Palm Leaves, Cold Compost: Hembased Brings Sustainable Filament to FDM
Hembased converts palm leaf waste into cold-compostable filament that degrades at 20–30°C within a year. Here's what the material actually delivers — and the context it's entering.
3D Printing Markets Hit $4.35 Billion in Q1 2026 — 13% Year-Over-Year Growth
The global additive manufacturing market grew 13.1% year-over-year in Q1 2026, driven by supply chain reshoring, defense initiatives, and a services segment growing at 16.9%.
Desktop UV Printers and 3D Printing Are on a Collision Course
UV printing brings full-color surfaces to objects 3D printing can't color. As desktop UV printers drop below $2,500, the two technologies are converging into a hybrid desktop manufacturing stack.
Insta360 Opens Luna Ultra to 3D Printing — With $11,160 in Prizes
Insta360 becomes the first camera brand with an official MakerWorld presence, releasing official Luna Ultra design files for a joint contest with Bambu Lab running through August 9.
BambuHelper Now Supports Round Displays, Smart Plug Power Monitoring, and Chamber Light Control
BambuHelper's latest update adds a 1.28" GC9A01 round display, Tasmota smart plug power monitoring with door-safe auto-off, and chamber light control — all flashed from the browser in one click.
CheapSpool: The Filament Pricing Aggregator Tracking 90+ Brands Across Three Regions
CheapSpool.com aggregates filament prices from 90+ brands across the US, Canada, and UK — updated daily, covering manufacturer storefronts and Amazon, with full affiliate link disclosure. Here's what it does and when it's worth using.
The Drone Industry Is Where 3D Printing Actually Works at Scale
AM Research pegs the drone 3D printing market at $140M in 2025, growing to $900M by 2034. Drones are already the largest production application for low-cost printers — here's why the fit is structural, not incidental.
Someone Reverse-Engineered Bambu's Per-Face Color Format. The Fix Is a Free Browser Tool.
A community developer has reverse-engineered Bambu Studio's proprietary per-face paint_color extension, built a browser tool that preserves multi-color assignments in 3MF exports, and published it free. Here's what that unlocks.
Bambu H2D Engineering Filament Without AMS: The Setup Guide for PET-CF and PA-CF
The Bambu H2D can print PET-CF, PA-CF, and other engineering filaments without AMS involvement — but the feed path requires specific modifications to prevent brittle filament breakage. Here's how to set it up correctly.
UCLA 3D Printed a Zinc-Ion Battery That Stores 7x More Energy — With a $300 Consumer Resin Printer
UCLA researchers used an Elegoo Mars 3 Pro to build a zinc-ion battery storing more than 7x the energy of comparable designs. Here's how 3D printing enabled the breakthrough and what it signals for grid storage.
Bambu H2D vs X2D for Your Home Office: Noise and Filtration Compared
If you're choosing between the Bambu H2D and X2D for a home office or living space, noise and air quality are the deciding factors—not print speed. Here's how they compare.
SLS 3D Printing Market 2026: HP and Formlabs Are Forcing Segmentation
The HP MJF 1200 and Formlabs X1 launches aren't just product news—they're splitting the SLS market into specialist niches, which means sharper choices for buyers.
3D-Printed Lithium Battery: Caltech's Cobalt-Free Cathode Redesign
Caltech researchers used 3D printing to rethink lithium-ion cathode geometry — eliminating cobalt and enabling faster ion pathways without requiring new battery chemistry.
OpenCAL Brings Layerless Volumetric 3D Printing to DIY Makers
OpenCAL is an open-source computed axial lithography build that prints inch-scale objects in about 3 minutes — no layer lines, no support structures, made from off-the-shelf parts.
HeyGears G1X: The First Desktop Machine Combining Full-Color 3D Printing and UV
HeyGears' G1X does something no desktop printer has before — full-color 3D printing, 3D texture, and 2D UV printing in one unit, with 10M+ colors at 1440×2400 DPI.
Bambu P1S with AMS2 Pro: Is the Upgrade Worth the Extra Cost?
The P1S with AMS2 Pro adds built-in filament drying and quieter mechanics. Here's who should pay the extra $100 and who should skip it.
What to Do With Opened Filament Rolls: A Practical Storage Guide for Bambu Printers
Moisture is the main enemy of filament shelf life. Here's how Bambu Lab users actually store partially used rolls to maintain print quality — from dry boxes to AMS integration strategies.
Bambu Smooth Build Plate vs. Textured PEI: Which One Actually Fits Your Prints
The Bambu community is split: switch to the smooth build plate and never look back, or stay with the textured PEI that works reliably for everything. Here's how to decide based on what you actually print.
Additive Manufacturing Is Growing Up: What Fathom's CEO Sees From 15 Years Inside
Fathom CEO Rush LaSelle says AM has finally reached the maturity it promised in 2010 — but the metric is reliability and qualification depth, not print speed. Here's what actually changed.
Zellerfeld Partners With Volumental to Bring Precision Foot Scanning to 3D Printed Shoes
Zellerfeld's investment in Volumental integrates 66 million foot scans' worth of fitting data directly into its 3D printing pipeline — addressing the precision gap that has limited custom footwear at scale.
Bambu Lab's 60,000 Daily Network Requests: What the Community Found and Why It Matters
A community member discovered their Bambu Lab printer generating 60,000+ network requests per day — reigniting the debate about cloud-connected printer architecture, data practices, and offline capability.
Prusament PLA High Speed: Up to 40% Faster Print Times for Rapid Prototyping
Prusa's new PLA High Speed filament hits 28 mm³/s volumetric flow and a tensile anisotropy coefficient of 0.60 — making draft prints faster and stronger without sacrificing surface finish.
2026 World Cup 3D Printing: What Fans and Clubs Are Building
The 2026 FIFA World Cup — 48 teams, 104 matches, 3 countries — is generating a wave of desktop 3D printing activity, from fan merchandise models to professional club marketing campaigns.
Five Airbrushing Techniques You Can Unlock With 3D-Printed Stencils
Prusa's guide to printing custom airbrushing stencils shows how FDM printing changes what's achievable in model painting — from preshading to faux raised detail, here's the complete technique breakdown.