Creality has introduced the Pika, a compact, battery-powered 3D scanner weighing about 260 grams that connects wirelessly to iPhones running iOS 15 or newer and Android 10+ devices, as well as laptops via cable or wireless link. It ships with rechargeable AA batteries, a tabletop tripod, and a manual turntable, and runs the same Creality Scan software used by the company's pricier Sermoon scanners. It is currently available for pre-order at $699.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-10-19
Software engineer and hobbyist Joshua Bird built and flight-tested a drone with only one motor, documenting the project in a YouTube video. The design uses a hinged propeller, rapid motor speed changes reacting in under 0.2 milliseconds, and custom flight-controller firmware to replace the swashplate and secondary propeller found in typical rotary-wing aircraft.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-10-19
The RepRap open-source hardware project has released details of the µRepRap, a 3D printer built from common materials capable of micron and sub-micron positioning. Its latest 'PIKA' V0.02 hardware achieves roughly 1μm repeatable positioning and 10μm accuracy within an 8mm cubic work volume, and has been used to deposit UV resin droplets as small as 4μm and cure 9μm resin lines using a fibre optic probe. An earlier 'MAUS' variant, now deprecated, reached about 5μm positioning over a 4mm square area and remains fully documented with build files on Printables.
github.com
· 2026-10-18
Formlabs unveiled the Form Studio 1, a $699 resin 3D printer designed for safer at-home use, paired with new resins formulated to reduce harmful fumes. The printer uses a 28-LED backlight system with individual lenses instead of the typical LCD setup, and loads resin via a cartridge system that tracks remaining material and allows swapping mid-print. Formlabs says it can print at 130mm per hour with its proprietary resin.
cnet.com
· 2026-10-14
Research cited on 3D printing safety shows filament printers release ultrafine particles and volatile organic compounds, with the EPA noting these can penetrate deep into the lungs. A 2026 test of 17 commercial filaments found ABS generally emitted more particles than PLA, though emissions varied by brand, nozzle temperature and additives. Separate lab tests exposing human airway cells to PLA and ABS printer emissions found signs of inflammation and cellular stress, while NIOSH warns uncured resin used in resin printers can cause skin reactions or asthma.
engadget.com
· 2026-10-11
San Diego County Counsel filed a civil lawsuit on October 5, 2026 in San Diego County Superior Court against Polymaker LLC, the Shanghai-based filament maker with U.S. operations in Houston. The complaint alleges Polymaker's marketing, including hiring 3D-printing figure Sean Aranda ("The 3D Print General") after his 2023 YouTube ban over firearms content, effectively turned its PLA filament into a regulated firearm precursor part under California law. The state seeks disgorgement of profits, civil penalties and injunctive relief.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-10-11
A team calling itself the Mach Initiative, made up of University of Bath graduates, has completed the maiden flight of the Kingfisher, a roughly one-meter RC aircraft built mostly from 3D-printed PETG and PET-CF with an aluminum skeleton. The plane is powered by a Jetcat P60 miniature jet turbine producing 63 N·m of thrust and reaching about 205 mph, following an earlier electric-fan prototype called the Kinglet used to test the design.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-10-10
Shenzhen Tuozhu Technology, Bambu Lab’s parent company, has filed a U.S. patent application for a redesigned heatbed that features a monolithic structure with an embedded heating element. The new design intends to provide more uniform heating and better adhesion, potentially addressing common print quality issues reported by users. Visual schematics suggest a machined channel within the bed for the heating element, replacing the traditional laminated heating sheet.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-10-08
Hoto has reduced the price of its cordless rotary toolkit from $49.99 to $29.99 on Amazon, offering a significant discount. The tool features a five-speed motor up to 25,000 RPM, a 2,000 mAh battery with 50 minutes of runtime, and includes 35 accessories for various tasks including sanding, polishing, and carving. It also has a built-in LED light and dust cover for safer, more precise work.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-10-07
MIT researchers developed a multimaterial 3D-printing platform that can process conductive and magnetic materials through four interchangeable extrusion tools to build an entire electric machine layer by layer. Using five materials, the team produced a fully functional 3D-printed linear motor in a few hours, requiring only one post-processing step, with performance matching or exceeding motors made through conventional manufacturing.
news.mit.edu
· 2026-10-05
Industry sources Prusa and Flashforge outline how infill density, set as a percentage in slicer software, affects 3D printed models. Prusa suggests 10 to 15 percent infill works for most prints, while Flashforge recommends starting at 20 percent, though both describe these as flexible guidelines rather than fixed rules.
engadget.com
· 2026-10-04
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is a widely used 3D printing method that builds objects layer by layer by melting thermoplastic filament and depositing it along paths defined by a CAD file. The printer repeats this layering process, which can take hours or days depending on the machine, settings and model complexity, until the object is complete. FDM supports a range of filaments including PLA, PETG, ABS, TPU, nylon, wood and metal composites, HDPE, and PETT.
engadget.com
· 2026-10-03
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