My Printer

  • 3DPOD 299: 3D Printing in Education with Jesse Roitenberg, Stratasys

    Jesse Roitenberg is the Education Director at Stratasys. We go through his 20-year journey in additive, starting in some really pioneering days at Stratasys in sales. Jesse talks about desktop 3D printers, using 3D printing in education, using 3D printing in universities, 3D printers in schools, and more. We talk about software, CAD, and teaching 3D printing as well. From dental training solutions to machines for engineering, it all passes the review. We also go through Stratasys’s position and the journey the company has been on.

    This episode of the 3DPOD is brought to you by Alexander Daniels Global, specialists in talent solutions for the additive manufacturing and advanced engineering sectors. From the production line to the C-suite, ADG delivers confidential hiring, supports rapid scale-up phases, and secures critical leadership appointments, helping industry 4.0 businesses buld teams that need to perform, innovate, and lead.

  • The Next Generation of Engineers Is Learning by Doing, with 3D Printing

    Across several universities in the U.S., more programs are adding hands-on learning into how they teach, often using tools like 3D printing. Instead of relying only on lectures and theory, students are getting more chances to work directly with technology.

    In different settings, from outreach programs to advanced science classes to student-led clubs, 3D printing is used to turn ideas into something students can actually see and handle. Three recent examples show how this is happening in different ways.

    Petrie with the Niryo Ned 2 robots and a K12 student during an outreach event. Image courtesy of Ohio University/Ohio Today.

    At Ohio University, engineering technology and management student Brandon Petrie is helping local K-12 students get an early look at manufacturing and technology. Petrie, a senior in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, started leading outreach sessions after giving a campus tour to a group of students. Since then, he estimates he has connected with more than 1,000 K-12 students from nearby communities.

    During those sessions, Petrie introduces students to tools they likely have not seen before, including Niryo Ned 2 robots and 3D printers. The Niryo Ned 2 is a small, desktop robotic arm, similar to the ones used in factories, but scaled down for learning. Students can program it to move, pick up objects, and sort them.

    The outreach also comes from Petrie’s own experience growing up in Southeast Ohio. Petri explains that the point is not to turn every student into an engineer right away; it is to show them that this kind of future exists, and that they can ask questions, try things, and imagine themselves in it.

    “These are things that I’ve never seen when I was younger,” he says. “So I’d like to get that out there and show it to people, give them the opportunities that I never got when I was younger.”

    Petrie stands with the Niryo Ned 2 robots during an outreach event. Image courtesy of Ohio University/Ohio Today.

    In one example, the robot is set up to sort circular and square pieces, showing how a simple manufacturing process works. It also reacts to basic signals, which engineers call inputs and outputs, so students can see how machines “communicate” and respond to instructions.

    3D printing adds another part to that process. Students can design an object on a computer and then watch the printer build it layer by layer. This helps connect what they see on a screen with how real parts are made.

    For Petrie, that part matters because it makes manufacturing easier to understand. Students can design their own creations using online tools, including Minecraft, and then see those designs turned into printed objects. Instead of just hearing about how something is made, they get to watch an idea move from the screen into the real world.

    Petrie created a 3D printed electric guitar. Image courtesy of Ohio University/Ohio Today.

    Outside of school and outreach, Petrie also works on his own 3D printing projects. One of his recent builds was a fully 3D-printed acoustic guitar, made almost entirely from plastic except for the strings and a few metal parts. He has also started working on an electric guitar, which will require wiring and soldering. Beyond bigger projects, he uses 3D printing to solve small, everyday problems. For example, he is designing a custom holder to keep bolts and tools organized while working under cars, so he does not lose them while repairing parts.

    “I work on cars, so I go underneath them a bunch and right now I’m about to design and print out a thing to hold bolts and different things on my crawler when I go underneath the car, instead of dropping it on the ground and losing it 24/7. I can now just have an easy storage place to save me time and headaches,” concluded Petrie.

    Jarrod Cecere, Dr. David Calianese, and Scott Bergenfeld at the Biosymposium. Image courtesy of Seton Hall University.

    Meanwhile, at Seton Hall University, David Calianese, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, is using virtual reality (VR) and 3D printing to help students better understand structural biology. His students are studying molecules such as hemoglobin and proteins linked to metabolic disorders, including diabetes and heart disease.

    The work grew out of a collaboration with Seton Hall’s Teaching, Learning and Technology Center. Students in Calianese’s Biochemistry of Metabolism course visited the university’s Innovation Hub Exploration Studio, where lectures took place inside Nanome, a VR platform for exploring molecular structures. Using Meta Quest Pro headsets, students could move around molecules, examine them in 3D, and see details that are harder to understand from the traditional flat images in textbooks.

    The 3D printing part happens through Seton Hall’s Maker Studio. After studying the molecules in VR, students create 3D printed versions of those same structures. This lets them first explore the molecules in a virtual space and then hold them in their hands.

    “Regardless of whether they had the VR goggles on or off, the classroom was buzzing,” noted Calianese. Many students continued exploring molecular structures outside of class using Nanome’s desktop version. “This was a completely student-driven project, and it was incredibly rewarding to see how engaged the undergraduates became. During their first visit, students also toured the Maker Studio, where they learned how molecular models are prepared and produced using 3D printers.”

    The project also became part of their coursework. Student groups studied assigned molecules and later presented their work at Seton Hall’s Biosymposium during the Petersheim Academic Exposition, using Nanome screenshots, avatar images, posters, and 3D-printed molecular models to explain their research.

    At the University of Maine, the focus is on giving students a space to work with 3D printing outside of class. The university’s 3D Printing Club brings together members interested in designing and making parts, whether for fun, coursework, or future careers.

    The club is led by president Jack Bernado, a mechanical engineering junior, and meets weekly at the Ferland Engineering Education and Design Center, with support from fellow mechanical engineering student Tim Goodell, who helps oversee the space and equipment. Members come from diverse backgrounds, mostly in engineering and computer science, but the group is open to anyone interested in learning.

    Every Wednesday during the fall and spring semesters, the group meets to design and produce a wide range of items, including figurines based on movie characters, toy cars and boats, mechanical hands, bowls, and vases. About a dozen members create digital designs and use industrial printers to produce parts ranging from very small components to large-scale models. At the club, there is no fixed curriculum. Instead, learning happens through projects, print requests, and managing real workflows.

    “It has made me better at leading a team and being part of a team,” Bernado said. “It has helped me be more organized with all the different prints being submitted, as well as all the people to reach out to.”

    Club members are currently planning a pinewood derby race with cars made from 3D printed parts for the fall 2026 semester.

    The club is also planning activities that make the work more engaging. One example is a planned pinewood derby-style race in which students will design and build cars using 3D printed parts. The idea is to give students a project, let them design it, and then see how it performs. This gives students real experience with 3D printing. They learn how to use the machines, work in teams, and develop their ideas.

    3D printing club working in the lab in Ferland Hall. Image courtesy of the University of Maine.

    As more institutions adopt similar approaches, tools like 3D printing are likely to remain part of that mix. Not as a standalone solution, but as one of several ways to make learning more practical and easier to grasp.

  • 3D Printing News Briefs, May 2, 2026: Soft Robots, Agricultural Waste, & More

    In this weekend’s 3D Printing News Briefs, we’ll start off with a multi-laser metal powder bed fusion 3D printer and post-processing news. We’ll end with research into soft robotics and boosting the quality of 3D printing plastics with agricultural waste. Read on for all the details!

    Eplus3D Announces Launch of Ultra-Large-Format Metal 3D Printing System

    Figure 1 – EP-M3050 Metal PBF System

    Chinese metal additive manufacturing (AM) solutions provider Eplus3D announced that it has broken the three-meter AM barrier with its new EP-M3050 ultra-large-format metal powder bed fusion (PBF) system, complete with 256 lasers. The company reports that its new system features standard X and Y dimensions of 3050 mm x 3050 mm and a Z-axis customizable up to 5000 mm, which makes it possible to achieve one-piece manufacturing of ultra-large structural components. It has square, cylindrical (Φ3050 mm), and optional ring-shaped build chambers to meet a variety of application needs, which improves “material utilization for complex geometries such as casings and ring-like structures.” Plus, the company didn’t just throw lasers at the problem: it’s built around a high-efficiency, multi-laser architecture, and includes 100 lasers, so you can scale up to 256 if you need all of them. The EP-M3050 has coordinated scan strategies, path planning, and real-time process control, to make sure that parts uniform quality across the whole build area. It works for applications that require large, high-performance, integrated components, like aviation, energy, industrial manufacturing, oil & gas, and more. One example is a 2.8-meter casing printed integrally on the printer, which is the featured image of News Briefs today.

    “Scaling metal PBF beyond three meters is not just about making the machine bigger,” reported a spokesman from Eplus3D. “It requires solving airflow stability across a giant build chamber, managing fume and spatter during multi-day prints, and maintaining optical cleanliness at an unprecedented scale. Eplus3D has achieved all of this.”

    FORMRISE Optimizes SLS Post-Processing with AM Solutions S1

    R: Peter Spitzwieser, Managing Director of FORMRISE

    German 3D printing service provider FORMRISE has improved the efficiency of its SLS post-processing by adopting the automated S1 blasting system from AM Solutions. The company has worked with AM for over 20 years, serving companies in the aerospace, automotive, jewelry, luxury goods, and medical industries. FORMRISE previously used a multi-stage blasting process for its SLS components, but it was distributed across several systems and required manual processing as well. There were also a multitude of issues with the glass bead process, and it was nearly impossible to accommodate last-minute changes to orders. So FORMRISE started looking for a new post-processing solution that would provide a reliable, high-performance media preparation system and combine cleaning and surface finishing. The S1, with its large cyclone and integrated vibrating screen, offers an automated 2-in-1 process for cleaning and surface finishing, and FORMRISE now operates three of them, reporting an annual cost savings of about €35,000, reduced post-processing time of approximately 50%, and decreased CO₂ emissions of more than 12 metric tons annually.

    “For the post-processing of SLS parts, AM Solutions offers a solution with the S1 that is absolutely unmatched in the market and has convinced us in every respect,” said Peter Spitzwieser, Managing Director of FORMRISE. “It is clear here exactly what potential lies in the optimal alignment of the blasting process with the requirements of additive manufacturing, particularly in blasting media preparation. AM Solutions recognized and fully leveraged this potential – and in doing so, provided us with the opportunity to optimize our post-processing in ways we could not have previously imagined.”

    Researchers Develop Soft-Rigid Robots that Move with Electric Current

    Origami structures: Printing, Design, and Actuation. (A) Direct ink writing of liquid crystalline oligomers creates aligned liquid crystal elastomers along the print direction (left). Sequential layers with orthogonal filaments allow different crease configurations (middle). Mountain and valley folds are defined by the layer ordering (right). (B) Self-folding and programmable actuation is imparted via a flexible printed circuit board (Flex-PCB) (left). The Flex-PCB is embedded within the printed LCE as a structural layer with integrated electronics for Joule heating of individual hinges (middle). A constant current laser driver and microcontroller are used to regulate the power delivered through each hinge, enabling programmable feedback actuation control (right). (C) A self-folding crane is shown going from the unfolded (left) to the folded (right) configuration using integrated Joule heaters. Thermal imagery is pictured in the right subpanel of each figure.

    Soft robots can shape-shift and manipulate delicate objects, so they have plenty of potential in the medical field, but they’re limited by rigid mechanical parts or the external systems that help them move. A team of researchers at Princeton University combined a 3D printed liquid crystal elastomer with flexible electronics and origami-like folding techniques to build soft-rigid hybrid robots that can move without external pneumatic controls or motors…just targeted electric current. A customized printer was programmed to change the internal orientation of the polymer’s molecular structure while it prints. Then, the patterned zones in the printed material were stacked and joined in different ways in order to create hinges that bend and move the robot when the material is heated up. The heating that drives the robot’s motion is controlled through printed circuit boards (PCBs), and software uses embedded temperature sensors within the origami to compensate for any small errors as the robot continues to change shape; that’s what makes it so durable. To demonstrate their work, the team built a soft robot in the shape of crane, and it flaps its wings when powered with electricity—no motor required.

    “I think the big contribution is we showed integration of a complex system where we have local heating control. We can control activation depending on where we heat,” said David Bershadsky, who began to develop the robotic system for his undergraduate thesis project at Princeton. He is now in graduate school at the University of Texas, Austin.

    To learn more about the electric current-powered soft robot, you can read the research team’s paper here.

    International Research Team Improves Sustainability & AM Performance with Biochar

    Enhancing biocomposite critical quality indicators (CQIs): the impact of biochar content in additive manufacturing.

    Researchers from Hellenic Mediterranean University, International Hellenic University, and National Technical University of Athens in Greece, and Harbin Engineering University in China, published a study that shows you can improve sustainable manufacturing practices, as well as the performance and quality of 3D printed plastics, by adding small amounts of a carbon-rich material called biochar that’s made from agricultural waste. The team investigated how biochar, which has a porous structure and chemically active surface, can positively affect the performance of popular 3D printing polymers like ABS, PLA, PP, PETG, and HDPE. One of the most important things they discovered was the strong relationship between mechanical performance and internal structure of these 3D printed plastics. Better dimensional accuracy and lower porosity were linked time and again to higher tensile strength, which meant that biochar composites could produce more reliable and stronger parts. Additionally, biochar is a renewable and low-impact alternative to fillers derived from fossil resources, so it’s a much more sustainable option.

    “Our findings show that biochar is not only a sustainable filler but also a highly effective way to improve the quality of 3D-printed components. By optimizing the amount of biochar, we can enhance mechanical strength while reducing defects such as porosity and dimensional inaccuracies,” the study’s corresponding author said.

    “As industries move toward greener solutions, biochar-based composites offer a promising pathway. This approach allows us to transform waste into high-value materials while improving the performance of next-generation manufacturing technologies.”

  • Industrial Applications on Display at RAPID 2026: CERATIZIT & 3D Systems

    Applications are where it’s at in the additive manufacturing (AM) industry. At the recent RAPID+TCT in Boston, I met with a few companies to learn about some of their very specific industrial applications.

    CERATIZIT

    In the AeroDef Showcase section of RAPID, I spoke with Steve Kuhnle, Global Business Development Specialist / Cutting Tools, CERATIZIT USA, which is part of the award-winning, global CERATIZIT Group that specializes in hard materials.

    CERATIZIT booth at RAPID+TCT 2026.

    The company has locations all over the world, including Austria, China, Bulgaria, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, and many more. CERATIZIT USA is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and produces cutting tools and carbide, going, as Kuhnle told me, “from the mine to the finished product, which very few people do.” They’re also a powder supplier, even for their competitors sometimes.

    “We [CERATIZIT] are the largest producer of tungsten in the western world,” he said.

    At its GTP plant in Pennsylvania, the company recycles carbide, which is then made into powder.

    “We also work with the finished product,” Kuhnle said.

    3D printed drill bits at CERATIZIT’s RAPID+TCT 2026 booth.

    CERATIZIT works with the aerospace and defense, automotive, and medical industries, 3D printing steel tools for them. As Kuhnle explained, 3D printing the tools “allows for better coolant flow to the cutting edge.”

    “You can’t machine the coolant channels,” he said. “So we 3D print them and that allows us, especially in aerospace where you have coolant getting to the cutting edge, this way you don’t get redeposit metal, unlike your Inconels and heat resistant alloy materials.”

    CERATIZIT booth at RAPID+TCT 2026.

    Kuhnle said that CERATIZIT makes aircraft assembly tools, like the drills used to make rivet holes on aircraft, as well as grooving, tools, machining, and milling tools. The company also does a lot of “process improvements.”

    “Customers will give us parts or drawings, and ask us how to improve making it, what kind of time can we take out?” he explained. “And sometimes it’s not so much time, sometimes it’s part quality. We had a customer who had a problem with redeposit metal, and we developed 3D printed tools to actually solve that problem.”

    Even though the company produces tungsten, they also machine it; this is used a lot in the defense industry, so that’s another reason CERATIZIT was aptly located in the Aerodef Showcase at RAPID.

    3D printed milling tool at CERATIZIT’s RAPID+TCT 2026 booth.

    CERATIZIT has also come out with some great aerospace grades and heat-resistant alloy grades, like CTCS245 for milling heat-resistant nickel-based alloys.

    “It’s got ruthenium in it, which is used for reducing heat,” Kuhnle said. “It takes a lot of heat, so you get less insert failure.”

    As I was unfamiliar with ruthenium (Ru), I looked it up later, and it’s apparently one of the most rare metals in the world. Located in the platinum group of the periodic table, it has a high melting point, high corrosion resistance, and high durability.

    Metal 3D printed part next to the plastic prototype at CERATIZIT’s RAPID+TCT 2026 booth.

    The company has some exciting things coming up, such as building out its tech center in Charlotte, slated to be done next spring. They’ll offer training there, as well as part processing for customers. CERATIZIT will also have some new developments to share at IMTS this fall, including new solid carbide drilling products.

    “We’re always in development of cutting tools, always pushing the boundary of state-of-the-art for machining of jet engine parts and material. We’ve made some really big strides in that area,” Kuhnle told me.

    “We’re really product technology-driven, more component-driven, and segments. That’s why we’re going after the aerospace and defense segments. We made a commitment.”

    3D Systems

    I also stopped by the 3D Systems booth to speak with Patrick Dunne, Vice President of Advanced Application Development.

    Before we got to applications, he shared a little bit about the company’s new SLA 825 Dual 3D printer, which was launched at Formnext 2025 but introduced to the U.S. market at RAPID 2026.

    “The previous version, the SLA 750, was the state of the art. The way I’m looking at it, the best just got better,” Dunne said.

    SLA 825 Dual at 3D Systems’ RAPID+TCT 2026 booth.

    The new SLA 825 Dual has an expanded build envelope, and two high-powered lasers with multi-spot capability. It’s great for printing much larger parts, or large batches of detailed parts, like for the dental industry or investment casting patterns.

    “We had some customers that were chomping at the bit to build parts up to 80 centimeters in diameter, specifically very large-format monolithic investment casting patterns for space propulsion,” Dunne explained. “So getting that extra two to three inches on your build makes all the difference.”

    We also discussed the company’s on-demand part production, and how it’s saving customers time and money for specific applications. One focus of our conversation was Norway-based Eureka Pumps. Part of the Techouse Group, Eureka is a provider of high-quality pumping and power solutions for the oil and gas industry.

    “What’s interesting about the oil and gas industry is that a failed part or a broken component within their hydrocarbon extraction process costs, in some cases, like an offshore oil rig, a million dollars a day,” Dunne said. “So it becomes absolutely critical to get a spare part as fast as possible.”

    If a hydrocarbon processing or oil pumping process is offline because you’re waiting for “an analog supply chain” to deliver a spare part, and that takes two weeks and millions of dollars a day, that’s a big problem.

    “3D printing as a tool can be incredibly useful at addressing that urgency by being able to supply a replacement spare part on-demand from a digital inventory,” Dunne explained. “So instead of having a physical warehouse full of tooling, you can have an entire warehouse of spare parts on a USB key, and you can on-demand print the spare component and get your production capability back up and running as fast as possible.”

    3D Systems booth at RAPID+TCT 2026.

    The bottleneck here is with the tooling requirements of the traditional manufacturing process. You need storage and inventory management for tooling, especially for legacy components. Additionally, if these components break, you may not be able to get your hands on a spare, because the company that originally manufactured the part might not even be in business anymore. And if you try to recreate the product, depending on how long ago it was developed, there may not be a digital file—just blueprints stuffed in the back of a drawer somewhere.

    “So being able to scan a component and create a replica or a clone of that particular component in an alloy like Inconel that meets the technical requirements of oil and gas extraction means that they can bring their system back online very, very rapidly.”

    These same problems plague the aerospace and maritime industries as well. Noting that some of the original tooling for the C17 aircraft was developed in the 1950s and made of wood, Dunne explained that, “even with absolute focus and attention,” it can take months to try and recreate that part from 2D blueprints.

    “When you have a very expensive platform like an aircraft sitting in a hangar waiting for a single spare part, every day that asset is basically costing you money,” he explained. “And I’ve heard crazy numbers thrown around, that at any given moment in time, there are hundreds of billions of dollars of systems and platforms, in aircraft and Navy battleships and nuclear submarines, either sitting in warehouses or sitting in harbors.”

    AM can be used to support getting planes and ships and subs operational again “very, very rapidly, and address some of those long lead time items that historically have represented the weakest link in the supply chain.”

    I asked what kind of spare parts 3D Systems prints for these types of applications. For aerospace, Dunne said it’s a lot of instrumentation knobs and dials that can be printed out of flame-retardant, aerospace-grade plastic. With nuclear submarines, it’s mainly plumbing components, which are considered mission-critical; you can’t go out to sea if the toilet isn’t working, after all!

    “There’s a lot of special alloys that go into the sewage plumbing systems for nuclear submarines. They have to be resistant to salt water corrosion. They have to be resistant to high pressure,” Dunne explained. “Historically, the lead time with traditional manufacturing methods, using sand casting or investment casting, can be one to one and a half years. Using a 3D printer, if you add it all up, like the printing and the machining and the inspection, you can compress that down to less than a month.”

    3D Systems booth at RAPID+TCT 2026.

    According to the “AM Applications Analysis: Parts Produced 2025–2034” report by AM Research, the value of parts produced using AM could reach $110 billion by the year 2034. This suggests that many industries are expanding their use of the technology, and that AM continues to move beyond prototyping into real production. The report also states that aerospace applications make up nearly 22% of the total value of metal parts produced with AM globally. So both CERATIZIT and 3D Systems are definitely on the right track.

    Images courtesy of Sarah Saunders for 3DPrint.com

  • The Additive Chicken Coop, Part II: Rescoping

    When we previously looked at the Additive Chicken coop, we saw how selling devices to labs shaped a lot of our industry. Here, we explore other key factors that have led to the industry’s current state.

    Piggybacking on Lasers

    An increase in the capabilities of low-cost lasers and new diode laser forms is the real driving force behind many developments in LPBF and SLA. Vat polymerization can hardly have existed at scale without the Texas Instruments DMD mirror setup. In parallel strides forward, Scanlab, Visitech, and others have done a lot of the heavy lifting to make new print platforms possible. They’ve centralized a lot of the truly hard science into convenient, mountable packaging. Low-cost lasers are now enabling companies such as Metal Base to produce sub-$10,000 metal LPBF printers. This is a continuation of the same wave that previously enabled Sinterit, Sintratec, and Formlabs to make polymer LPBF systems accessible. Further cost decreases could prompt many more LPBF entrants. In inkjet processes, it’s the billions from inkjet-head firms that drive much of the functionality. Now, this is not anything new for anyone reading this.

    But we keep looking at the individual machines too much while not focusing enough on the broader technological developments driving our industry. We should pay more attention to developments in light engines and less to machine releases, for example. We’re counting the cup holders and ignoring electrification.

    Value Propositions and Diggers

    Yes, the parts from low-cost metal 3D printers are not as good as those from an industrial system. That’s not the point, your shovel can not dig as well as a Liebherr R9800. But your shovel is cheaper, easier to transport by air, and easier to use indoors. It’s all about the use case, the user, and the value proposition. Many people want accessible metal parts. But what we don’t know yet is if the quality and cost as is will be enough to entice them. In and of itself, this value proposition will depend on understanding that we do not yet have. So do not dismiss the parts offhand. Or make the mistake of thinking that this won’t work for you, so it won’t work for anyone.

    A LEGO-built Liebherr R9800 excavator model representing heavy construction machinery. Image courtesy of LEGO.

    But also don’t make the mistake of thinking that because industrial polymer LPBF sells, desktop systems will do 10 times as well. A desktop Liebherr R9800 also will not work unless it’s by LEGO, of course. But the LEGO R9800 shares the exact same look and functions as the larger (800 tonne) one, but it offers a very distinct value proposition. Forgetting this is a mistake many have made before.

    So, who is doing the selling matters? When matters as well. To whom you are selling matters too. Our minds are trained to recognize patterns in the noise. We tend to make up logical (often simplistic) narratives to explain a chaotic world. And we extrapolate. One of the biggest mistakes made across many innovative sectors is to compare Apples to Oranges and then infer a business model from a similar development. We often end up trapped in our analogies, prisoners of childish tales meant to explain the world, but that inhibit true understanding.

    Scope

    Brian Michel with a Skyward 150 3D printed telescope in his Guelph home. His plans to build the telescope are available for free. Image courtesy of Mathew McCarthy, Waterloo Region Record.

    Scale matters, perhaps more than we thought. But scope matters too. Everyone is always talking about scaling, but “scope” is used only in the sense of “scope creep.” To truly reassess the scope and to redefine the business is rarely done. We did market research in 2015 and set off based on that. We defined our target markets and never checked back to see if that had changed. We never responded to changes in the world or technology. We don’t serve those customers. Across businesses, we see many problems with this. But, in additive, we can see that many companies need to reassess their scope according to the new world. Yes, you can pivot to the newest thing or approach a new market. But, if you change nothing else and do not reinitiate learning mode, you´ll just be a trend-driven drunken sailor staggering from one management fad to another. Rather than pivoting, businesses should rescope themselves to see whether the total of their assumptions and actions is even coherent. Maybe we have to change how we operate, which countries we target, and how we target them.

    Because we’re sufficiently cognizant of our history, we’ve probably misunderstood our current situation. By not focusing enough on the parts of the printer that actually make the shape, we do not sufficiently understand how light sources and other technological developments will shape us. We often lack empathy to see how others may perceive or need goods and services differently than we do. And we need to reassess the scope from time to time to remain focused. All of these elements are important to see what is truly going on.

  • 3D Printing Should Benefit Greatly as EU Releases €6 Billion for Ukrainian Drones

    Drones have changed everything. Case in point: with the aim of preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, the US and Israel initiate airstrikes on the Gulf nation. A couple of months later, Iran is using low-cost weapons systems centered around cheap drones to halt a fifth of the world’s energy flows, creating a far greater practical advantage for itself than possession of a nuclear weapon would imply.

    Another (related) example: since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Western powers have been providing Ukraine with expertise to help counter Russian aggression. Now, precisely because of the drone disadvantage the US finds itself in amidst the war in Iran, the US and NATO seek Ukraine’s advice based on its drone expertise.

    This has evolved into far more of a two-way relationship than a traditional dynamic whereby a major power arms a minor one, though Ukraine still of course needs significant Western assistance, primarily in the form of financing. At the end of last year, the EU announced a €90 billion loan package for Ukraine, and now that it has finally been approved, the first tranche of that funding will be released this quarter. A third of the money will go towards Ukraine’s general budgetary needs, and the other two-thirds towards defense. Of the defense funding, no less than €6 billion (~$7 billion) from the first tranche—around twenty percent of the defense funding—will go towards drones, which, among its many consequences, should be a major boon to Ukraine’s additive manufacturing (AM) capabilities.

    While Ukraine’s use of AM to back its drone production progress is virtually common knowledge at this point, one still can’t emphasize enough how AM has transformed both the technological and logistical bases that determine Ukraine’s ability to arm itself. In a 3DPOD episode from August 2025, 3DPrint.com’s Joris Peels interviewed Jake Volnov, the founder of DrukArmy, which draws upon volunteers from all over Europe who use desktop 3D printers to make and donate non-explosive components to Ukraine’s military. Meanwhile, through more formalized channels, Ukrainian forces have already been transferring 3D printed drone know-how to elite Western units.

    The Sting interceptor, produced by Wild Hornets. Image courtesy of Wild Hornets

    At present, what the US, and nations in the Gulf, most desperately need from Ukraine is expertise related to interceptor drones, most notably the Sting interceptor made by Ukrainian company Wild Hornets. Earlier on in the Iran conflict, Wild Hornets noted that the company wouldn’t sell Gulf countries the Sting or other products without Ukrainian government approval. Just before the EU officially approved the loan package, President Zelenskyy of Ukraine said that he would allow sales of Ukrainian weapons, including drones, to foreign nations, so long as they don’t cooperate with Russia. Given President Trump’s track record in that context, it will be interesting to see how potential cooperation surrounding drone defense unfolds between Ukraine, the US, and the Gulf nations.

    In any case, the EU (aside from nations like Hungary and Slovakia, which held up the loan vote due to their continued reliance on Russian oil) certainly appears poised to benefit from all the expertise that Ukraine can deliver, and not just thanks to the loans. It has also just been reported that the European Defence Agency (EDA) will provide €35 million to Ukraine to support the second phase of BraveTech EU, a joint EU-Ukraine defense accelerator, which reportedly “…gives the EU a more formal mechanism for converting wartime innovation into tested defence applications.”

    Along those lines, Ukraine is in the curious position of serving as a de facto open-air R&D lab for Western weapons tech, operating under live conditions and in real time. Under such circumstances, one would think that the funding should take the form of a grant rather than a loan, although perhaps the EU anticipates that the funds will be paid back in expertise.

    Above all, the takeaway from the latest developments in EU-Ukrainian relations demonstrate how contemporary military alliances are based on completely different premises than were thought to be the case even just a few months ago, and 3D printing is one of the most significant pieces of the explanation why. Direct operating experience is now obviously so much more important than theoretical advantage that the most well-funded powers are at the mercy of those who are more or less scraping to get by.

    Again, this is a logistical shift just as much as a technological one. As with all situations where technology and logistics converge, the key to success is strategy. Anyone interested in learning directly from those working firsthand at the intersection of 3D printing and drones should register for our UAS Additive Strategies webinar, which will take place on June 30 from 11 AM-2:30 PM Eastern time. Even if your firm isn’t planning on printing drone components, the dynamics shaping the world of 3D printed drones have relevance to the entire state of global manufacturing.

    Featured image courtesy of DrukArmy

  • Amnovis Expands to the US

    Belgian firm Amnovis is a scalable partner for orthopedic innovations. From design to production and regulatory, you can rely on them to take your innovation to market. Coupled with deep additive manufacturing expertise and growing interest in 3D printed implants, this has been a winning combination. Amnovis can couple your innovation with the latest in 3D printed lattices or ground your idea in LPBF production methodologies. I really like what they’re doing and think that similar firms in other verticals will really accelerate our market growth.

    Selected L-PBF metal 3D printers installed at Amnovis.

    Now, the firm has expanded into the US by acquiring the additive manufacturing business of Westconn Precision Technologies. Amnovis’ new unit is in North Webster, close to Warsaw, Indiana, the Silicon Valley of Orthopedics. Warsaw was where DePuy Synthes (now a Johnson & Johnson MedTech company and global leader in orthopedics) was founded, and ex-employees and partners have created a myriad of orthopedics firms in and around the city. It now houses the headquarters of Zimmer Biomet and DePuy. So it’s a nice place to be for Amnovis, and a nice place to get noticed by the big firms.

    Additive manufacturing of medical devices in action.

    Amnovis has appointed Chris Cook as General Manager of the US Operations for the Amnovis unit in Warsaw. He will be joined by Jake Marasco on account management. Westconn is a family-owned Connecticut-based CNC and EDM shop specializing in precision machining. Amnovis hopes to mirror the Belgian arm exactly in the United States, allowing for redundant manufacturing at both sites under the same quality systems.

    Additive manufacturing of medical devices in action.

    Amnovis CEO Ruben Wauthle said,

    “Expanding our operational footprint to the United States is a logical next step in the evolution of Amnovis. Being close to the largest medical device market globally, and specifically within the Warsaw, Indiana ecosystem, allows us to better support customers who require reliable, high quality additive manufacturing capacity with minimal logistical complexity.”

    The company hopes manufacturers can split production between the two sites, giving them greater flexibility and allowing them to target more markets. Approvals should be streamlined, as should scaling globally in both the EU and US markets. Amnovis will be able to print, CNC and EDM at the new site.

    Wauthle adds that,

    “The acquisition of Westconn’s additive manufacturing activities further strengthens Amnovis’ position as a global partner for industrialized additive manufacturing- By aligning equipment strategies and technical expertise across both sites, we are able to scale our operating model globally while further reinforcing our already strong capabilities in metal additive manufacturing. This combination allows us to support customers with a level of consistency, scale and technical depth that is increasingly required as more customers develop applications that truly unlock the full potential of additive manufacturing.”

    Titanium spinal implants immediately after printing.

    The logic for the deal was “the size of the US medical device market, the growing demand for patient-specific and time-critical applications, and the need for flexible, regionally available manufacturing capacity.” The US market is huge, comprising perhaps a third or half of the global market. What’s more, FDA-approved devices are often cleared in many other countries that, in fact, outsource the approval process to the US FDA. It may be easier right now to get medical devices approved in the US than in Europe. A dual-regime setup will allow Amonovis to select the appropriate jurisdiction for the customer. If they can, then charting a relatively straightforward path to introduction in the US and Europe would really make sense for customers. Other solutions tend to be regional, so Amnovis may be the only one that can offer a straightforward path to both markets with one 3D printing partner. This could sway clients on choosing then rather than a competitor.

    Please copy Amnovis and do the same for energy, maritime, the military, and many other markets. This model is just such a force multiplier for both clients and our industry, helping scale up new entrants through additive expertise and capacity, which is just what we need in orthopedics and beyond.

    Images courtesy of Amnovis

  • 3D Printing News Briefs, April 30, 2026: Support-Free Titanium, Drug Delivery, & More

    In today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, we’ll start with Makelab’s new website, and move on to commercialization of support-free metal 3D printing in South Korea. We’ll end with drug delivery research and a metal 3D printed implant that supports healing. Read on for all the details!

    Makelab Debuts New Website for Ninth Anniversary

    This month, Brooklyn-based 3D printing service bureau Makelab is celebrating its ninth anniversary in business. Co-founded by industrial designers Christina Perla and Manny Mota, the company offers six AM technologies and 23 materials, and produces over 5,000 parts a week in its New York factory; two years ago, Makelab opened a second location in San Francisco. To celebrate its ninth anniversary, they rebuilt the website from the ground up, adding seven new tools they think customers will actually use. Two of the tools are for calculations, three are for exploring Makelab’s options, and two are to improve the overall experience of the website. The Lead Time Calculator helps you calculate when your parts will be ready – just input the technology, quantity, the date you’ll be placing the order, and you’ll get the lead time, no quote required. With the Shipping Calculator, you can add your ZIP code and service level to see your estimated cost of shipping from Brooklyn.

    The first of three new “Explore” tools on the Makelab website is the Materials Hub, which lists all of the 23 materials Makelab offers, “from general-purpose PLA to production-grade MJF nylon,” as the site states. It includes filters for finish, strength, temperature resistance, and use case, and you can see the properties for each material, plus the lead time for jobs completed with the materials. Tech Compare offers a side-by-side comparison of AM technologies and materials, like FDM vs SLA vs MJF. Makelab said this tool was really built for engineers who are “speccing a part.” The last “Explore” tool is Our Work, which is where you can see real projects that Makelab has completed and shipped. It’s updated every month, too! Finally, there’s a new Dark Mode for when you’re looking up part specs at 2 am; the toggle is at the top right of the screen, next to Talk to an Expert. There’s also an AI chatbot trained in Makelab’s process, FAQs, materials, and lead times; look for the robot icon on the bottom right corner of every page. Happy anniversary, Makelab!

    Korea’s INNOSPACE Commercializes Support-Free Titanium AM

    Dome-shaped titanium high-pressure tank produced using a support-free additive manufacturing (3D printing) process. Comparison of conventional additive manufacturing processes (left) and advanced support-free additive manufacturing processes (right).

    South Korean aerospace/defense manufacturing and engineering service INNOSPACE says it’s the first in the country to commercialize an advanced metal AM process that doesn’t use support structures, and 3D printed titanium components with the technology. Internal supports are normally required to prevent deformation during conventional metal AM processes, but these cause lack of design freedom, longer production times, and more post-processing. INNOSPACE applied advanced process control technologies to achieve structural stability and product quality without having to rely on supports, which allows it to efficiently print complex curved structures, like dome-shaped and spherical components that would be used in satellite propellant tanks, for example. The company used its support-free metal AM process to make and supply high-reliability, high-precision titanium components to a domestic aerospace company, and reports that manufacturing time was reduced by 2.5 times, and costs by up to 40%, due to the fact that significantly less post-processing steps were required.

    “The advanced metal manufacturing sector is characterized by high technological entry barriers and stringent quality verification standards, making it a strategically important field where securing core technologies directly impacts scalability and profitability. Building on our additive manufacturing capabilities developed through launch vehicle programs, we will accelerate expansion into high-value markets, including aerospace, defense, and satellite structures, and strengthen our competitive position in the global market,” said Soojong Kim, the Founder and CEO of INNOSPACE.

    Ole Miss Researchers 3D Printed Elastic Nanoparticles for Cancer Treatment

    Elom Doe (left), a third-year doctoral student in pharmaceutical sciences from Accra, Ghana, and Jaidev Chakka, principal scientist in the School of Pharmacy, show off a 3D printed implant produced at the university’s Thad Cochran Research Center. Similar implants loaded with anticancer therapies may be used to deliver medication directly to tumors. Photo by Hunt Mercier/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

    Chemotherapy is typically given orally, or injected into the bloodstream to be carried throughout the body. Unfortunately, because these therapies target cells that reproduce quickly, like cancer, they can also affect your skin, hair, and intestinal linings, resulting in unpleasant side effects. A team of researchers from the University of Mississippi are using 3D printing to deliver these drugs directly to tumors, which could reduce these side effects. As they explain in their study, they 3D printed spanlastics (elastic nanoparticles), which are tiny, hydrogel-based carriers filled with drugs to fight cancer that could be implanted right at the site of a tumor. Each capsule was just 200-300 nm in length, which allows them to pass through cell membranes and deliver a high dosage of medication to the affected cells. During in vitro studies, the team applied the 3D printed carriers to breast cancer cells and got “really promising data,” according to Mo Maniruzzaman, chair and professor of pharmaceutics and drug delivery at Ole Miss.

    “Every drug for cancer has to act inside the cell, either on RNA or on DNA or inhibiting a cell pathway. If the drug is not able to penetrate the cell membrane or be taken up by the cell, the effect of the drug is none,” said Jaidev Chakka, principal scientist in the School of Pharmacy.

    “But when we put that drug in a nanoparticle, we are also protecting the drug from degradation, so we are actually pushing a good amount of drug molecules into the cell in one go.”

    3D Printed Orthopedic Metallic Implant Supports Healing While Degrading

    Schematic illustration of Ti6Al4V-zinc (Ti64-Zn) metallic bi-metal composite (MBMC) manufacturing process in two different steps. Step 1 involves the development of bio-inspired Ti64-based hexagonal lattice architecture using a laser powder bed fusion process. Step 2 involves addition of Zn powder to the hexagonal lattice within a graphite die, followed by spark plasma sintering at optimized temperature and pressure resulting in the development of Ti64-Zn MBMCs.

    Finally, a team of scientists from universities around the world published a study on their work developing a hybrid metallic 3D printed orthopedic implant that supports healing while it slowly degrades within the body. Titanium alloys are often used for these implants because of how reliable and strong they are, but they’re much stiffer than human bone, so when they’re permanently implanted, the surrounding bone can weaken over time and cause complications or even implant failure. So the team paired two different metals with complementary properties to develop a hybrid metallic implant. Combining 3D printing and powder metallurgy, they created a titanium alloy lattice and filled it with zinc, which gradually dissolves in the body, under the right physiological conditions, with the help of pressure assisted sintering. The honeycomb structure of the lattice uses less material, but still offers high strength, and bone cells and body fluids are able to freely pass through the implant. The team reported that lab tests confirmed the bi-metal composite showed biocompatibility by supporting bone growth.

    “The developed composite achieved a compressive strength of about 292 MPa, which is significantly higher than that of natural bone (230 MPa). The material demonstrated a controlled degradation rate of approximately 0.157 mm per year under simulated body conditions, which is close to the ideal degradation rate reported for biodegradable implant materials,” explained K.G. Prashanth, corresponding author of the team’s study.

    “This research could help create smarter bone implants that provide strength during healing but also support natural bone regeneration. Such implants could reduce post implantations complications and extents of revision surgeries.”

    Researchers from Tallinn University of Technology, the VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, Loughborough University, the Indian Institute of Science, Nanyang Technological University, Dalarna University, Karlstad University, the Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, and the South China University of Technology worked on this project.

  • This New UK Factory Will 3D Print Concrete at Scale

    A new factory in North Lincolnshire will use robots to 3D print concrete parts for construction when it opens next June. The facility will focus on producing components like foundations and infrastructure elements at scale, using low-carbon materials and robotic systems rather than traditional molds. The project is being developed by Hyperion Robotics in partnership with Swedish company LKAB Minerals, and is already tied to a real project with its first known client, Costain, a UK infrastructure contractor working on major energy and transport projects.

    Costain has already lined up 3D printed concrete foundations for a carbon capture project on Teesside, part of the East Coast Cluster. Costain and A E Yates will work with Hyperion to produce approximately 90 high-strength concrete pipe support bases, or sleepers, along 1.3km of onshore CO2 pipelines across Teesside using its advanced robotic manufacturing and digital technology.

    3D printed concrete sleepers for Costain’s landmark East Coast Cluster project. Image courtesy of Hyperion Robotics.

    Named Forge I, the factory is scheduled to open before summer 2026. In fact, the company is already preparing to open the site to industry partners, with an event set for June 23, where attendees will be able to tour the facility and watch a full foundation unit being printed live. 

    The site will produce pre-cast concrete foundation units using robotic and automated manufacturing systems, with LKAB supplying the mineral inputs and the physical site, while Hyperion develops and operates the facility.

    The biggest shift for the facility is how these parts are actually made. Instead of pouring concrete into molds, waiting for it to harden, and then pulling the parts out, the factory will use robots to print the pieces. That makes it easier to tweak designs, use less material, and move faster when changes are needed. And the main idea behind Forge I is to turn all of that into something repeatable. 

    The companies say the facility will use low-carbon concrete materials, aligning with broader efforts to reduce emissions in the construction sector. Concrete production is a major source of global CO₂ emissions, and there is growing pressure to find more efficient and sustainable alternatives.

    “By supplying climate-efficient mineral inputs directly into Hyperion’s computational design and robotic production platform, we are helping to establish a new automated raw-materials-to-infrastructure value chain in the UK. It demonstrates how materials innovation and industrial digitalization can work together to accelerate the transition to lower-carbon, high-performance construction,” noted Steve Handscomb, Managing Director Cementitious, LKAB Minerals UK.

    Forge I is designed to produce more than 50 concrete foundation units per week, each measuring up to 3 meters by 3 meters and 2.5 meters in height. These parts are being built for sectors like energy, water, utilities, and data centers, where foundations are a repeat, high-cost part of every project. All units will meet Eurocode standards and carry CE marking, positioning them for real infrastructure use from the start.

    The bigger shift is how these foundations are made and delivered. Instead of building them on-site, Hyperion is moving production into a controlled factory environment where parts can be printed, tested, and shipped ready for installation. That cuts down on labor, reduces heavy equipment on-site, and helps avoid delays caused by weather or site conditions. Early trials with partners like National Grid and the University of Sheffield showed promising results, including up to 70% less concrete use and lower carbon output. If scaled, the approach could also bring significant cost savings while turning foundations into a more standardized, repeatable product.

    3D printed concrete sleepers for Costain’s landmark East Coast Cluster project. Image courtesy of Hyperion Robotics.

    3D printing in construction has been around for a while, but mostly in small projects or one-off builds. But this is different. It’s less about printing a single house and more about making the same parts over and over, the kind of thing that can actually scale.

    The North Lincolnshire site is meant to work like a production hub, turning out printed concrete parts for infrastructure and other construction projects. If it works, it could help move 3D printing out of the testing phase and into more regular use on real jobs.

    For the 3D printing industry, it’s another sign that construction might be one of the areas where the technology actually sticks, not just as a demo, but as part of everyday production.

    As additive construction expert Stephan Mansour previously told 3DPrint.com, the challenge has never just been the technology itself, but how it fits into real construction workflows. Last year, he also pointed out that the industry keeps coming back to concrete because it’s familiar and already widely understood. As he told 3DPrint.com, “everyone in construction understands concrete… and there are already standards in place.” 

    That’s part of what makes projects like this more realistic. Instead of trying to reinvent construction from scratch, they’re building on materials and processes the industry already knows, just with a different way of making them.

    What makes this development stand out is not just the use of 3D printing, but the decision to center an entire factory around it. Many construction 3D printing efforts to date have focused on individual projects, like printing a single building or testing a new material. Here, the goal is to run a steady production setup that can turn out the same types of components again and again.

    Construction hasn’t changed much in decades, still relying on manual labor and old processes, which is why this shift stands out. Moving production into a factory gives companies more control, more consistency, and a way to scale when needed, while also avoiding common site issues like weather delays and uneven quality. It can also help deal with labor shortages by moving some of the work from job sites to machines. On top of that, the focus on low-carbon materials taps into growing pressure to cut emissions in a sector where concrete has a big footprint. 

  • 6K Energy Secures 7-Year Agreement to Supply CRG Defense with Battery Materials

    Last year, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced a ban on certain components sourced from foreign suppliers, including Chinese firms, used in unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Meanwhile, the FY 2026 defense budget introduced a host of new bans on DoD sourcing of critical materials and components from foreign entities of concern (FEOC) (a list that includes China), with batteries among the principal product categories banned.

    While both of those moves make sense from a strategic perspective, they obviously create near- and intermediate-term difficulties for US defense supply chains, given the extent of Chinese dominance in the production of both drones and batteries. From an inverse angle, the bans of course also create opportunities for companies like 6K Inc., as we can see from the deal that division 6K Energy just announced to supply Ohio-based contractor CRG Defense with NMC811 (Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt) cathode materials.

    Via the deal, 6K Energy will supply CRG Defense for seven years, in accordance with a Quarterly Purchase Plan that should provide both parties with a long-term baseline of stability in planning operations. Beginning in early 2028, when 6K anticipates its PlusCAM facility in Jackson, Tennessee, coming online, 6K expects to ramp up supply along a similar timeline to what CRG Defense is working towards for its own production ramp-up.

    6K Energy has been supported over the years by several US government grants from both the DoD and the Department of Energy (DOE), including a ~$2 million grant from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) in December 2025, and $50 million from DOE back in December 2023, towards the construction of the Jackson plant. Both 6K Energy and its counterpart division, 6K Additive, have also received significant venture backing over the years.

    6Ks UniMelt. Image courtesy of 3DPrint.com.

    In a press release about 6K Energy’s deal to supply CRG Defense with battery materials, Patrick Hood, the CEO of CRG Defense, said, “The shift to domestic sourcing for critical UAS components represents both a challenge and an opportunity for the defense industrial base. By partnering with 6K Energy, we are ensuring current and future access to the domestic materials necessary to supply our customers with secure energy solutions for critical defense applications. Our drone platforms will now be powered by technology that is truly American made from the chemistry up.”

    Meanwhile, Saurabh Ullal, President of 6K Energy, indicated that, “Rebuilding a resilient US battery supply chain requires both early commitment and long‑term partnerships. This agreement marks the beginning of a strategic relationship with CRG Defense as we invest in the infrastructure and technology required to remove reliance on foreign sources. Our PlusCAM facility is designed to deliver sustainable, battery‑cathode material at scale for the most demanding defense applications.”

    While the partners haven’t yet mentioned any direct connection to additive manufacturing (AM), CRG Defense does seem to have pretty robust AM capabilities. Additionally, since the firm works with customers on product development, it’s possible that even if AM has nothing to do with the company’s current plans for its battery manufacturing workflow, customer demand could end up pushing things in that direction.

    Along those lines, it’s notable that drone batteries are one of the primary applications that CRG Defense seems to be targeting, as conformal batteries for drones are an emerging AM use-case being worked on by companies like Florida-based startup Material Hybrid Manufacturing. The intriguing advantage there isn’t solely the potential to increase domestic production capacity, but also the ability to reduce battery weight or increase flight-time by leveraging otherwise unused space in a drone’s internal design features.

    In any case, the fact that CRG Defense is so familiar with AM implies an opportunity for synergy between 6K’s two divisions, regardless of whether or not CRG decides to 3D print batteries. The possibility of targeting customers who are exposed to both AM and batteries is certainly one of the secret weapons for 6K’s long-term business model.

    Against the backdrop of what’s widely considered the worst oil supply shock of all time, batteries can no longer be viewed simply as “green energy”, whatever one’s opinions happen to be on what that phrase represents. Sustainability is security, as the world’s most powerful decison-makers have already realized for years. Everyone else is about to realize that, too.

    Featured image courtesy of 3DPrint.com