3D Printing

Laser engraving custom graphics can elevate your craft projects to make them feel more polished and personalized. A new tool for the job that we've just come across – the Hanboost T1 – looks like a great entry point for beginners.

History is filled with the great being felled by the puny. Goliath and a pebble, Achilles and his heel, the ultra-fast 6G network and … walls. Researchers have now invented a cheap, 3D-printed solution that passively bends signals around barriers.

A research team at Chalmers University has come up with a new bio-derived material made from yeast. It can be used with 3D-printing technology to produce a construction material which can be modified specifically for the architectural field.

Europe's largest 3D-printed apartment building has been completed in France. Containing 12 social housing apartments spread across three floors, the project's printing process was carried out in just 34 days.

A patent filed in 1985 is being dusted off as a source of inspiration for a new 3D-printed triangular-shaped zipper that seamlessly fastens chairs, tents, robots and purses, making them simpler to pack and set up just with a press of a button.

In 2025, data centers consumed 485 TWh of electricity. 30% of that, more than the entire annual power consumption of Sweden, went to cooling. Scientists have developed a 3D-printed copper plate cooling tech that can slash this figure by over 90%!

The day is coming when you may walk past a robot and not know it was a robot. Engineering has given robots skeletons, brains, and senses. Muscles, however, have remained elusive. Researchers have developed a new muscle system involving 3D printing.

A desktop-sized 3D printer can now write working electronic circuits directly onto a broad range of surfaces without burning them. The secret is microwaves, focused with surgical precision onto a spot no wider than a human hair.

Australia's Hypersonix Launch Systems has made a historic launch of its next-generation DART AE hypersonic aircraft from Wallops Island, Virginia. Taking off aboard Rocket Lab's HASTE launch vehicle, the DART AE reached a top speed of Mach 8.

Described as Japan's first two-story 3D-printed home, the O House is inspired by cave structures. Built to meet the country's strict seismic requirements, it combines cutting-edge robotic construction with earthquake-resistant engineering.

There are all kinds of critical infrastructure lying underwater – road and rail tunnels, pipelines for oil and gas, dams, and more. Could we simply 3D print such projects beneath the surface of the ocean? Cornell University is about to find out.

This year has produced more than its fair share of fantastic buildings. From a house that was 3D printed using soil, to an upcoming megatall skyscraper, here's our selection of the best architecture from the past 12 months.