3D Printing - Additive Manufacturing

Latest 3D Printing Metal 15 hours ago

CSEM and Almatech Print Shape Memory Alloy Shock Absorber for Reusable Landing Gear

CSEM and Almatech 3D printed a nickel-titanium lattice shock absorber that recovered its shape over 24 landing cycles, pointing to reusable lander legs.

By 3DPrinting.com News · 2 min readRead article

Nagami Takes Robotic 3D Printing With Recycled Plastic From the Pompidou to Dior

From a chair for the Centre Pompidou to stores for Dior and Ecoalf, Spain's Nagami prints large recycled plastic parts with its own... read more »

News

University of Alberta Student Club 3D Prints Assistive Devices for Everyday Tasks

Layer By Layer, a University of Alberta club founded by occupational therapy student Vianna Aiello, has 3D printed and donated more than 100... read more »

News

University of Turku Adds Multi-Material Metal Printing Capability

A new recoater lets University of Turku researchers place three metal powders in one layer, starting with parts for plasma generator hardware.

News

South African Artist Spends 700 Hours on Resin 3D Printed Whale Sculpture

Illustrator Nico Meyer split a whale into dozens of resin printed parts, then sanded, painted and lit them into one mixed-media sculpture.

News

Weta Workshop 3D Prints Alexander Skarsgård’s Woven Body for “Wicker”

Weta Workshop built Alexander Skarsgård’s wicker husband costume from 50 laser-sintered elastomer pieces on a spandex suit, with no real straw involved.

News

“REA for Objects” print3d Lets AI Agents Reverse Engineer Things Into Bambu Lab Prints

Marco Franzon's open-source print3d plugin has AI agents model parts in Blender from a photo or idea, check them and slice them in... read more »

News

Nebula Shows Early 3D Printed Motor Stator From Its Electronics Fabricator

Startup Nebula has shown an early 3D printed motor stator from its multi-material inkjet Fabricator, though the clip shows no rotor or test... read more »

News

NTU Singapore Develops Nontoxic Photoinitiators for Safer Resin 3D Printing

NTU Singapore researchers have made nontoxic photoinitiators that could replace TPO and BAPO, resin ingredients now being banned in the EU.

News

SUTD Researchers 3D Print Polymer Color Routers for Brighter Low-Light Photos

Singapore University of Technology and Design researchers have 3D printed polymer color routers that steer light to sensor pixels instead of absorbing it.

News

MIT Software Embeds Sensors in 3D Printed Lamps, Gloves and Toys

MIT and Tianjin University software embeds sensors in 3D printed hinges. The objects can sense motion along up to three axes.

News

Reviews

Hands-on tests of the printers and scanners worth your money.

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Laser engraver · Hands-on review

Hands-On Review: Creality Falcon A1C Enclosed Laser Engraver

Verdict: A genuinely beginner-friendly enclosed laser that delivers real results on day one, but the camera setup is opaque and the autofocus has a blind spot that can cost you a project.

Pros

Truly beginner-proof out of the box — first usable results on day one
AI camera makes design placement fast and reliable once connected

Cons

Camera connection process is invisible and poorly documented, costing the reviewer a month

$647

Price at time of review

Check price Read review

By Robert Dehue · Updated Oct 7, 2026

AI 3D modeling tool Meshy 7 Meshy 7 reliably turns character drawings into printable, recognizable multicolor pawns, though edge cases like multi-view disagreement and…

3D scanner Revopoint MetroY Pro The MetroY Pro improves on the MetroX with faster scanning speeds, wireless mobility, and better results on difficult… $1,495.00

3D scanner Revopoint MetroX The Revopoint MetroX delivers metrology-grade accuracy with versatile blue laser and structured light scanning modes, though it takes…

Resin 3D printer Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra A capable and affordable resin printer that delivers successful prints on the first attempt, suitable for beginners and… ~$269

Buyer's guides

Our top picks for every budget and use case, kept up to date.

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3D printers

3D printers

Best 3D Printers 2026: Buyer’s Guide

A category-by-category ranking of the best 3D printers you can buy right now, tracking every significant printer launch across all major categories.

Top pick: Budget FDM Elegoo Centauri Carbon

Top pick: Mid-range FDM Bambu Lab P2S

Winner: Resin Saturn 4 Ultra 16K

Updated Oct 2026 12 picks across 6 categories

Resin

Best Wash and Cure Stations for Resin 3D Printing (2026 Guide)

Every resin 3D print needs washing to remove surface resin and UV curing to fully harden the model. A dedicated wash and cure station handles both steps automatically.

Best overall Elegoo Mercury Plus V3.0

Best budget Anycubic Wash and Cure 3

Best separate units Elegoo Mercury XS Bundle

Updated Aug 2026 6 picks across 6 categories

Filament

Best PLA Filament in 2026: Tested Picks for Every Grade

Finding the best PLA filament in 2026 is less about avoiding bad spools and more about matching the right grade to what you print.

Best overall Polymaker PolyLite PLA

Best value in bulk Bambu Lab PLA Basic

Best premium Prusament PLA

Updated Jun 2026 11 picks

Filament

Best Composite Filaments for 3D Printing (2026)

Composite filaments add a reinforcing filler to a thermoplastic base, shifting printed parts toward sharper stiffness, matte surfaces, and reduced warping.

Best CF-PLA Bambu Lab PLA-CF

Best CF-PETG colorFabb XT-CF20

Best CF-ASA Fiberon ASA-CF08

Updated Jun 2026 5 picks across 5 categories

3D printers

3D printers

Best 3D Printers for Beginners 2026

A beginner 3D printer should print straight out of the box and not require a weekend of forum threads before the first model comes off the bed.

Best overall Bambu Lab A1

Easiest first printer Bambu Lab A1 mini

Best on a tight budget Creality Ender-3 V3 SE

Updated Oct 2026 19 picks

Scanners

Best Small Format 3D Scanners 2026

This guide breaks down 13 scanners across Revopoint, 3DMakerpro, Shining3D, and Creality, covering jewellery, coins, miniatures, dental models, and small mechanical parts.

Best overall small-format Revopoint MINI 2

Best for fine detail 3DMakerpro Seal

Best budget precision 3DMakerpro Seal Lite

Updated Jul 2026 13 picks

3D printers

Best 3D Printer Enclosures 2026

This guide covers every meaningful category across both FDM and resin printing, from budget fabric tents through premium insulated enclosures, rigid acrylic cabinets, and full furniture-grade workstations.

Best budget tent Creality Official 3D Printer Enclosure

Best premium tent Wham Bam HotBox

Best rigid enclosure VEVOR Acrylic 3D Printer Enclosure

Updated Jun 2026 6 picks across 6 categories

Filament

Best STL Repair & Editor Tools for 3D Printing 2026

STL repair software is what you reach for the moment a model turns up red in your slicer, refuses to load, or prints with a gaping hole where a wall should be.

Best free repair Microsoft 3D Builder

Best repair + editing Meshmixer

Best free editor Blender

Updated May 2026 8 picks

Nagami Takes Robotic 3D Printing With Recycled Plastic From the Pompidou to Dior

University of Alberta Student Club 3D Prints Assistive Devices for Everyday Tasks

University of Turku Adds Multi-Material Metal Printing Capability

South African Artist Spends 700 Hours on Resin 3D Printed Whale Sculpture

Weta Workshop 3D Prints Alexander Skarsgård’s Woven Body for “Wicker”

“REA for Objects” print3d Lets AI Agents Reverse Engineer Things Into Bambu Lab Prints

Nebula Shows Early 3D Printed Motor Stator From Its Electronics Fabricator

NTU Singapore Develops Nontoxic Photoinitiators for Safer Resin 3D Printing

SUTD Researchers 3D Print Polymer Color Routers for Brighter Low-Light Photos

MIT Software Embeds Sensors in 3D Printed Lamps, Gloves and Toys

Hands-On Review: Creality Falcon A1C Enclosed Laser Engraver

Meshy 7 Review: From a Designer’s Drawings to Four-Color Board Game Pawns, With No Modelling Skills

Hands-On Review: Revopoint MetroY Pro 3D Scanner

Hands-On Review: Revopoint MetroX 3D Scanner

Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra Review – A Perfect Choice for Beginners

Featured products

Skoda Releases Free 3D Printable Car Accessories on Printables

Nikon SLM Solutions and Bosch 3D Print Complete V8 Engine Block as a Single Piece

Apollo’s New $4M Supercar Gets a 3D-Printed Titanium Exhaust That Takes 123 Hours to Print

University of Alberta Student Club 3D Prints Assistive Devices for Everyday Tasks

Milan Researchers Turn Soybean Waste Into 3D Printable Skin Repair Material

NTU Researchers 3D Print a Bone Scaffold Timed to How Injuries Heal

Nagami Takes Robotic 3D Printing With Recycled Plastic From the Pompidou to Dior

Rowan Engineers Monitor 3D-Printed Concrete by Analyzing Images in Reverse

ETH Zurich Will 3D-Print Sandstone to Study Why Historic Stone Shells Off

Aerotex Certifies a Printed Water Scoop for the CL-415

Plane Support Wins Approval to 3D-Print Cabin Ducts for Bushfire Helicopters

ORNL and Boeing 3D-Print a Nearly Two-Ton Mold for Aircraft Parts

Nike Air Works Adds 3D Printed Slip-On from LA Creative Masyn

Almaty Designer’s Glue Free Sneaker Uses 3D-Printed TPU Sole

Issey Miyake Eyes Introduces 3D Printed Sunglasses with Eight Concave Lenses

Florida Firm 3D Prints Military Drone Boat Using Robotic Arms

3D Systems’ Saudi Joint Venture NAMI Wins Military Manufacturing License

Marines 3D-Print Coast Guard Replacement Part in Hours During South Korea Exercise