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The Verge's Sean Hollister says he tested the Bambu Lab P2S Combo 3D printer for a year alongside competing machines, logging 6,770 hours of print time across four printers and producing 40,000 whistles for ICE whistleblowers in the process. He names the P2S Combo, currently discounted to $649 through December 1st from its usual $749, as the printer he would personally buy.
German startup Orbital Matter says its Replicator-2 satellite used an onboard 3D printer to extrude and UV-cure a half-meter rigid plastic beam while in orbit, a process the company likens to mixing cement and water. The satellite, launched on a SpaceX rideshare this summer, carried four such printers, though one of two units meant to deploy a flexible solar array failed due to an anomaly.
Bambu Lab has launched the H3C, a large-format 3D printer equipped with nine separate nozzles that can print different colors, materials and filament sizes simultaneously. The machine starts at $2,500 and ships with Bambu Lab's Automated Material System built in as a required component rather than an optional add-on. A CNET reviewer who has used it for several weeks reports it is large and tall but straightforward to set up with help from a second person.
Bambu Lab has unveiled the H3C, a $2,499 home 3D printer that uses a 'Swaptek' toolchanger system to switch between nine different print heads in six seconds. The printer can load nine spools of filament at once, letting users combine colors, mix rigid and flexible materials, or blend different nozzle sizes within a single print job, though it still deposits only one material at a time.
Anycubic has announced an exclusive collaboration with Thingiverse, allowing it to share select STL files from the repository directly with users on its MakerOnline platform. Anycubic will convert chosen models from STL to 3MF format and adapt some for multicolor printing, aiming to simplify preparation for compatible printers like the Kobra X. Thingiverse CEO Romain Kidd said designers must opt into the program and that creator rights and licenses will be respected.
A consumer tech roundup examines how entry-level FDM 3D printers, starting around $170 with filament costing roughly $20 per kilogram, can produce parts and accessories more cheaply than buying them retail. It notes that libraries and maker spaces also offer printer access for those who don't want to buy one, and that pricier resin-based printers (SLA/DLP) or powder-based SLS machines suit projects needing finer detail.
Rivian and Ford are increasingly using 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, to produce vehicle parts, assembly tools and R&D testing units. Rivian says it has invested more than $5 million in 3D-printing machines and spends roughly $1.7 million annually on materials, with executive Jared Beck saying the equipment typically pays for itself within a year.
Bastian Recha, known online as Unskilledcast, posted a demo on X of Mausstudio, software that imports an STL file of a mouse PCB and automatically detects button switches, scroll wheel, sensor, and screw hole locations to build a custom printable shell around them. Recha says the tool runs entirely locally using mathematical algorithms rather than AI, and is still a work in progress. The demo used PCBs from a Razer Viper V2 Pro and a Zaunkoenig M2K, and showed adjustable dimensions, hump placement, weight-reducing cutouts, and a customizable battery shelf.
Formlabs has introduced the Studio 1, a $699 resin 3D printer, alongside its Form Wash accessory for post-processing printed parts. Form Wash automatically agitates and cleans parts in IPA or similar solvents, then lifts them out to air dry, and works with all Formlabs desktop SLA printers.
Peripheral maker Drakong, part of HyperKin, has announced the InfinaKore Fender Telecaster guitar controller ahead of RedOctane Games' upcoming rhythm game Stage Tour. The modular controller lets owners 3D-print and swap custom body and headstock parts, and features hot-swappable Kailh Choc switches, membrane frets, hall-effect strum and whammy bars, a foldable neck, and tri-mode connectivity. It will retail for $129.99 / €129.99 / £119.99.
A CNET reporter tested Google's newly released Gemini 3 Pro model by asking it to build an application for designing 3D-printable objects. Within about 18 hours of conversation-based iteration, the AI produced a working app that let him generate and refine cosplay armor pieces like greaves, pauldrons and vambraces, which he then printed himself.
Liu et al., writing in Nature, describe an additive-manufacturing technique that produces single crystals of metals in a wide range of shapes and sizes, including complex geometries not achievable with existing crystal-growth methods. The process builds crystals layer by layer, similar to 3D printing, and can be carried out using equipment that is already commonly available.