing cutting-edge powder materials, or delivering on innovative parts, the firm has always looked ahead.…

IperionX has raised about $50 million through a public offering to speed up the commercial rollout of its U.S. titanium manufacturing business. The company sold 2.275 million shares at $21.98 each. It plans to use the funding to expand production in Virginia, continue developing its titanium project in Tennessee, and support research into its low-carbon…

ugee has released the Funbox, a 3D printer for kids. The company is a part of Hanvon Ugee Technology Group, a manufacturer and distributor of drawing tablets under the ugee, Xence Labs, and XPpen brands. ugee now promises a “first kid-only desktop 3D printer built on three core pillars: home-grade safety, one-tap easy operation, AI-powered…

EOS is adding Constellium Aheadd CP1 to its materials offering. In EOS-land, the material will be called EOS Aluminium Constellium CP1. In addition to the new CP1, Constellium’s Al5X1 material will also stay in the portfolio, renamed to the snazzy EOS Aluminium Constellium Al5X1. The company also hopes that newer aluminium materials will enter into…

Despite years of increasing public focus on the issue of affordable housing, it wasn’t until the end of last year that US federal policymakers introduced a comprehensive bill to address the problem. The bill — called the “21st Century Road to Housing Act” — has now passed through both houses of the US Congress, providing…

UV printing has been around for ages, of course. But, since a few years ago, desktop UV printers have made their way into households, small businesses, and enterprises. These machines can often print textures and print on things like mugs. They’ve become money makers for solopreneurs and helped small businesses make souvenirs, mementos, and products.…

High-temperature nickel-based superalloys like MAR-M 247LC (M247LC), the low-carbon version of MAR-M 247, are used for casting in some of the most demanding applications in the world, including gas turbines, energy, aerospace propulsion, and industrial systems. In addition to its high-temperature performance, M247LC also offers cracking resistance, improved ductility, and manufacturability, all of which enable…

From February 23-25, 2027, Additive Manufacturing Strategies will be back for its 10th iteration. The important AM industry business conference will once again return to New York City, though hopefully without the blizzard this time around. But, while we may not be able to predict the weather, we can tell you what’s on the agenda…

For a long time, Beehive Industries was very mysterious. The secretive firm was burning a lot of cash working on something super secret with a tribe of very experienced Additive people. Led by Mohammad Ehteshami, who spent over 32 years at GE working on the GE90 and other engine programs, the company only fairly recently…

After spending 17 years helping build healthcare applications at 3D Systems and its predecessor Medical Modeling, Katie Weimer wasn’t planning to launch a startup. But when a regenerative breast tissue project she had worked on for years was in danger of being shelved, she decided to take a chance. “It was just kind of going…

Mike Zimmerman started in research before starting his own startups. Now his firm makes a fiber with some very exciting properties indeed. The material has been turned into a very high-strength filament. We talk to Mike about the beginnings of his research, how he approaches invention, how he views entrepreneurship, and the prospects of his…

When Elegoo unveiled the world’s first officially licensed emoji®-themed 3D printer, it wasn’t just launching another version of an existing machine. The company was testing a much bigger idea by exploring whether a global brand like emoji® could make 3D printing feel more familiar to people who have never used it before. “We think 3D…

In this weekend’s 3D Printing News Briefs, we’re starting with relief efforts for the earthquakes that hit Venezuela last month. Then we’ll move on to a new white paper from PostProcess Technologies, and a new strategic guide from ASTM International’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AM CoE). The LEGO Group opened its first dedicated manufacturing…

Kentstrapper makes Material Extrusion systems in Italy. Now the firm has released the 1,000 × 1,000 × 1,000 mm build volume Mille system. The one-cubic-meter build volume is actively heated by six independent pads across the build floor. You can slide out the print bed to remove parts. The build chamber temperature can reach 60°C while…

The bar for metal additive manufacturing has moved. Early on, the question was often simple: Can the machine print the material and produce a dense part? That still matters, but it is no longer enough. You can see this across metal AM. Laser powder bed fusion continues to advance quickly. More lasers, higher power, beam…

With the release of the new HP 1200 and the Formlabs X1, we can see real competition from very different segments. From several million dollars to just $20,000, the laser powder bed fusion market is going to be a much more competitive place over the next twelve months. In the first part of this article,…

By the usual measure, a tally of funding rounds, APAC’s additive manufacturing market had a quiet second quarter. The capital that has actually closed across the region comes to about $556M in financing and IPO proceeds. The full set of disclosed commitments runs far higher, close to $2.02B, once planned share placements, announced acquisition consideration,…

The recent UAS Additive Strategies online event, hosted by 3DPrint.com and Additive Manufacturing Research (AM Research), brought together leaders from across the additive manufacturing (AM) and drone industries to discuss one of the industry’s biggest challenges, how to manufacture drones at scale. Companies including EOS, HP, Prusa Research, Stratasys, Firestorm Labs, DrukArmy, and representatives from…

New Zealand-based Zenith Tecnica has been acquired by a new ownership group. The firm was an early Electron Beam Melting (EBM) pioneer and has played an outsized role in the region. And given New Zealand’s remoteness, MRO needs are more acute, and suppliers become more important than if you were in Europe, for example. Along…

These things can change at any moment nowadays, but the biggest economic story of the year might not be elevated energy prices, after all. Elevated prices for memory chips may end up being the most lasting trend to emerge in 2026. Share prices for chipmakers like Micron surged throughout H1 thanks to skyrocketing demand for…

In today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, Massivit continues its focus on aerospace and defense manufacturing, and Meltio is collaborating with Phillips Corporation for RIMPAC 2026. Moving on to software, AMIS introduced a direct connection to HP Multi Jet Fusion systems. We’ll finish with news about additive construction in Australia. Massivit Launches RapidWings Platform for Aerospace…

In terms of the global economy’s presently existing state, there is no realistic path to economic resilience that doesn’t start with critical minerals security. This is a problem for pretty much every country other than China and its preferred trading partners. Notably, the heart of the problem lies more in a lack of processing capabilities…

Amsterdam-based Addidex is focused on robotic large-format additive manufacturing, and recently held a two-day symposium that was only about robots printing things. Addidex Connect brought 170 additive folks to the 3D Makers Zone in Haarlem, the Netherlands. The event is probably a miss for many in the additive community, but if you’re working in large-format…

When ADDMAN closed its acquisition of Forecast 3D in January 2026, the headlines focused on fleet size and Southern California footprint. Six months later, those metrics feel almost beside the point. What’s actually happening inside ADDMAN is something harder to quantify, but far more significant: the company scaled to become a critical manufacturing artery for…

Phillips Corporation announced that it will rebrand its Additive Hybrid division to become Phillips Advanced Manufacturing. The focus will now be on advanced manufacturing in the broadest sense. Brian Kristaponis will run the division of the company, focusing on, “hybrid, standalone additive, and deployable manufacturing systems.” This seems like it could be a very sensible…

The rapid rise of drones is creating one of the biggest opportunities for additive manufacturing (AM). Whether they’re used on battlefields, inspecting bridges or crops, or delivering supplies, drones need to be lighter, easier to customize, and quicker to produce. This is partially why drones have become one of the biggest opportunities for 3D printing.…

Longevity has become one of the biggest stories in healthcare. Every week seems to add a new announcement about an anti-aging therapy, an AI-powered drug discovery platform, or a startup trying to extend how long we live. Investors have poured billions into companies working on everything from cellular rejuvenation to gene therapy. Governments are also…

BellaSeno has pioneered resorbable breast implant scaffolds using 3D printing and polycaprolactone. The scaffolds can be printed in a specific structure and then reabsorb into the body. That way, the patient doesn’t need an implant, and the polycaprolactone breaks down completely. The scaffold stays intact long enough for the body to seed it with its…

With verticals like defense/space and opportunities like the AI boom dominating so much of the current focus in the additive manufacturing (AM) industry, it’s easy to forget one of the original strategic sectors driving early AM adoption: medical. This is partially due to the fact that for applications like hearing aids and spinal implants, AM…

Arridex, formerly known as the RusselSmith Group, has been building additive manufacturing competence and capacity in Africa for years. Previously, the company got approval to use a Roboze 3D printed oil services part, completed maritime work in Ghana, and worked with CEAD on large-format polymer 3D printing. Now, the firm is opening its Omnifactory, a…

Australia’s Additive Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (AMCRC) is set to give $3.25 million in funding to Australian startups and small- and medium-sized enterprises, or SMEs. The money will go to accelerate the adoption of 3D printing by these businesses. This seems like a good move by AMCRC to build out the industrial base of Australia…

Cockroaches have been surviving on Earth for more than 300 million years. They can crawl through tiny cracks, climb almost any surface, and adapt to harsh environments. Now, researchers have found a way to help them survive underwater too. A team from Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) and Waseda University in Japan has developed a…

Oliver Elbert‘s over ten years in additive manufacturing have been spent automating LPBF. For large, high-volume, or critical parts, Grenzebach has provided custom automation solutions. Depowdering, powder handling, sieving, heat treatment, part handling, resurfacing, QA, and Grezebach Additive can automate all of these processes. The company could give you a 3D printing factory or automate…

The second half of June brought a wave of additive manufacturing activity across China, Japan, South Korea, India, and Australia. From Chinese IPOs and funding rounds to defense, aerospace, construction, dental, and medical advances. Here are 11 developments worth watching. China Yuding Additive Manufacturing files for a STAR Market IPO to raise about RMB 1.8…

Japan-headquartered Mimaki Engineering launched its first full-color inkjet printer in 1996. Not long after, the company established its US-based Mimaki Inc. operating entity, which manufactures digital printing and cutting products, including industrial inkjet printers. Mimaki USA installed its first 3D printer, the 3DUJ-553, in the Americas in 2018. Since then, the full-color printer has been used to…

We’re starting this 4th of July 3D Printing News Briefs with some AMUG news, and then moving on to business with DSH Technologies and materials with Markforged. We’ll end with some interesting 6G research and 3D printed coral reefs in India. AMUG Announces Board of Directors for 2026-2027 Term AMUG’s newly elected and appointed board…

I often do roundups of free 3D printed models for holidays, like Christmas, Halloween, and even the 4th of July, which all of America will celebrate tomorrow. Because I’ve written so many of these over the years, I sometimes have a hard time coming up with catchy titles, which obviously you need for articles like…

Just days after researchers at the California Institute of Technology unveiled a 3D printed design for lithium-ion batteries, another university team has announced a different battery breakthrough using additive manufacturing (AM). This time, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) developed a 3D printed hybrid zinc-ion battery that can store more than seven…

Massachusetts is making a major bet on industrial 3D printing. As part of a new $52 million package of state tax credits to support business expansion, the Massachusetts Economic Assistance Coordinating Council awarded more than $21.2 million to metal additive manufacturing (AM) company VulcanForms. The incentives will support the company’s plans to build a manufacturing…

This is truly an exciting moment in the SLS market. With HP‘s release of the 1200 and Formlabs‘ release of the X1, we can see the SLS market heating up. I think that a great analogy to how this market will play out can be found in commercial vehicles. Whereas so far choices have been…

Jaden Smith may have just brought 3D printed footwear into one of fashion’s most famous red-soled shoes. It all started during Paris Fashion Week, where Christian Louboutin presented its Men’s Spring/Summer 2027 collection on June 24, led by Smith, who was named the house’s first men’s creative director in 2025. Instead of a traditional runway,…

They’re a familiar sight at trade shows: Chinese powder companies with barren stands lacking parts. There’s maybe some glass vessel with powder in it and a semi-complete data sheet, but not much else. So far, Chinese powder vendors have offered cost savings but not much else. Often they have no machine settings or practical guidance…

Australia’s Additive Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (AMCRC) works with 70 industry partners to deliver collaborative R&D projects. They also work on workforce development and technology transfer. It’s kind of analogous to America Makes, but with a broader focus than just defense. AMCRC is funded to the tune of $57 million by the Australian government and…