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3D Printing

Desktop industrialization — printers, materials, and additive manufacturing workflows that actually ship parts.

170analyses
19blueprints
Oct 26updated
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Global Laser Box: A Metal 3D Printer Under $5,000

Global Laser Box says hundreds of its $4,988 metal 3D printer have shipped, with a crowdfunded GLB-M1 next. What buyers know and what is still missing.

· 3 min read · Analysis
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Bambu Lab H3C: Nine-Tool Changer Launches November 3

Bambu Lab's H3C tool changer launches November 3 with nine tools on a drop-down rack. What's confirmed, how it differs from the H2C, and what to wait for.

· 3 min

Creality K3: Four Nozzles for $849 to Cut Multi-Color Waste

The Creality K3 four-nozzle printer swaps nozzles instead of purging for $849. What KliTek changes for multi-color 3D printing, and what to check first.

· 3 min

Creality Pika Review: A $699 3D Scanner That Needs a Fast Phone

The Creality Pika 3D scanner review verdict: a 260g $699 scanner with excellent software for 3D printing copies, if your phone or laptop can keep up.

· 3 min

Sunlu AMS Lite Heater Review: Dry Filament While Your A1 Prints

Sunlu's $130 AMS Lite Heater encloses Bambu's AMS Lite to dry filament while printing. What Make: found, the mixed-spool catch, and who should buy it.

· 3 min

Meshy Edit: Fix One Part of an AI 3D Model Before You Print

Meshy Edit changes one region of an AI 3D model from a text prompt, then sends it to the slicer. What it fixes for makers, and the limits they'll hit first.

· 3 min

3D Printer Market Q2 2026: Industrial Up 40%, Desktop Saturating

3D printer market Q2 2026: industrial revenue rose 40% on drones and rockets while desktop exports hint at oversupply. What CONTEXT's data means for buyers.

· 3 min

Bambu Lab H2D Reliability at 4,000 Hours: What Owners Replaced

Bambu Lab H2D reliability after 4,000+ hours of production printing: owners list the fans, nozzles and servos that failed. What print farm buyers should stock.

· 3 min

Stratasys v. Bambu Lab: PTAB Rulings Cancel Claims, Not Damages

PTAB found claims in four Stratasys patents unpatentable, weakening its second Bambu Lab lawsuit while most of the $27.6M award stands. What changes next.

· 3 min

Formlabs Form Studio 1: A $699 Resin Printer Built for Indoors

The Formlabs Form Studio 1 is a $699 resin printer with GREENGUARD Gold air-quality certification, with conditions. What it offers and who should buy it.

· 3 min

Bambu Lab S1 3D Scanner: What FCC Filings Hint Before November

Bambu Lab's first 3D scanner, the S1, is due in November. FCC filings hint at a 60W wired design that may need a PC. What makers should watch for.

· 3 min

UniFormation S10: A Resin Printer That Washes and Dries Itself

The UniFormation S10 resin printer prints, washes and dries in one machine, from $999 on Kickstarter. What its automation solves, and the risks.

· 3 min

3D Printed Lab Equipment: €200 Mounts That Match €2,000 Gear

A Umeå University thesis shows 3D printed lab equipment, from sub-€200 rotation mounts to a sub-$350 biofilm rocker, can match commercial instruments.

· 3 min

Prusa HT Hotend: 400°C Turns the Core One Into a PPS-CF Printer

Prusa's $199 HT Hotend takes every Core One to 400°C for PPS, PPA, and carbon-fiber nylon. What it unlocks for 3D printing, what it can't, and who should buy.

· 3 min

Kickstarter's $29M 3D Printing Wave: Color, Fiber, and Metal Are Now Desktop Problems

Four Kickstarter campaigns raised $29M for desktop printers in 2026 — funding full-color printing, continuous fiber, and metal LPBF at consumer prices.

· 3 min

Bambu Lab and 7 Accessibility Organizations Are Asking 10 Million Makers to Solve Real Disability Challenges

24 design briefs sourced from actual users with disabilities. 618 prize slots including 24 Bambu Lab A1 Combo printers. Entry deadline: November 15, 2026.

· 2 min

Virginia Tech's Self-Repairing Liquid Metal Composite Can Be 3D Printed Into Circuits That Heal Themselves

Virginia Tech's gallium-indium composite restores conductivity after being cut and can be 3D printed into self-healing circuits. How it bridges breaks.

· 3 min

Sunlu i10 Filament Dryer Review: $180, Ten Spools, and PETG That Actually Stops Stringing

The $180 Sunlu i10 dries ten spools at once. After months of PETG, PLA, TPU, and PA testing, PETG stringing dropped sharply. Is this filament dryer worth it?

· 4 min

Snapmaker Launched Its Own Model Repository — Here's Why the Multicolor Focus Is the Real Differentiator

Snapmaker Space opens with 2,500 models and rewards for multicolor designs, aimed at Bambu's MakerWorld and tuned for the U1. Why multicolor is the real angle.

· 2 min

Bambu Lab's R1 Laser Cutter Applies the Same Calibration-Free Philosophy to a $2,499 CO2 Machine

Bambu Lab's $2,499 R1 CO2 laser cutter reuses its printers' sensors and auto alignment to skip calibration, cutting 18mm plywood and 20mm acrylic.

· 3 min

Creality's SPARKX i8 Claims Zero Purge Waste on 4-Color Prints — Here's How QuarTeks Actually Works

Creality's SPARKX i8 routes color changes into infill via a sub-1mm shared filament path, claiming zero purge on 4-color prints. How the QuarTeks system works.

· 2 min

Prusament PLA Lightweight Is 65% Lighter Than Regular PLA — By Foaming While It Prints

Prusament PLA-LW uses active foaming technology: heat activates additives that expand the extruded polymer, reducing part weight by up to 65% and making one kilogram print 2–3× as many models as standard PLA. Available in five colors at $56.99/kg. Print settings are specific: 0.45 extrusion multiplier, 230°C default, no retractions.

· 3 min

Stratasys Wins $27.6M Against Bambu Lab — Jury Finds Willful Infringement on 4 Patents

A Texas federal jury awarded Stratasys $27.6 million in damages after finding Bambu Lab willfully infringed four U.S. patents. The case was filed in August 2024 and reached verdict in September 2026 after a week-long trial. A second Stratasys patent case against Bambu Lab remains pending without a scheduled trial date.

· 2 min

TCT Shenzhen 2026: Dental Gets Its Own Forum, AI Design Tools Flood the Floor

The TCT Shenzhen 2026 preview maps what 80+ side events reveal about China's additive manufacturing market. Dental additive manufacturing gets a dedicated forum for the first time. AI-generated 3D design companies (Tripo AI, Meshy, DreamTech) are a major new category. Thermal management for AI hardware has emerged as a production application.

· 3 min

HeyGears Reflex RS Turbo: 4.5 Seconds Per Layer, 8K Amber Screen, and a New Resin Flagship

HeyGears expands beyond its full-color UV printing lineup with the Reflex RS Turbo — a resin 3D printer targeting high-precision detailed models at 4.5 seconds per layer via Dynamic Motion Algorithm 3.0, an 8K Amber Screen with 566:1 contrast ratio, and 2μm Z-axis accuracy.

· 3 min

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