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  • 3D Printing News Briefs, July 9, 2026: RIMPAC 2026, Software, Housing, & More

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

    Massivit Launches RapidWings Platform for Aerospace and Defense Manufacturing

    According to a new AM Research report, the market for additive manufacturing in drones could reach nearly $900 million by 2034. So it makes sense that Israeli large-format additive manufacturing (AM) leader Massivit has been undergoing a strategic refocus on the aviation, aerospace, and defense industries. Now, it’s taken things a step further with the launch of RapidWings, a new turnkey composite manufacturing platform designed to help aerospace and defense manufacturers save millions of dollars and months of production lead time. Massivit has seen increased demand for manufacturing services from the defense industry, and RapidWings will help with this. It’s a global network of regional Joint Manufacturing Alliance (JMA) partnerships with local, on-demand production facilities, which will embed the company’s proprietary Cast-in-Motion (CIM) technology to speed up composite tooling lead times. JMA partners will maintain operational control of their business and customer relationships, while adding the capability to accept more orders.

    “Defense is a necessity worldwide. By cutting manufacturing times, RapidWings’ proprietary technology could save defense and aeronautical companies months and millions,” said Massivit CEO Yossi Azarzar. “RapidWings marks a strategic milestone for Massivit as we pivot from providing industrial 3D printers to delivering a much-needed Defense manufacturing platform that overcomes bottlenecks and empowers manufacturers to scale.”

    RapidWings is already operational in Israel, and is working to scale its operations around the rest of the world.

    Phillips Corporation & Meltio Supporting NPS CAMRE at RIMPAC 2026

    The biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) is the world’s largest international maritime exercise, meant to enhance interoperability, strengthen partnerships, and demonstrate readiness throughout IndoPacific. At this year’s event, which runs through July 31, Phillips Corporation will participate in support of the Naval Postgraduate School’s Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing Research and Education (CAMRE) experiment. It will deploy a containerized hybrid manufacturing system aboard the USS Essex in order to evaluate expeditionary production and repair capabilities in operational environments. The system is a Haas TM-1P CNC platform that’s integrated with Meltio Blue wire-laser metal deposition technology. By combining both additive and subtractive manufacturing in one platform and workflow, the system makes it possible to repair and restore worn parts, produce new metal parts, and perform precision machining much closer to the point of need in austere, distributed environments.

    Brian Kristaponis, President of Phillips Additive Manufacturing Solutions, said, “RIMPAC provides an opportunity to evaluate how advanced manufacturing can help solve real sustainment challenges for the fleet.

    “When critical parts are unavailable through traditional supply channels, the ability to manufacture or repair components closer to the point of need can help improve readiness and keep systems operational. We are honored to support the Naval Postgraduate School, CAMRE, FLEETWERX, and the U.S. Navy in this important effort.”

    AMIS Introduces Direct Multi Jet Fusion Connection with Pro + Runtime 3.5.1

    Software company AMIS, part of Hybrid Software Group, develops high-performance build-preparation software for industrial AM. It recently announced the release of AMIS Pro + Runtime version 3.5.1, which introduces a direct, production-ready connection to HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) systems. AMIS Pro uses Q*Nest technology to offer high-density nesting and efficient slicing, and a new file processing pipeline is at the core of this new release. In addition to a slew of fixes and improvements across nesting, slicing, and part handling, this latest version also enables the connection to MJF, along with a fully rewritten file healing engine to ensure more predictable, consistent results. The algorithm for file healing now includes automatic compliance checks that are aligned with HP requirements, which decreases the risk of geometry-related build failures. Users will get immediate visual feedback in the interface on parts that aren’t valid, can’t be repaired, and are acceptable, but not optimal. All told, this should help improve automation, reliability, and transparency.

    “v3.5.1 is an important milestone for AMIS. We’ve focused on solving one of the key challenges in additive production: making workflows not only efficient, but also predictable and trustworthy,” said Kris Binon, Managing Director of AMIS.

    ModuTek Overcoming Barriers in Rural Communities with 3D Printed Housing

    Home to roughly 4,000 people, Cobar is located in the heart of New South Wales. Like many other towns in Australia, it suffers from a lack of housing, and because it’s so rural, there are obstacles to addressing this, including the distance materials have to be delivered and a lack of skilled workers. Melbourne-based ModuTek hopes to overcome these barriers with a trial of its new 3D printing system. The team says it can print roofs and walls onsite, with some parts of the structure taking only four hours to complete. Once they chose Cobar as the first trial site to test the feasibility of their technology for rural housing, ModuTek reached out to local builder Peter Tegg. In turn, he introduced them to Traditional Owner and Wangaaypuwan Elder Tyrone “Uncle Tyrone” Griffiths, who was born in Cobar. His input as a community member has impacted the company’s design approach, and he wants to see more innovation like this supported in towns like Cobar. But, he also thinks that local management of housing is important in terms of addressing long-term housing needs. Overall, the trial has shown that 3D printing housing reduces the need for skilled labor, and that it can be done in rural areas.

    “Our focus was, can we in a very remote region build this innovative style of house in the actual location itself [in] Cobar?” Tegg said.

    “The reflection was being that if you can build it in Cobar, you can build it anywhere.”

  • Australia’s AMCRC Funds Titanium 3D Printing R&D

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

    Notably, the heart of the problem lies more in a lack of processing capabilities than it does in a lack of mining activity. This is why the US, the EU, Japan, Australia, etc., are forming partnerships surrounding plans to build shared pools of critical mineral processing infrastructure. The general thrust of these efforts involves ensuring that no one nation in the overall alliance develops monopolistic control over any one of a growing list of minerals designated ‘critical’.

    Australia, which has recently started funding the first projects participating in the Additive Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (AMCRC), launched last year, should play a special role in this infrastructure buildup, given both its natural resource wealth and its location in the Indo-Pacific region. In demonstration of that potential, the AMCRC just announced support for an A$677,000 (~$467,000) joint research project between the University of Queensland and Aussie company Coogee Titanium, which leverages a patented method for processing titanium that requires less energy consumption than conventional methods.

    Coogee’s TiRO process is also specifically tailored towards AM and other advanced metal production techniques, including Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP), and that overlap is the focus of the AMCRC project. Coogee and the University of Queensland will evaluate how parts made with PBF and HIP from titanium produced in Australia perform by comparison with titanium parts produced using legacy techniques.

    Titanium is something of a “sweet spot” metal for this kind of effort. While the titanium processing supply chain is dominated by China and Russia, control by the latter two nations is far less monopolistic than it is for materials like rare earths. This gives the NATO countries and their allies a less far-fetched opportunity to move the needle with collective action than is the case with rare earths and certain other critical metals.

    In a press release about Coogee Titanium’s collaboration with the University of Queensland on an AMCRC project surrounding titanium for advanced manufacturing processes including AM, Peter Duxson, Technical Director of Coogee Titanium, said, “This project is about proving that TiRO powder can meet the performance demands of advanced manufacturing while delivering cost and sustainability benefits. We’ve developed a unique production process and invested in multiple facilities here in Australia, and this research will help unlock its full commercial potential across both domestic and international markets.”

    The CTO of SPEE3D, Steven Camilleri, recently wrote a paper for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) in which he recommended that the nation adopt a framework to measure economic resilience. As I wrote in my post on that concept, I think it should be adopted across all the nations currently attempting to localize/de-risk their manufacturing supply chains. And, for all the reasons discussed above, I’ll now add that critical minerals would be a perfect starting point for any such endeavor.

    The thing lurking in the background of all the global geopolitical tension right now is the pause in the rare-earth dispute between the US and China, which is currently expected to end in November. That’s less than six months away, but that’s still a long enough timeframe where, under current conditions, it is essentially impossible to guess how everything will shake out.

    However, I think it would be unwise to place too much faith in the assumption that it will all just work out. This probably doesn’t mean that, come November, Western nations and their allies will suddenly find themselves completely cut off from Chinese critical mineral sources. But the days when you can just wait around for a few months and a given supply shortage will largely correct itself — I think those days are dwindling.

    Australia could be more indispensable than ever under those circumstances, though, as I repeatedly point out on this sort of topic, national resilience has to be a group effort, or it can’t succeed. The US, the EU, Japan, etc. need to step up their efforts to assist the buildout of Australia’s national manufacturing capabilities.

    Images courtesy of Coogee Titanium

  • Addidex Connect Event Draws Nearly 200 to 3D Makers Zone in Haarlem

    Amsterdam-based Addidex is focused on robotic large-format additive manufacturing, and recently held a two-day symposium that was only about robots printing things. Addidex Connect brought 170 additive folks to the 3D Makers Zone in Haarlem, the Netherlands. The event is probably a miss for many in the additive community, but if you’re working in large-format DED or material extrusion, the small show is a crucial one on your calendar. We like such focused shows, and think that this approach is much more viable than a national show that tries to mix together very different technologies, customer groups, and sellers. Diverse events are hard to sustain, while specialized ones, if you’re frugal, provide a lot of value.

    The show was for systems integrators who come from the robotics world, as well as customers, software firms, engineers, and everyone else in this vertical. The show wants to be a very practical one based around collective problem solving. Subjects included exploring “the relationship between design and toolpath logic (including multi-axis and non-planar strategies), material behaviour at scale, adaptive fabrication, software workflows, circular feedstocks—such as bio-based polymers and recycled marine plastics—process control, and the transition from prototypes to reliable production.” Given the different behaviors of parts, designs, and machines when you go big, this kind of thing is more important than at other scales, especially in materials and toolpathing.

    Conference founder Michael John Sweers said, “Robotic 3D printing has no shortage of talent or ambition. What it needs is more connection between the people shaping it. Too often, valuable knowledge stays within one discipline, one machine or one company. These two days showed what becomes possible when people speak openly about both what works and what still does not.”

    The show was at the 3D Makers Zone, which is a collective space for several firms to work together and already houses a number of robot printing companies. There were speakers from Nagami, Noumena, Caracol, TU Delft, and more. The show is unabashedly technical and aims to foster collaboration. Companies such as MX3D, CEAD, and More Than Layers supported the event. The next installment is already planned for the 22nd and 23rd of July, 2027.

    We reached out to Sweers to learn more. He told 3DPrint.com,

    “What surprised me most was the willingness to share. We had direct competitors in the same room, yet the spirit was genuinely collaborative. There was a shared understanding that this industry will only move forward if we do it together. All these individual specialists, the so-called lonely wolves, became a pack for two days. I already believed there was room for a dedicated event in such a niche field, but this edition proved it. Robotic additive manufacturing is a growing part of the wider AM industry, and there is a real appetite for a place where practitioners can speak openly, connect directly and build trust.”

    Given the success of the event this year, what does he expect for next year?

    “Next year, I expect even more practitioners to get involved, but I also want the event to become more hands-on. I see dedicated stages for concrete, metal and plastics, alongside workshops where people can work directly on the integrations and problems they have been discussing. The knowledge is there. The willingness is there. So why not build things together on the spot? Imagine connecting Animaquina with ABB during the event, testing it, breaking it, improving it and learning from it together. Less talking about what could be possible; more making it happen. That is what I want Addidex Connect to become: the ultimate practitioners’ event.”

    I love this so much, and I love the pictures by Canelita Estudio as well. The character of this event is very different than many others. None of the colorful desktop displays, but also none of the DMLS formality either. And by hosting it not in a hotel, but in a working collective lab where people make things, it will have a very different character as well. I really believe that frugal, well-appointed, specific events that cater well to a specific user group have a bright future. A kind of academic conference that’s not just about papers, but also about the concrete floor. And sure the commercial players are there, but it’s focused on sharing and solving problems. I really think that this is a great initiative, and hope to be able to make it next year.

  • The Drone Economy Needed a Scalable Manufacturing Backbone. ADDMAN Built One

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

    The drone economy isn’t coming. It’s here. From loitering munitions and tactical ISR platforms to autonomous resupply vehicles, the U.S. defense establishment is fielding affordable unmanned systems at a pace that has left traditional manufacturing pipelines gasping. Program timelines that once stretched years are now measured in months. Part geometries that couldn’t exist in traditional manufacturing are being printed overnight in high-performance polymers. And the manufacturers who can move at that tempo – who can go from CAD file to flight-ready component without a supplier handoff – are the ones getting the calls.

    The Drone Economy calls, ADDMAN is answering

    The integration of Forecast 3D’s Carlsbad operations added more than MJF and SLS capacity. It created a continuous production environment in Southern California where drone OEMs and defense primes can prototype, iterate, bridge-produce, and affordably scale under a single program relationship. That continuity, rare in a fragmented AM services market, is proving decisive for customers who can’t afford the friction of supplier transitions mid-program.

    Close-up of a multirotor unmanned aircraft equipped with a payload, representative of the rapidly expanding drone platforms driving demand for additive manufacturing. Image courtesy of ADDMAN.

    Drone Programs Can’t Afford Bottlenecks

    That continuity also carries significant supply chain implications. Defense programs for unmanned systems have long been vulnerable to single-source dependencies and long lead times for specialized components, vulnerabilities that adversaries and auditors alike have flagged as strategic risks. ADDMAN’s integrated model directly addresses this exposure. By consolidating prototyping, bridge production, and volume manufacturing under one roof, the company reduces the number of handoffs where schedules slip and quality escapes. For drone OEMs managing aggressive fielding timelines, that compression of the supply chain isn’t a convenience — it’s a mission-critical requirement. As the Department of War continues pushing primes to demonstrate supply chain resilience, manufacturers like ADDMAN that can serve as a stable, domestic, single-source node for complex additive components are increasingly viewed not just as vendors, but as strategic partners.

    From Prototype Supplier to Production Partner

    What’s changed in six months isn’t just operational. The nature of the demand has shifted. ADDMAN is no longer quoting one-off prototype runs for defense customers. It’s embedded in production programs, printing structural housings, thermal management components, and payload enclosures that are going directly into fielded systems. The volume is growing exponentially, and the part complexity is growing with it.

    A drone transports a suspended payload during testing, illustrating the type of unmanned systems increasingly supported by ADDMAN’s additive manufacturing capabilities. Image courtesy of ADDMAN.

    Building Capacity For What’s Next

    CEO Joe Calmese is unwavering in his vision for where this is heading: ADDMAN isn’t building toward a finish line; it’s building infrastructure for a manufacturing era that’s still accelerating.

    With over 550 employees operating across a network of 8 sites nationwide – delivering on 170+ additive systems. 120+ CNC assets, and 26 injection molding machines – ADDMAN’s Forecast 3D bet looks less like an acquisition and more like a foundation.

  • Phillips Corporation Rebrands Additive Hybrid Division, Now Called Phillips Advanced Manufacturing

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

    This seems like it could be a very sensible move for the firm. Many companies only focus on one additive technology, or just polymer or metal. But, by looking at possible hybrid manufacturing, manufacturing cells, and different 3D printing solutions, the company can deliver on the right solution in a more holistic way. Rather than just try to pigeonhole everything into LPBF or make Material Extrusion fit, it can talk with authority about possible different solutions. This is a very mature way of looking at things. This will, in my opinion, build up more longstanding relationships with partners.

    Brian Kristaponis, the newly anointed President of Phillips Advanced Manufacturing Solutions, said,

    “This rebrand reflects a fundamental shift in how manufacturing is evolving. Our customers are increasingly focused on how technologies come together to improve flexibility, resilience, and speed. Phillips Advanced Manufacturing Solutions positions us to lead in that environment, bringing together a broad ecosystem of technologies, partners, and expertise to deliver integrated manufacturing solutions while continuing to support the critical equipment that powers production.”

    More people are also looking for deployable cells that offer, for example, DED, scanning, and machining in one unit, in order to speed up part production, reduce conveyancing, and reap efficiencies. We know that an awful lot of turbine blades are made in this way. Especially if space is at a premium, or you want as little handling as possible, these solutions make a lot of sense.

    The unit will look at additive and subtractive cells, large-format additive, expeditionary manufacturing, consulting on such issues as applications engineering, and 3D printers themselves. Again, by integrating solutions with application development, Phillips can speed up customer development, sell faster, and have them integrate faster. As we keep saying, 3D printing lacks systems integrators. By acting like a systems integrator, the firm can accelerate and de-risk additive adoption for customers.

    John Harrison, the President of Phillips Global Additive, said,

    “Advanced manufacturing is reshaping how products are designed, built, and sustained across nearly every industry, Our customers look beyond individual machines. They want trusted partners who can help them evaluate technologies, integrate complete solutions, and support them long after installation. Phillips Advanced Manufacturing Solutions represents that broader mission. Brian has been instrumental in building this organization, strengthening strategic partnerships, and helping customers successfully implement advanced manufacturing technologies. His leadership has positioned this division for continued growth, and I am excited to see him lead its next chapter as President.”

    The company now offers Meltio’s W-LMD, wire arc additive from Fronius, DED with powder and wire from Korean firm InssTek, and WAAM from bridge builders MX3D. This is a particularly strong DED offering, allowing them to make large-scale structures with MX3D, complete robotic cell-based wire manufacturing with Meltio, and do powder mixing for applications like armor with Insstek, while also having a super accessible unit for forward-deployed-ish DED with Fronius.

    If I got this right, the rest of the firm will offer Markforged, EOS, Solukon, and the existing solutions. So it’s kind of a split between the people who will things stuff in Pittsburgh, and those who will spent their time at rather smallish interesting airports going camping. Recently, the unit got a contract for containerized Haas and Meltio units with the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division (NSWCCD) Additive Manufacturing Project Office, so that dovetails well with this approach.

    Kristaponis said,

    “The conversation around advanced manufacturing has changed, Organizations are no longer asking whether these technologies are viable; they’re asking how to successfully implement them to improve productivity, strengthen supply chains, and manufacture closer to the point of need. Our role extends well beyond delivering equipment. We help customers evaluate applications, integrate technologies into production environments, train their workforce, and provide ongoing support to ensure long-term success.”

    This again seems like the right path forward. I think that more resellers and consultancies should operate like Phillips. By being a solution-focused, one-stop-shop with an offering across price points, the company can really advise clients while speeding up adoption. De-risking is the key element to engendering and accelerating additive adoption. The challenges on paper may be budget or isotropy and the like, but in reality, it’s trust and risk. And yes, there’s risk to a plane falling out of the sky of course, but so few people pay attention to risk at the company, risk to careers, budgets, and business units. By making it easier to offset risks, know the risks, and overcome institutional resistance, we can make it less risky to be the point man for additive in a firm. Understanding this and helping companies go faster will lead to success for you and your client, and I think that is what Phillips is doing here.

  • The Drone Industry is Showing Where 3D Printing Delivers Real Value, AM Research Report Finds

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

    That’s one of the main conclusions of a new Additive Manufacturing Research (AM Research) report, Additive Manufacturing Opportunities in Unmanned Aerial Systems 2026: Drones Market Analysis and Forecast, which explores how 3D printing is moving into drone production. Rather than simply identifying a fast-growing market, the report argues that drones have become one of the clearest examples of where AM creates real value.

    AM Research explored many of those findings during its recent UAS Additive Strategies online event, where industry leaders discussed how to scale drone production. Scott Dunham, Executive Vice President of Research at AM Research, explained why more companies are turning to additive manufacturing.

    “In UAS, we have the recipe for both a significant market opportunity and one that could change the dynamics of additive manufacturing. Geopolitical urgency, supply chain fragility, and regulatory uncertainty have all come together to make additive manufacturing a much more attractive solution than it was just a few years ago,” said Dunham. “Military adoption is fast-tracking additive manufacturing into the core of the drone market, but that’s important for the commercial sector as well because it establishes additive manufacturing in a new way.”

    Unlike traditional manufacturing, 3D printing doesn’t require expensive tooling or high production volumes. That makes it a natural fit for drones, where designs change quickly, and aircraft are often built for specific missions or customers. Instead of using 3D printing only for prototypes, manufacturers are now producing end-use parts, including airframes, housings, brackets, ducts, sensor mounts, RF components, and lightweight structural components. According to AM Research, drones have become the largest production application for low-cost 3D printers worldwide.

    Additive UAS market. Image courtesy of AM Research.

    Defense has become one of the biggest drivers behind that shift

    Modern conflicts have shown how quickly drones can change. New equipment, changing missions, and constant design updates put pressure on manufacturers to build and improve drones faster. In many cases, waiting weeks or months for new tooling is just not practical. Instead, manufacturers can update a digital design, print new parts, test them, and move into production much faster than with traditional manufacturing.

    Speaking during the UAS Additive Strategies event, David Krzeminski, Business Development Manager for Polymer at EOS, said the industry’s biggest challenge is no longer designing better drones but figuring out how to manufacture them at scale.

    “The next drone race will be won in manufacturing. You could argue that the bottleneck isn’t drone design. It’s the manufacturing side. Every talk you go to, every industry leader you hear speaks about scaling up. That’s the challenge, and it includes every part of the manufacturing process.”

    Joris Peels, 3DPrint.com & AM Research during the UAS Additive Strategies online event. Image courtesy of 3DPrint.com.

    Joris Peels, Executive Editor & VP of Consulting at 3DPrint.com and AM Research, took that idea a step further, arguing that the future opportunity isn’t simply building more drones, but giving countries the ability to manufacture them quickly themselves.

    “What we should be doing is not necessarily selling drones. We should be selling drone factories,” Peels said. “We should be selling these factories so that the military can, at scale, produce the drones it needs and designs. We should be thinking more like a YouTube of drones—a way to really quickly update these designs and these technologies.”

    The same advantages extend well beyond defense

    Commercial drone manufacturers serving industries such as energy, agriculture, construction, mining, logistics, and infrastructure inspection also face frequent design changes and relatively low production volumes. Rather than building millions of identical aircraft, many produce specialized platforms optimized for specific applications, making flexible manufacturing an important competitive advantage.

    As drones become more sophisticated, manufacturers also need to update designs more often. New sensors, AI-enabled capabilities, communications equipment, and mission-specific payloads often require rapid hardware updates that traditional manufacturing processes struggle to support.

    UAS report. Image courtesy of AM Research.

    According to AM Research, the market for additive manufacturing in drones reached approximately $140 million in 2025 and could approach $900 million by 2034. While that growth is significant, the report suggests the bigger story may be what drones reveal about additive manufacturing itself.

    That long-term opportunity was also a recurring theme during the UAS Additive Strategies event. Krzeminski said that scaling drone manufacturing won’t depend on a single technology, but on combining the strengths of different production methods.

    “The next drone factory will be a blend of automotive efficiency, additive flexibility, and aerospace reliability. We also need to redefine what scale means. It’s not only about high-volume production. Scale also means mission assurance, reducing risk, and giving manufacturers confidence that they can produce the parts they need when they need them.”

    Few industries combine so many of technology’s strengths in one application. Drones are a natural fit for AM and may prove to be one of its biggest opportunities yet.

    The full report is available from AM Research and examines AM adoption across drone hardware, materials, applications, regions, and vendors, and includes market forecasts through 2034.

  • The Longevity Economy Needs a Factory

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

    But longevity is not just creating demand for new treatments. It is also creating demand for manufacturing. If people begin living longer and staying healthier for more years, they will not simply need more medicine. They will need more healthcare products, implants, dental restorations, hearing aids, surgical guides, rehabilitation devices, and so much more. And more of those products will need to be customized for each patient. That change could become one of the biggest business opportunities for additive manufacturing.

    Featured rendering courtesy of 3DPrint.com: Concept rendering of a patient-specific 3D printed orthopedic implant, one of the fastest-growing applications of additive manufacturing in healthcare.

  • 30 Women Have Had Breasts Restored with BellaSeno’s Resorbable Scaffolds

    BellaSeno has pioneered resorbable breast implant scaffolds using 3D printing and polycaprolactone. The scaffolds can be printed in a specific structure and then reabsorb into the body. That way, the patient doesn’t need an implant, and the polycaprolactone breaks down completely. The scaffold stays intact long enough for the body to seed it with its cells. The company says that the “scaffolds are inserted into the breast and seeded with the patient’s own fat, acting as a protective framework for tissue growth, gradually regenerating breast volume and shape over one to two years.” So for someone who lost a breast due to a mastectomy, for example, the resulting breast will feel and wear much more naturally.

    Breast scaffold.

    The company reported good initial results from a clinical trial and later said that its process led to good results. It completed two clinical trials in 2025: the first with 19 patients and the second, an ongoing trial, with 11 patients. Now it has announced that two women have had their breasts restored by their scaffolds.

    Thirty Australian women have now undergone life-changing restorative breast surgery using new absorbable scaffold technology specifically designed to regenerate lost breast tissue.

    Professor Anand Deva says,

    Professor Anand Deva.

    “Clinicians who are looking at MRI scans in these patients a few years after receiving these scaffolds would say they were simply looking at normal breast tissue, There are now 30 women walking around the world who have had breast scaffold surgery across both trials. By the end of August, we expect that number will more than double as we have many more patients scheduled for surgery. By the time we conclude this trial, we will have generated a robust scientific evidence base focused on efficacy, safety, and longer-term patient outcomes. It is without a doubt the most significant advancement we have seen in the field of breast surgery for decades. We have now entered the era of medical regeneration.”

    Meanwhile, BellaSeno CEO Dr Mohit P. Chhaya said,

    “When BellaSeno was founded, the ambition was not simply to develop a product, but to help advance a new regenerative approach to soft tissue restoration. The progress achieved to date reflects years of collaboration between scientists, engineers, surgeons and patients who share a common belief that future healthcare will increasingly involve technologies designed to unlock the body’s own regenerative capacity. However, we are now considering the pathway from clinical investigation toward future commercialization and broader clinical access.Regenerative soft tissue surgery is no longer a futuristic idea. Dozens of patients have had these procedures, and many more are going to as part of human clinical studies, which are happening inside operating theatres now.”

    Dr Mohit Chhaya, BellaSeno CEO and Co-Founder.

    These are encouraging results. BellaSeno seems to be on a path here to a diligent, precise revolution. If successful, BellaSeno could become one of the largest companies in additive. There are reportedly more than 2.2 million breast augmentation surgeries worldwide. These procedures carry risks such as cancer, scarring, and more. BellaSeno (and French firm Lattice) could go far in making breast augmentation and reconstruction much safer. With 3D printing customization, they could be the right size, and, because they are ultimately made of the body’s own tissue, they could feel a lot better. This could be hugely beneficial for patients.

    At the same time, a clinically validated safer procedure with better results could eventually net BellaSeno billions in revenue, even if they just conquered a fifth or so of the market. Now we don’t know whether they’ll be alone in the 3D printed breast implant market, or for how long. But beyond breasts, there are more opportunities in noses and other parts as well. The company still has a ways to go, but BellaSeno could very well change the world for millions of patients, and be one of the biggest successes in additive manufacturing.

    Images courtesy of BellaSeno

  • Finnish 3D Printed Pharma OEM CurifyLabs Lands $14M Series A

    With verticals like defense/space and opportunities like the AI boom dominating so much of the current focus in the additive manufacturing (AM) industry, it’s easy to forget one of the original strategic sectors driving early AM adoption: medical. This is partially due to the fact that for applications like hearing aids and spinal implants, AM is so integral to the broader markets it’s a part of that it’s become less necessary to draw attention to the fundamental business case involved.

    However, as the focus within AM for medical starts to shift towards applications that are relatively less mature — but no less intriguing — it seems likely that the medical sector could start to regain its traditional share of the AM industry’s attention span. CurifyLabs, the Finnish original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of pharmaceutical 3D printers, has just provided the industry with a good example along those lines, announcing that it has closed a $14 million Series A round.

    Led by Norway-based VC firm Sandwater and Swedish investment fund HealthCap, the Series A financing will go towards a variety of objectives, including CurifyLabs’ expansion of its US operations based in Jacksonville, Florida. The company also plans to bolster its overall supply chain while enhancing both customer service and R&D.

    According to CurifyLabs, pharmacies in 21 states use the company’s 3D printers for drug compounding: producing customized doses tailored to specific patient needs. In addition to printers like the Aurum, CurifyLabs also makes the base ingredients required to print pharmaceuticals, and provides the relevant software for its manufacturing ecosystem.

    In a press release about CurifyLabs’ $14 million Series A round, Morten E. Iversen, a partner at round leader Sandwater, said, “Personalized medicine is one of the most important frontiers in healthcare enabling better patient outcomes and is experiencing solid growth. We are enabling more pharmacies to deliver personalized medicine in a safer and more efficient way. CurifyLabs has built something rare — technology that combines clinical rigor with the speed and precision that busy pharmacy teams depend on. We are excited to support their rapid growth in the U.S. and beyond.”

    Charlotta Topelius, the founder and CEO of CurifyLabs, said, “”This investment reflects the conviction our partners have in what we’re building. We have set a high bar for clinical rigor, product quality, and customer support, and this funding gives us the resources to raise that bar further.”

    Beyond AM, personalized pharmaceuticals (and personalized treatments generally) seem to be poised for continued sustained growth in years ahead, after already growing substantially over the last decade. The FDA has stated that, since 2014, 25 percent of all new drug approvals are for personalized treatments, and around 30 percent of patients require personalized medicine.

    As personalized treatments become even more commonplace, and as they accumulate a more extensive track record, the associated data and medical consensus may very well push the pharmaceutical industry even further in the direction of personalization. Aside from that, the constantly growing obsession with all things ‘wellness’ should create an increasing number of growth opportunities for personalized over-the-counter supplements.

    Against the backdrop of aging populations in all the world’s wealthiest countries, all of the above implies a pretty solid foundation for expanding interest in 3D printed drugs over the long term. One variable that should determine the pace of the adoption curve is how the uniquely robust R&D landscape in the pharmaceutical industry responds to having greater access to 3D printers in the coming decade.

    If the CurifyLabs Series A round is any indicator, though, medical sector stakeholders seem to be quite convinced that the growth story for AM pharmaceuticals has room to run. At least in terms of VC for 3D printing, I think pharmaceuticals could rise more and more to the forefront over the next few years.

    Images courtesy of CurifyLabs

  • Arridex Opens Additive Manufacturing Omnifactory in Lagos for MRO & Spare Parts

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

    Now, the firm is opening its Omnifactory, a Lagos-based additive manufacturing facility.

    At a ribbon-cutting ceremony, the factory was opened by the Governor of Lagos State, along with local and international dignitaries. Meanile, Arridex CEO Kayode Adeleke spoke at the Invest Lagos 3.0 forum commemorating his firm’s move.

    Executive Governor of Lagos Babajide Sanwo-Olu said,

    ¨Today, I opened West Africa’s first multi-technology industrial additive manufacturing facility in Lagos. By producing industrial components and spare parts here in Lagos, Arridex is helping to reduce our dependence on imports, strengthening critical industries and supporting economic growth. I commend the Arridex team for their vision and commitment to building solutions that serve not only Nigeria but the wider African continent. Lagos will continue to support investments that create opportunities, grow local capacity and position our state as a hub for innovation and industry.¨

    Adeleke said,

    “We did not set out to build the biggest company, but a resilient one. For over two decades, we have chosen the harder path, and that is to make in Africa what others import, to meet global standards without exception, and to put purpose before profit. The Arridex Omnifactory is where that conviction becomes infrastructure. The name on the door is new, but the work behind it is not. We are not stopping here. By the first quarter of 2027, we will commission the Arridex Mega Omnifactory, which will stand among the largest single-site industrial additive manufacturing facilities in the world. The next chapter of global manufacturing can be written from Lagos. We are building it.”

    The Omnifactory will have FDM, LPBF, Cold Spray, and polymer LPBF capabilities, as well as large-format 3D printing. At the factory, the company hopes to engineer spare parts, reverse engineer components, make new components, and help with prototyping.

    Arridex got its start in oil & gas in 2005, and now works across demanding industries such as defense, maritime, and aerospace. During its history, the company has “zero lost-time incidents across more than seven million man hours of operations.”

    3D printed compressor coupling used in an industrial application. Image courtesy of RusselSmith.

    Certified by Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and working with the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), the Arridex Omnifactory is slated to become a keystone for Nigeria’s additive efforts. Nigeria has significant oil exports and a lot of energy infrastructure. Typically, a lot of consultants, engineers, and parts for these industries come from abroad. Therefore, any work that can be done in Nigeria would be a huge boon for the local economy.

    By tackling 3D printing locally, the Omnifactory could create high value jobs in the area. At the same time, it could help complete MRO jobs faster. Making parts quicker and easier to obtain will be a significant benefit for locally operating energy firms. Spills or stoppages are very expensive, and quicker solutions will make them all perk up. The Omnifactory therefore is an excellent addition. And building on to the company’s accomplishments in additive, the very idea of the Omnifactory is bound to bring in more business and interest. Practically, to have one place to build on making certified parts in several technologies is going to be great for Nigeria, the local oil and gas industry, and the region. Also, being the de facto producer of MRO parts for the energy and defense industries locally is an enviable stable business to be in. All around this is an excellent play, and I can’t wait to see what this firm will accomplish.