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  • Austal, Curtin University and AMCRC Work on R&D Together

    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 is trying to help additive manufacturing grow and gain a foothold in the country.

    Now the AMCRC is working with Austal and Curtin University on a $600,000 research product. Austal is an Australian shipbuilder that employs over 4,000 people and has revenues of 1.82 billion Australian dollars ($1.29 billion in US). Austal has built patrol vessels for many countries and also builds ferries, submarines, and autonomous vessels. Curtin, meanwhile, is a leading university for mining, geology, geophysics, and architecture. 

    The research project will look through Austal’s defense supply chain to identify parts ripe for 3D printing. Running for 18 months, the idea is to develop “a practical, industry-ready framework capable of providing consistent methodology for assessing potentially thousands of components against operational, commercial, technical, and regulatory requirements.” This is similar to the US Army, Navy, and America Makes projects that we’ve seen in the US.

    This seems like a sensible move for Austal. This way, the company can reap the benefits from AM while learning to deploy it more widely. The partners also want to look to “support sovereign manufacturing capability.” Australia is very far from anywhere else and indeed extremely far away from the US. In the case of a long, drawn-out conflict or a very impactful one, Australia will have to make many parts itself. In Europe, these sovereign manufacturing exercises always have an air of tea, biscuits, and let’s run the flag up the pole. For Australia, on the other hand, this is a very serious thing indeed. Especially for large parts such as steam turbine components or superstructures, Australia would need to be able to repair them quickly and on its own if it were cut off from the US or if the part was too large for even the US’s enormous C5 aircraft. Generally, having a repair ability would also be very useful in the event of a conflict. And speaking up lead times for casting and forging is always a good idea. 3D printing and sustainment are generally a match made in heaven.

    Head of Research and Development at Austal, Sam Abbott, noted that,

    “The challenge is no longer whether additive manufacturing works. The challenge is knowing where it delivers the greatest value. This framework will help us quantify the demand for additive manufacturing across maritime and defence programs, allowing industry to make better investment decisions, build more resilient supply chains and accelerate the uplift of Australia’s advanced manufacturing capabilities.”

    Austal is already working as a prime contractor for the United States Navy’s Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence, so that experience should help. The Navy’s COE is doing a lot of work not only on qualification and the like, but also on actually getting 3D printed parts made and used. They’re currently looking for manufacturers of ball valve components and LPBF gate valve components. This is good news for Curtin University, which could gain a deeper understanding of practical scale-up and have parts made on the AM side.

    Austal and AMCRC work on R&D.

    The university’s Dr. Karl Davidson explained that,

    “By combining engineering, operational and commercial considerations into a single framework, we can help manufacturers make faster, more informed decisions about where additive manufacturing can deliver measurable benefits,”

    Meanwhile, the AMCRC’s Director, Simon Marriott, said,

    “Many organisations understand the potential of additive manufacturing, but struggle to determine where it makes commercial and operational sense.This project will deliver a practical solution that helps industry identify high-value opportunities, prioritise investment and build confidence to scale adoption.”

    This kind of collaborative work, rooted in real practice, is very valuable. Of course, a lot of hard work and discussion will still be needed for this to succeed. But if Australia develops a path from need to part, the country could see which parts it can make, which technologies it needs to invest more in, and which capacities it needs to develop further. Australia has worked with Spee3D on cold spray and with several DED vendors to develop local capacity to manufacture parts and machines. But, being much further from anyone and lacking the immense budgets the US has, the Australians will have to make more precise choices earlier on to truly build capacity. The AMCRC is doing important work here, and there will be much more of it should Australia truly want to develop a sovereign manufacturing capacity.

    Images courtesy of Austal

  • Caltech Uses 3D Printing to Rethink the Lithium-Ion Battery

    For more than two decades, lithium-ion batteries have powered almost everything around us. They are inside smartphones, laptops, electric vehicles, drones, and even many medical devices. Batteries have improved a lot over the years. But they can still overheat, use expensive materials like cobalt, and are becoming harder to improve. Instead of developing a completely new battery, researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) are focusing on the one we already use. Their idea is to redesign its inside with 3D printing. And the team’s work focuses on one of the battery’s most important components: the cathode.

    A Different Way to Build a Battery

    Most lithium-ion batteries today are built with flat, layered electrodes. It is a design that has worked well for years because it is pretty easy to make. But the Caltech team is doing things differently. Instead of making a flat cathode, they designed and 3D printed one with a tiny, carefully engineered structure. So instead of moving through a flat layer, lithium ions can travel through a more complex 3D network. The researchers say this could help the battery store and deliver energy more efficiently.

    That’s important because every time a battery charges or discharges, lithium ions have to travel between the electrodes. If that trip is shorter and smoother, the battery can work better.

    “If you make a battery that is 3D architected instead of planar, every lithium ion is going to have an active surface available to it as it’s transporting through the electrolyte,” says Julia Greer, Professor of Materials Science, Mechanics and Medical Engineering at Caltech, whose lab has been working to improve Li-ion batteries.

    Julia Greer, the Ruben F. and Donna Mettler Professor of Materials Science, Mechanics and Medical Engineering and executive officer for applied physics and materials science at Caltech. Image courtesy of EAS Communications Office/Caltech

    According to the researchers, those extra surfaces give the ions more places to move, helping the battery transfer energy more efficiently than a traditional flat design.

    The findings were published in the paper, “Structure–Transport Relationships in Microarchitected LiFePO4–Carbon Li Ion Battery Electrodes,” in ACS Energy Letters. The work was supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory through its President’s and Director’s Research and Development Fund, and Caltech.

    Goodbye to Cobalt

    One of the biggest changes is the material. The new battery component does not use cobalt, a metal found in many of today’s lithium-ion batteries. Cobalt is expensive, supplies are limited, and mining it has raised environmental and human rights concerns. Battery companies have spent years trying to reduce or replace it, and this research could help make that possible.

    The team also changed how that battery component is made. Instead of traditional manufacturing, they used a 3D printing method called hydrogel infusion additive manufacturing (HIAM) process, which was developed in Caltech’s Greer Lab. Here, HIAM was used to build a small, highly detailed structure. Creating the same design with conventional manufacturing would be extremely difficult.

    So rather than inventing a new battery material, the researchers found a new way to shape an existing one using 3D printing. Changing the shape of the component changes how the battery works. The new 3D design gives lithium ions more room to move through the battery, which could help it charge and discharge more efficiently while keeping the same basic lithium-ion chemistry.

    Schematic of the hydrogel infusion additive manufacturing process for LFP/C composite electrodes and representative images of the resulting lattices. Image courtesy of ACS Energy Lett. 2026, 11, 6, 4392-4400.

    The work is still at the research stage. And there is no indication that these batteries are ready for mass production, and many challenges remain before manufacturers could adopt a completely new electrode architecture.

    Scaling any new battery technology from the laboratory to millions of products is a long process that often takes years. However, the study points to a growing trend across advanced manufacturing. Instead of using additive manufacturing only to make battery housings, tooling, or production equipment, researchers are increasingly using 3D printing to redesign the battery itself.

    Microscope images (top) and a diagram (bottom) showing the 3D-printed battery electrode developed by Caltech researchers. Credit: Sun et al., ACS Energy Letters (2026). Image courtesy of ACS Energy Lett. 2026, 11, 6, 4392-4400.

    Demand for better batteries continues to grow as electric vehicles, AI data centers, renewable energy systems, and everyday electronics all need more power and longer battery life. Much of the attention has focused on new battery chemistries, but the Caltech team’s work points to another possibility, improving today’s lithium-ion batteries by changing how they’re designed. If the concept can be scaled beyond the lab, 3D printing could give researchers a new way to rethink battery design without replacing the technology that already powers millions of devices.

  • 3D Printing News Briefs, July 1, 2026: Prosthetics, Drug Delivery, & More

    We’re focused on healthcare and research in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, including 3D printed prosthetics, patient-specific implants, drug delivery, and more. Read on for all the details!

    Students from Queen’s University Bringing Accessible Prosthetics to Thailand

    Queen’s students, including members of the Queen’s Biomedical Innovation Team (QBiT), continue to work on developing and fine-tuning designs for prosthetics that can be created using a 3D printer. (Photo courtesy Burma Children Medical Fund)

    Almost two decades ago, Queen’s University researchers Eva Purkey (Family Medicine) and Colleen Davison (Public Health) started traveling annually to a clinic in Thailand to help with health workshops and policy reform. They also started working with NGO Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF), which helps underserved communities get access to surgical treatment. In 2019, BCMF launched a 3D prosthesis project, and Drs. Purkey and Davison worked with other Queen’s colleagues to get funding and set up a recurring partnership, in which students do 90-day placements within BCMF. Emese Elkind, a biomedical computing student at Queen’s, started with the program as a summer volunteer, and has now spent the last three years leading a team of engineering students from the Queen’s Biomedical Innovation Team (QBiT) in the design and development of accessible 3D printed prosthetics for migrants running from civil war.

    BCMF had access to open source prosthetic designs, as well as donated 3D printers, but they didn’t have an open source design for above-elbow amputees. Elkind wanted to solve the problem, and worked with the QBIT team to create a harness system that can independently move the elbow, as well as each individual finger, without using the kind of robotics or electronics that are hard to maintain in resource-limited areas like Burma and Thailand. Their work has received plenty of recognition and awards at North American engineering competitions, and they donated half of their prize money to BCMF to fund translation services, surgeries, transitional housing, and access to professional design software. Elkind says the experience has been “life changing, and has reshaped the way I think about engineering, where our job isn’t just to make new technology, it’s to solve real problems.” As she prepares to start her master’s program, Elkind is moving to a senior advisory role for the Queen’s and BCMF prosthetics project.

    CureWith3D Working to Support Personalized Healthcare in India

    Image: CureWith3D

    Clinicians these days are better equipped to plan operations with high precision and accuracy ahead of complex surgical procedures, thanks to technologies like CAD engineering, advanced imaging, and 3D printing. India-based company CureWith3D specializes in 3D printing and digital surgical planning, and reported that it’s working to strengthen its patient-specific healthcare offerings by offering custom 3D printed implants, surgical guides, and anatomical models, and Virtual Surgical Planning (VSP) services, to hospitals, healthcare institutions, and surgeons across the country. CureWith3D works with craniofacial, oncology, maxillofacial, reconstructive, and orthopedic surgeons to develop custom solutions for complex cases, using engineering know-how, radiological imaging, and high-quality additive manufacturing (AM) to fabricate drilling and surgical guiding guides, anatomical models for pre-op planning, and patient-specific implants. Its VSP services enable surgeons to simulate surgical outcomes and finalize designs before the surgery even starts.

    “As personalized medicine continues to evolve, patient-specific technologies are becoming an important part of modern surgical care. Our objective is to collaborate with healthcare professionals by providing engineering-driven solutions that help improve planning, precision, and patient outcomes,” said a CureWith3D spokesperson.

    MIT Researchers Develop Low-Cost Design for 3D Printed Electronic Nozzles in Drug Delivery 

    A zoomed-in view of the nozzles that emit the three-layered microdroplets. Credit: Courtesy of the researchers

    Triaxial electrospray emitters are specialized electronic nozzles that use electricity to dispense three separate liquids from microscopic nozzles, which generates a stream of three distinct fluid layers. These form into multilayered droplets, which can then solidify into layered microparticles. A good application example is a drug delivery nanoparticle, where the outer layer slowly erodes in the person’s stomach, and leaves a second material, which controls the release of the core material that delivers medicine. However, these are not easy, or cheap, to make, often requiring microfabrication processes inside semiconductor cleanrooms. But a team of MIT researchers used vat photopolymerization to 3D print arrays of these triaxial electrospray emitters, which feature 16 nozzles in a one square centimeter area. The one-step fabrication process can produce complex emitter arrays in just a few hours. Miniaturization is necessary for electrospray devices, because the voltage required to generate droplets is lower when the emitter is smaller. MIT’s 3D printed devices are just a bit larger than a U.S. penny, and cost-effective as well. They could one day help streamline and scale production of drug delivery microparticles, seal-healing materials, or biosensors.

    “We couldn’t make a device like this in a semiconductor cleanroom. This is only possible because they are 3D-printed. The particles these devices generate, whether they are used for a self-healing composite or to deliver medicine, can have a big impact in many applications. We want to democratize this technology so the benefits can touch many more people,” explained Luis Fernando Velásquez-García, a principal research scientist in MIT’s Microsystems Technology Laboratories (MTL) and senior author of the team’s research paper.

    “By making such intricate devices more practical, we can empower others to pursue entrepreneurial and scientific advances.”

    SUSTech 3D Printing Continuous Fiber Composite Honeycombs with Expansion-Forming Process

    Graphical abstract. Image courtesy SUSTech researchers.

    Composite honeycomb structures are lightweight architectures with low density, excellent energy absorption, and unique thermomechanical properties. That’s why they’re often used for things like vibration dampers, insulators, and energy absorbers in civil engineering, aerospace, and automotive applications. Conventional manufacturing processes, like co-curing, require multiple molds, lengthy procedures, and and high technical requirements, while methods like automated fiber placement are too expensive and not well-suited for fabricating small honeycomb structures. 3D printing, particularly fused filament fabrication (FFF) methods, is a good way to make continuous fiber-reinforced composites (CFRCs), and now CFRC cellular structures, like hexagonal honeycombs. But, according to researchers from the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen, China, 3D printed CFRC honeycomb architectures have their own issues. Continuous fibers are often limited to out-of-plane stacking, which makes the structural design process less flexible and can result in “out-of-plane mechanical performance of sandwich structures with honeycomb.” So the team came up with a novel 3D printing method, which gets a little help from an expansion process, to overcome this issue and achieve composite honeycomb structures with tailored continuous fiber orientations.

    “Compressive tests were carried out to assess the mechanical performance of the CFRC honeycomb structures produced by the proposed method. The experimental results demonstrate that, compared to conventional 3D printing processes (0° fiber filled honeycomb), the expansion-aided method (90° fiber filled honeycomb) significantly improves specific compressive modulus, strength and energy absorption by 126.44%, 198.64% and 32.05%, respectively, with enhanced surface quality, reducing dimensional error by 82.76%. Furthermore, a predictive model for the out-of-plane compressive strength of CFRC honeycomb structures was developed, showing strong agreement with experimental data. The proposed technique holds considerable promise for the integrated fabrication of lightweight CFRC structures with complex fiber directions and superior mechanical properties,” the researchers wrote in their abstract.

    You can learn more by reading the team’s research paper here.

  • AM Solutions Targets Smaller AM Labs with New S1 Basic

    AM Solutions is releasing the S1 Basic, a small automated depowdering tool. The Rösler subsidiary is looking to make its products more accessible. The unit could be used in low-volume sites like some university labs, prototyping labs, research labs, and setups where space is a premium.

    Made for laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) setups such as Multi Jet Fusion (MJF). The system can run parts up to 100 × 100 × 100 mm in an automated cycle, while manually you can work with parts up to 350 × 200 × 200 mm. The unit is a 2-in-1 system that combines cleaning and resurfacing. These units are not only more compact but also save one extra conveyancing step per batch, should you use two different units instead. In addition to depowdering, the parts are resurfaced and then shot-peened. The company hopes the system delivers repeatable results through automated cleaning and resurfacing for many users. The chamber is 740 x 650 x 830 mm, while the machine measures 1800 x 800 mm. You can process about 7 liters of parts per batch.

    Head of AM Solutions David Soldan explained,

    “With the S1 Basic, AM Solutions expands its S1 family with a system designed to provide a cost-efficient and standardized entry into the automated post-processing of additively manufactured parts. The S1 remains the solution for more demanding industrial applications requiring an extended range of functions and performance capabilities. Our goal was to create a coherent system architecture that meaningfully covers both application levels.”

    The integrated blasting media recirculation system with powder separation ensures consistently high blasting media quality, reproducible processing results, and reduced operating costs. Image courtesy of AM Solutions.

    The unit recycles blasting media and removes powder using an automated sieve, keeping the process behind filters to safely speed up processing. The company believes that less powder remains on parts compared to other processes. The PLC is a Siemens S7-1200, and the company has worked on workflow and the UI to make life easier for operators. The noise level is kept at 75 dB(A), and the system includes features such as antistatic gloves.

    At 3D Print in Lyon, AM Solutions presented the S1 Basic for the first time. To the left, David Soldan, Head of AM Solutions. Image courtesy of AM Solutions.

    Rösler is a premium firm that has incredibly good, long-lasting post-processing solutions for many industries. Their AM Solutions unit has consistently made high-quality systems for batch-based processes. Some systems seem very pricey and very complex. For many users, this new, simpler system will be very attractive. Typically, people buy cheap blasting cabinets and then end up with very manual workflows for ages. This could update and automate that functionality. Especially in corporate prototyping labs and model shops, it is often too expensive for people to spend too much time on manual tasks that add little value. It’s much better for that person to be designing or working creatively instead.

    So there definitely is an attractive niche market here. This unit brings more competition to RusselFinex and its compact units. It’s also competitive with the entry-level DyeMansion Powershot C, for example. This emerging segment reminds me a lot of the Lexus LBX, a compact car on the Toyota TNGA-B platform. This subcompact/city car segment underpins the Toyota Aygo and Yaris. Small with a 1.5-liter engine, it doesn’t seem to have the mass and horsepower that we associate with luxury cars, and in the back, it’s comfortable but not huge. In the front, however, it’s a very comfortable place to be, and the car is a wonderful choice for those without kids or many passengers who want a city-centric ride. I couldn’t get my head around the small car at first, but it totally makes sense if you just want a small ride that still offers comfort and safety. To me, a similar positioning points to a new place for the S1 and other systems to be. Easy to use, reliable, work reducing, but with premium features. I, for one, think that in addition to the S1 basic and the regular S1, there could also be room for the S1 Luxury, which keeps the small form factor and adds more premium features.

  • Dawn Aerospace Raises $25 Million as 3D Printing Helps Power Reusable Spaceflight Ambitions

    The race to build the next generation of reusable spacecraft just got another boost. Dawn Aerospace has landed $25 million in Series B funding to help scale its reusable space transportation business. The company, now valued at $195 million, is betting that reusable vehicles will help reshape how often (and how affordably) we reach space.

    The new funding will support the expansion of Dawn’s satellite propulsion business, continued development of its Aurora reusable spaceplane, and work on Loop, the company’s planned in-orbit satellite refueling network. Dawn is targeting a Loop demonstration in 2028.

    For the additive manufacturing (AM) industry, the funding points to a growing trend: many of the most ambitious space startups are building critical hardware with 3D printing.

    Based in New Zealand and the Netherlands, Dawn Aerospace already has one foot in space. Unlike many space startups that are still pre-revenue, Dawn already generates revenue through its satellite propulsion business. Its propulsion systems are flying on dozens of spacecraft, providing revenue while the company develops something much more ambitious: Aurora, a reusable spaceplane.

    Unlike traditional rockets, Aurora is designed to take off from a runway, reach the edge of space, land back on a runway, and fly again with far less downtime between missions. The long-term goal is to make access to space look less like an occasional rocket launch and more like regular aircraft operations.

    “As a cash-flow positive company, raising capital is about accelerating the growth of programs we have extremely high conviction in, and that our customers are desperate for,” said Stefan Powell, CEO of Dawn Aerospace.

    Aurora in flight during one of Dawn’s test campaigns. Image courtesy of Dawn Aerospace.

    Behind the scenes, Dawn has been using 3D printing to develop critical space hardware, including rocket engine technology developed through projects with the European Space Agency (ESA).

    The announcement comes as investors continue to back companies working to make spaceflight cheaper and more routine. Reusability has become one of the industry’s biggest trends, helping cut launch costs and increase the number of missions. While companies like SpaceX have helped make reusable rockets a reality, Dawn is betting that the next step is a reusable spaceplane that operates more like an aircraft than a traditional launch vehicle.

    For many space companies, 3D printing has become much more than another manufacturing tool. It helps teams move from design to testing faster, while also making it possible to produce lightweight parts that would be difficult to manufacture any other way. For Dawn Aerospace, those benefits are especially important. Reusable spacecraft need to be as light, reliable, and efficient as possible. AM makes it easier to refine critical components and reduce the number of parts in a system, helping simplify production while improving performance.

    The Series B round follows Dawn’s $20 million Series A in 2022, which helped the company expand its satellite propulsion business and continue development of its spaceplane program. With the latest investment, Dawn has now raised at least $45 million in equity funding as it works to scale both businesses. The round was led by U.S.-based Balerion Space Ventures, with participation from both existing and new investors, including Japan’s ANA Future Frontier Fund, backed by airline giant All Nippon Airways (ANA), Japan’s largest airline, as well as entrepreneur and entrepreneur and angel investor Tim Ferriss, who previously backed companies such as Uber, Shopify, Facebook, and X. As part of the investment, Balerion General Partner Dan Wallman will join Dawn Aerospace’s board of directors.

    The company is also aiming for Aurora to become the first vehicle to fly above the Kármán line—the internationally recognized boundary of space—twice in a single day in 2027. If successful, it would mark another step toward Dawn’s goal of making spaceflight operate more like commercial aviation.

    The team behind Aurora, next to the rocket-powered aircraft, the first New Zealand-designed and -built aircraft to fly supersonic. Image courtesy of Dawn Aerospace.

  • Aires Tide Designed with AI, Supercomputers, and 3D Printing

    The Department of Energy‘s National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) is part of the US government that manages the US nuclear stockpile, helping to upgrade, improve, and maintain nuclear weapons, and helps to maintain the Navy’s nuclear propulsion program. This is a super-secret, super-sensitive part of the government that we don’t often see or hear from.

    Now they’ve introduced Aires Tide, a rapid implementation of a hypersonic vehicle that used the DOE’s Genesis Mission AI supercomputing capacity to make the vehicle, “15 times cheaper and seven times faster than traditional manufacturing.” The work was done by Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, Sandia, and the Kansas City National Security Campus.

    NNSA Administrator Brandon Williams said,

    “Aires Tide is a remarkable early demonstration of how NNSA is putting the Genesis Mission into action. “President Trump has made it clear that America must lead the world in artificial intelligence and use emerging technologies to strengthen our national security. By combining AI, high-performance computing, and additive manufacturing, we are pioneering a faster, more efficient model to design and produce capabilities for national security while keeping human judgment firmly at the center.”

    The Venado supercomputer at Los Alamos National Laboratory helped power the AI-driven design of the Aires Tide flight test vehicle. Image courtesy of NNSA.

    The Aires Tide vehicle was flight tested in May. The vehicle was tested at the US Army’s Dugway Proving Ground, being dropped from 32,000 feet. The design was made on the Venado and El Capitan. El Capitan is currently the world’s second most powerful supercomputer. The US$600 million system was built on the HPE Cray EX architecture and reportedly can run at 2.821 exaFLOPS. The computer uses 11,039,616 CPU and GPU cores, consisting of 43,808 AMD fourth Gen EPYC 24C “Genoa” 24-core 1.8 GHz CPUs (1,051,392 cores) and 43,808 AMD Instinct MI300A GPUs (9,988,224 compute units, 228 per GPU, which have a total of 639,246 stream processors, 14,592 per GPU). The 700-square-meter system is at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The system was commissioned and built specifically for nuclear weapons design and testing. Named for the rock formation in Yosemite, this computer is near the precipice of computing today.

    The Venado is currently the 26th most powerful supercomputer in the world, down from 11th only a few years ago when it was launched. The machine has 481,440 cores and is made of 2,560 NVIDIA Grace Hopper Superchips and 920 NVIDIA Grace CPU Superchips. Although less powerful, Venado is in some respects a much more critical system. The Venado was made by HPE specifically for AI. Have you heard of AI? Well, these guys probably have the world’s best cat pictures. OpenAI and other Frontier models are being run on the machine, on its own network, for National Security use. So far, the system has also been used to find new materials, looking at frontier AI models themselves, and astrophysics.

    By using them in design, the NNSA is pushing forward at the intersection of engineering, science, and materials. If we look at Genesis, it’s a supremely ambitious initiative; just one element is: “Manufacturing Accelerating advanced manufacturing Turning design into production at the speed of need. Engineers and AI-driven digital twins share a continuous feedback loop between design, sensors, and fabrication, cutting qualification time and boosting efficiencies.”

    Now there are a lot of buzzwords there, but it’s really important nonetheless. If we can tie what is happening on the factory floor directly to the physics of materials and manufacturing, we can make it in a completely new way. A much more fluid and fundamental method of making could be introduced. We could change a material to offset a manufacturing tolerance issue, or change a design to make printing easier or to improve surface texture, not just before making that design in FEA, but by working backward from the physics of manufacturing and real-world performance. We’re talking about a new world beyond CFD and FEA.

    Now I’m aware that this sounds rather woolly, but Aires Tide is a very concrete result. We can use this new design system to cost-effectively design new vehicles more cheaply and quickly than we normally would. This is very important now, since the US has depleted its precision interceptors and needs to produce more missiles while lacking superiority in hypersonics. The new drone world, which we will talk about on the 30th, needs a more agile and faster US defense establishment. Aires Tide combines AI with 3D printing to quickly produce cutting-edge vehicles. That is great news for us, but it could also point to a future in US manufacturing for defense. We’re not sure what this vehicle is, but our guess is that it’s a hypersonic glide vehicle cruiser, which suggests this is a very important, cutting-edge development indeed.

  • From Vision to Reality: Secure Additive Manufacturing for Brazil’s Energy Sector

    In the oil and gas industry, every day of unplanned downtime can translate into significant operational and financial losses. When a critical component is unavailable, operators may wait days or even weeks for replacement parts to arrive through traditional supply chains, particularly when assets are located offshore or in remote locations. This reality has made localized manufacturing one of the most attractive opportunities in additive manufacturing, enabling parts to be produced closer to the point of need and reducing dependence on inventory and logistics. Yet despite the technology’s potential, many organizations have been reluctant to scale distributed manufacturing due to concerns around intellectual property theft, unauthorized part reproduction, and the challenge of maintaining control over sensitive manufacturing data across multiple production sites.

    For Petrobras, one of the world’s leading energy companies, these challenges are particularly relevant. Across oil and gas facilities, maintenance teams routinely replace components that have reached the end of their service life due to corrosion, wear, or environmental exposure. One common example is the handwheel, developed by Korall Engineering, used for manual valve operation. In offshore and coastal environments, metal handwheels are constantly exposed to moisture and corrosive conditions, often becoming rusted and requiring replacement as part of normal maintenance activities. While these components are relatively simple, delays in obtaining replacement parts can impact maintenance schedules and increase operational costs. Producing such parts closer to the point of need is in the core operations of Sparely, the company orchestrating the spare parts supply in the project, offering a practical opportunity to improve responsiveness while reducing dependence on lengthy supply chains.

    “The ability to securely manufacture parts closer to the point of need is a game changer for industrial operations. It has the potential to reduce supply chain constraints, improve responsiveness, and unlock new opportunities for distributed manufacturing,” said Lior Polak, CEO and co-founder at Assembrix.

    This is where secure digital manufacturing infrastructure becomes the missing link between the promise of distributed manufacturing and its industrial adoption. While industrial 3D printing technologies have largely solved the challenge of producing qualified parts, manufacturers still face a critical question: how can production be distributed without compromising intellectual property? For many industrial organizations, the true value of a part lies not only in the physical component itself, but in the engineering expertise and proprietary manufacturing data embedded within its digital design. Simply sharing files across multiple suppliers or production locations can expose valuable intellectual property and create risks of unauthorized reproduction. Assembrix addresses these challenges by integrating with industrial 3D printers, including HP Multi Jet Fusion systems, and enabling secure remote production through encrypted data delivery, centralized control, and complete process traceability. This allows IP owners to manufacture parts anywhere in the world while maintaining full control over when, where, and by whom production is executed, without exposing sensitive design data to the production site.

    “As additive manufacturing adoption continues to grow, customers need solutions that connect production readiness with secure operational deployment. Integrations such as Assembrix help bridge that gap, enabling manufacturers to move from isolated production environments to connected manufacturing operations without compromising operational governance,” said Arvind Rangarajan, Global Head of Product and Strategy for HP Additive Manufacturing Solutions.

    Manufacturers can authorize production, monitor activity in real time, and maintain governance across multiple locations while keeping sensitive manufacturing data protected. In addition, the Assembrix platform streams production data throughout the build process, providing real time visibility into manufacturing activity and machine performance. This enables stakeholders to verify that production is being carried out according to the original specifications and quality requirements, helping ensure consistency and confidence in the final part regardless of where it is produced. By securing the digital thread from design to production, Assembrix enables organizations to confidently scale additive manufacturing without sacrificing control over their most valuable assets.

    For Brazil’s energy sector, this represents far more than a technological improvement. It has the potential to be a game changer. By addressing one of the largest barriers to distributed manufacturing, the secure management of intellectual property and production workflows, organizations can finally begin realizing the full value of localized production. What was once viewed as a future vision for additive manufacturing is becoming an operational reality, enabling critical parts to be produced where they are needed most while maintaining the security, control, and traceability demanded by industrial operations. The successful production of a replacement handwheel for a corroded component found in existing oil and gas facilities provides a practical example of how secure additive manufacturing can help modernize maintenance strategies, reduce supply chain dependency, and strengthen operational resilience across Brazil’s energy sector.

  • 3YOURMIND Partners with Phillips Corp. in US Navy’s RIMPAC Distributed Manufacturing Experiment

    I recently wrote about the US Navy’s development of the Advanced Integrated Mobile Machine Shop (AIMMS), a containerized unit built around the Phillips Additive Hybrid system, which combines DED and CNC milling in a deployable platform. I noted that the story was especially relevant given the delivery of the AIMMS unit to the Pacific, and Phillips’ upcoming participation in the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) event, the world’s largest maritime combat exercise.

    Now, AM software provider 3YOURMIND, a US and German company that frequently collaborates with Phillips, will be partnering with Phillips once again at this year’s RIMPAC, July 24-31 in the Hawaiian Islands. 3YOURMIND and Phillips will be participating in the distributed manufacturing experiment run by Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), one of the US military’s primary breeding grounds for advanced manufacturing R&D.

    Phillips Additive Hybrid system at MILAM 2026. Image courtesy of 3DPrint.com.

    3YOURMIND’s involvement will enable NPS to gauge the effectiveness of executing distributed production on an operational vessel, with the USS Essex serving as the ‘laboratory’ in this case. The USS Essex is an ideal site for the purpose, having been the first US Navy vessel where the US military tested metal 3D printing on an in-service ship.

    3YOURMIND and Phillips have been working together for years on US military contracts, including projects like reverse engineering tank parts to create a digital inventory for the US Army, and the integration of 3YOURMIND’s Rapid Part Identifier (RPI) with the US Marines’ Digital Manufacturing Data Vault (DMDV). This is the third US military exercise that 3YOURMIND and Phillips have partnered on in as many months, previously working together at the Joint Inter-agency Field Experimentation (JIFX) at California’s Camp Roberts in May, and Valiant Shield in Okinawa in June.

    In a press release about the collaboration between 3YOURMIND and Phillips at the upcoming RIMPAC exercise in July, the president of 3YOURMIND’s North American operations, William Cuervo, said, “Establishing a digitized manufacturing network is fundamentally an enterprise problem concerning fragmented people and assets. The strategy involves addressing this enterprise problem and tailoring the solution for military requirements.”

    Chris Curran, program manager at the NPS’s CAMRE program, said, “We’re moving advanced manufacturing out of the lab and into the fleet. But to operationalize that during a massive exercise like RIMPAC, we needed absolute command and control over the digital supply chain. It’s about ensuring the right unit gets the right file at the exact right time, so they can print what they need to stay in the fight.”

    The capability to create distributed manufacturing networks is what I consider the most intriguing long-term value proposition for the AM industry. But for now, I generally think of it in terms of scenarios like, “Research Lab A creates a prototype, and then its partner, Research Lab B — thousands of miles away — accesses the same network, prints the prototype file, modifies it, and uploads the new file to see what Research Lab A thinks of the modification.”

    On the other hand, what the US military is exploring in war-game exercises with distributed manufacturing — expeditionary manufacturing — can be thought of as the basic concept taken to its logical extreme. In that sense, it’s pretty exciting from a technological perspective that the DoD keeps doubling down on the idea, because if you can produce parts on an operational naval vessel, you could presumably produce them from anywhere.

    In any definition of distributed manufacturing, the combination of a parts identifier function and digital inventory that 3YOURMIND delivers is an indispensable component for leveraging the full potential. It’s clear why that would be the case for military organizations, who need to be able to reverse engineer files on the ground to leverage expeditionary manufacturing as a lead-time reducer. But it’s just as important for any organization that’s being held up by lack of access to a critical part which is difficult to procure because it’s no longer in mass production, or because it’s in particularly high demand, or because one or a few of the materials it’s made from are scarce, etc.

    Another factor suggesting that 3YOURMIND is well-suited to capture this market is its partnerships, not just with Phillips but also with companies like EOS, a sister company of AM Ventures, whose portfolio 3YOURMIND is a part of. If AM enables and encourages Western militaries to collaborate more closely on new weapons systems development, that won’t be able to happen without a shared software network.

    Image courtesy of 3YOURMIND

  • Rocket Lab Buys Iridium in $8 Billion Deal, Creating a New SpaceX Rival

    Rocket Lab is buying Iridium for $8 billion in a cash-and-stock deal worth $54 per share. Shareholders will receive $27 in cash plus additional Rocket Lab common stock. The company now sees itself as a “vertically integrated space company that designs, builds, launches, and operates its own constellations, delivering critical communications capability to millions of users worldwide.” In essence, therefore, Rocket Lab is now a SpaceX alternative. Given Elon Musk‘s increasingly visible political profile, Rocket Lab may be seen by many firms and individuals as a more responsible and safer partner. Iridium currently has 2.55 million active subscribers for L-band spectrum and LEO-based data and voice direct-to-device services. The hope here is to use Rocket Lab’s launch capabilities to extend the Iridium network, its constellation, and its capabilities to a level that rivals SpaceX.

    Rocket Lab launches “IoT 4 You & Me” Mission. Image courtesy of Rocket Lab.

    Sir Peter Beck, founder and CEO of Rocket Lab, said,

    “This is a defining moment for the space industry and the start of a new era of strategic, accelerated growth for Rocket Lab and Iridium- Iridium has built the gold standard in secure, safety critical global satellite connectivity. It is relied upon by maritime fleets, the aviation industry, governments, and heavy industrial organizations who operate in the most remote off-the-grid locations. By marrying Iridium’s deep heritage, trusted infrastructure, and highly sought-after spectrum with Rocket Lab’s extensive and proven launch and manufacturing capabilities, we have the capability to unlock entirely new markets. We will go far beyond maintaining a legacy; we are going to build upon it to pioneer next-generation space applications and deliver sought-after capabilities to existing and new customers.”

    Iridium CEO Matt Desch added,

    “As the worlds of space and terrestrial communications continue to converge, more critical services will depend on space-based capabilitie. Success will come from those who can bring new innovations to space quickly and sustain them over time as efficiently as possible. We’re excited about being able to accelerate the next generation of IoT, aviation, maritime, PNT, and national security capabilities, and pursue new innovative applications as part of Rocket Lab – a fully integrated, end-to-end space company. That’s an incredible opportunity for our customers, partners, employees, and stockholders.”

    The company wants to be an end-to-end space firm with captive launch capabilities and its own path to end users, constellation, spectrum and network. This should materially add to Rocket Lab’s revenue and profile. The company previously was an interesting potential partner for governments, and now it will be an essential one. Just days ago, SpaceX also bought around $20 billion in spectrum, meaning it is likely to enter the US mobile market directly. Potentially, Rocket Lab can now do this, either as a partner to existing networks or as a rival to them. Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile have revenues of $138 billion, $125 billion, and $88 billion, respectively, so the prize there is indeed a rich one.

    The company also thinks that there is a defense play in warfighter communications. In PNT (Positioning, Navigation, and Timing) and other military services, which could include targeting and navigation capabilities for drones, for example, as well as direct warfighter push-to-talk and other services. Iridium did $871.7M in revenue in 2025. The company hopes to close the deal in 2027. So far, both boards have agreed. Rocket Lab has gotten a $3.6 billion 364-day senior secured bridge term loan facility from Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo to help finance the deal.

    “IOT 4 You and Me” payload integration. Image courtesy of Rocket Lab.

    This deal is interesting since it opens up a direct SpaceX competitor. Will the deal go through? We’re not sure, since there are many considerations for countries to weigh. Also, Elon Musk was the largest direct source of funds for Donald Trump’s campaign, giving him $291 million in the last election. He could yet secure approval in the US for this complex deal, or, at the very least, slow it down considerably.

    It would be good for the military and commercial businesses to have more alternatives to SpaceX. More competition on the worldwide internet will prevent a monopoly from forming there. It may take years for competitors to build up capacity and global coverage, so a monopoly of space-based internet services for only a few years may deter competition indefinitely. For companies and governments wanting to deploy backup networking solutions, sensor networks, and global communications networks, just having SpaceX is, of course, a terrible thing. It would give them only one choice and open them up to being effectively extorted on pricing. A livelier, more spirited Iridium offering would give many people a viable alternative, lower prices, and lead to better service.

    Direct-to-device internet could be a winner-take-all global market for control over internet access. I don’t think anyone, save one person, wants this to be dominated by one firm. And two or more global players would make it much more likely that people would use and rely on satellite internet services worldwide. So if this goes through and gets approval, it should bring some much-needed competition. Across the pond, this may lead to jockeying for space among the largely European offerings of Viasat, SES, and Eutelsat. Will one or two of these merge? Will Echostar find a suitor as well?

    Europe as a whole will also have to decide whether it wants to mollycoddle a viable European alternative, initiate more space startups in Europe, or build a defense communications alternative to achieve a sovereign alternative. Eutelsat and OneWeb have focused on government and corporate clients but have proved invaluable in Ukraine. IRIS is kind of a European clown car for the internet, including Thales, Airbus, SES, and Eutelsat, and would cost $10 billion. Just looking at the sovereign warfighter communications that it could provide and the targeting this could be necessary. But, if it were just a government network, then both Rocket Lab and SpaceX would seem to be better businesses. SwissTo12 again looks to be a brilliant play because, by using that firm’s 3D printed infrastructure and Hummingbird satellites, more government-specific networks and potentially a fully fledged competitor could emerge. Interesting times indeed in the space launch and constellation business.

  • HeyGears Unveils G1X, the World’s First Desktop Full-Color 3D & UV Printer

    For creators, makers, studios, and small businesses, color has remained one of the biggest barriers in digital fabrication. Multi-color FDM is limited in detail and often creates waste towers, while resin 3D printing delivers fine detail but requires manual painting for color. Full-color 3D printing has traditionally been expensive and out of reach, with UV printing and texture creation still locked in separate workflows.

    The HeyGears G1X is designed to change that. As the world’s first desktop full-color 3D and UV printer, G1X combines Full-Color 3D, 3D Texture, and 2D UV printing in one desktop-scale platform. From paint-free full-color models and tactile relief effects to high-resolution surface customization across hundreds of materials, G1X gives creators a faster, more flexible way to turn digital ideas into finished physical products.

    One Machine. Three Worlds of Creation.

    The HeyGears G1X combines Full-Color 3D, 3D Texture, and 2D UV printing in one desktop system.

    3D Printing Mode (Prints Full-Color 3D Models & 2.9D Deep Relief)

    In 3D Mode, the G1X builds three-dimensional models layer by layer using a dedicated ink set: CMYK + Double White + Water-SolubleSupport + Transparent (CMYKST+W*2). This mode produces:

    • Full-Color 3D Models: Seamless, paint-free models with interior and exterior color.
    • Deep Relief (2.9D): A specialized application of full-color 3D printing for deep three-dimensional relief, extending your prints up to 150 mm for enhanced expression.

    Transparent printing application demonstrating color fidelity, fine detail, and clear material effects. Image courtesy of HeyGears.

    UV Printing Mode (2D Printing & 3D Textures Printing)

    In UV mode, the G1X 8-channel ink system and up to 1440 × 2400 DPI resolution support vivid color, fine detail, raised textures, and surface customization across 400+ compatible materials. It functions as a high-speed flatbed printer capable of producing two types of creations:

    • 2D Printing: Direct high-resolution printing on 400+ compatible materials (metal, acrylic, wood, leather, ceramics).
    • 3D Textures: Supports up to 5 mm in 3D texture height, allowing you to reproduce realistic surfaces such as leather, wood carvings, brushstrokes, and Braille.

    A leather-style book cover featuring raised 3D textures and high-resolution color printing created with the G1X. Image courtesy of HeyGears.

    Industrial-Grade Print Quality, Speed, and Color Fidelity

    G1X is designed to bring industrial-grade print performance into a desktop-scale system, combining faster UV printing, precise color reproduction, and stable long-term output.

    • Epson I3200 industrial-grade printhead: Supports ultra-high-frequency jetting for faster printing, more stable ink ejection, and reduced risk of clogging.
    • Up to 3X faster UV printing: Helps creators, studios, and small businesses improve productivity for custom projects and small-batch production.
    • Advanced RIP algorithms: Enable 10M+ colors, smoother gradients, and more accurate visual output across different printing modes.

    Note: The 3X UV printing speed boost is based on internal testing compared with desktop UV printers equipped with a single F1080 (XP600) printhead.

    Custom skateboard deck produced using the G1X’s full-color UV printing capabilities. Image courtesy of HeyGears.

    From Idea to Print with AI and Auto Calibration

    G1X combines AI-powered creation tools with intelligent hardware alignment, making the workflow from idea to final print faster and easier.

    • AI-powered modeling: With HeyVerse AI and Blueprint Studio, users can generate high-fidelity models from text or images or convert 2D visuals into 3D Texture outputs through a simplified workflow.
    • Auto calibration in seconds: Line-scan imaging identifies an object’s position, shape, and edges, enabling accurate design alignment and smart layout in Blueprint Studio for more efficient, consistent batch production.
    • Full-stack creation workflow: With HeyVerse, Blueprint Studio, 500+ curated assets, and text/image-to-3D generation, users can turn ideas into printable models in minutes—even without 3D modeling experience.

    Early Access and Deposit Reservation

    The HeyGears G1X is launching soon on Kickstarter. Join our waitlist now to secure early bird pricing.

    Special Launch Offer

    Secure your VIP Early Bird Slot for Just $50

    Receive a complimentary 300ml bottle of White UV Ink (valued at $49) with your printer.

    Reserve Your VIP Slot →

    About HeyGears

    HeyGears specializes in 3D printing and digital manufacturing, delivering precision solutions across dental, rehabilitation, and consumer applications. From medical personalization to consumer innovation, we help restore, reshape, and reimagine what’s possible—making advanced manufacturing more accessible. To learn more about HeyGears products, visit store.heygears.com or contact [email protected].