3D Printing
3D printing, or additive manufacturing, has advanced rapidly to enable the production of everything from tiny screws to engine components to entire houses ... and it's only just getting started. Keep up with the latest developments here.
Latest News
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Tusk-free ivory substitute can be 3D printed into complex shapes
The ivory trade has been banned for over 30 years now, which means that technicians restoring ivory artifacts have to get creative in finding alternative materials. A new 3D-printable substance known as Digory appears to fit the bill nicely. -
Moving bed designed for faster, more cost-effective 3D printing
When objects are being 3D printed, they often have to include supportive structures that are subsequently discarded. A new print bed, however, is designed to eliminate the need for such structures, thus reducing both waste and printing time. -
Plybot 3D printer swaps conventional tech for robotic arms
On most consumer 3D printers, the print head moves by sliding horizontally along rails, and vertically along rods. The Plybot is different, though, in that it "holds" its head in two robotic arms. -
Desktop hologram printer produces custom 3D motion art at home
Holograms are one of those sci-fi promises that always seem to remain just out of reach. Now a former MIT Media Lab researcher is crowdfunding a desktop 3D hologram printer that can create images that pop out in 3D, and even appear to move. -
New 3D printing tech changes objects' shapes by moving build platform
Ordinarily, if you want to change the shape in which an object is 3D-printed, you have to alter the computer model that tells the printer what to do. A new and simpler technique, however, allows the printer to initiate the changes itself, as the print job is in progress. -
Photosynthetic printing material gets stronger with exposure to light
As a seedling matures into a tree, its trunk and branches become stiffer and stronger. Scientists have now replicated this effect in a photosynthesis-assisted 3D-printing ink, made partially from spinach. -
Morphing nozzle controls fiber orientation in 3D-printed items
The embedding of fibers within 3D-printed objects can be used to add properties such as electrical conductivity or extra strength to those items. Now, a shape-changing print nozzle has been developed to vary the orientation of those fibers – as the printing is in process. -
Hybrid 3D printing technique produces liquid-filled objects
Ordinarily, if you want to make a 3D-printed liquid-filled object, you have to inject the liquid after the object has been printed. A new process, however, allows such items to be printed in one step – and it could have some valuable applications. -
Review: Doodling in three dimensions with the 3Doodler Pro+
We've been following the WobbleWorks developments since the first Kickstarter in 2013, even raising our doodles off the page on a number of occasions. The professional-grade Pro+ went on sale at the end of October, and we've been giving it a whirl. -
MIT develops a variable-gloss 3D printer
While "traditional" objects may exhibit varying degrees of glossiness in different areas, 3D-printed items are typically uniformly shiny all over. That could be about to change, however, thanks to a new printer designed at MIT. -
Carbon nanofibers boost the hardness of 3D-printed aluminum
While 3D-printed aluminum parts are becoming increasingly common in the aerospace industry, any weaknesses in those parts can cause them to fail catastrophically. A new additive could help, by making the aluminum 1.5 times harder. -
Meltio Engine transforms any CNC machine into a hybrid 3D print system
The Meltio Engine giveth, and it taketh away. It's a production-grade manufacturing system that attaches to any CNC machine or robot arm, and it allows you to add metal through laser deposition, and then shape and refine it through CNC in one step.