3D Printing News Briefs, September 11, 2025: Project Call, Auto Color Mapping, & More

We’re starting with America Makes news in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, as a new project call for continuous fiber AM was recently announced. Moving on, there are two stories out of Australia: startup Hyperion received a federal grant to scale up its modular, large-format AM platform, and the University of Sydney installed a MELD machine. Finally, 3DQue has announced a new tool in AutoFarm3D for Bambu Lab print farms.

America Makes & NCDMM Announce New AACAMS Project Call

America Makes and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) recently announced the Affordable and Agile Composite Additive Manufactured Structures (AACAMS) project call, worth a total of $450,000 in funding. The Department of Defense (DoD) has prioritized continuous fiber additive manufacturing (CFAM), as it can produce robust, lightweight, high-performance parts to support critical weapons. Funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, the project call asks participants to establish a set of easy-to-understand roadmaps and reports to “lay the groundwork” for the DoD and industry to invest in fully maturing CFAM so it reaches scale. The study, which includes any AM process that can deposit an unbroken fiber and polymer matrix into a 3D part, will help create a comprehensive understanding of the CFAM landscape, the attributes which need to mature, and technology gaps limiting adoption. The submission deadline is 5 pm EST on October 28, 2025, with the anticipated announcement of the award on November 28, 2025. Only one award is anticipated for the AACAMS project call.

“Today’s warfighter faces a dynamic landscape that demands increased speed, agility, and acute precision to effectively compete. This project serves as an opportunity to advance AM through a strategic roadmap to integrate AM technologies into production, accelerating defense resilience and the warfighter’s advantage. As an Institute, we are honored to lead projects like AACAMS that not only validate the transformative potential of AM but also afford the warfighter a decisive edge,” said John Martin, Additive Manufacturing Research Director at America Makes.

Hyperion Receives $385K Grant from Australian Government to Scale Platform

Western Australia (WA) startup Hyperion Systems has received a $385,000 matched-funding grant through the Government’s Innovation Growth Program for the purposes of commercializing and scaling its turnkey, large-format AM platform. The modular, industrial system is a self-contained robotic arm within a shipping container, and the startup says it can print parts up to 10 meters in length, including what it says was Australia’s first 3D printed boat hull. Using proprietary software and custom-built hardware, Hyperion developed a Large Format Additive Manufacturing (LFAM) with Fused Granular Fabrication (FGF), which prints thermoplastic pellet-based feedstock out of recycled plastic waste. Because of the platform’s integrated machining capabilities, Hyperion says parts can be printed and finished within a single setup, which lowers costs, speeds up turnaround times, and reduces waste. The grant will speed up the rollout of the startup’s Manufacturing-as-a-Service (MaaS) model, so businesses can lease and operate the mobile platform at their own locations.

“Companies can go from idea to full-scale production without waiting on tooling or overseas parts. We’re offering a smarter alternative, allowing companies to design, test and print within days, then scale when they’re ready,” said Hyperion’s Founder Josh Wigley, a 27-year-old robotics engineer.

“We’ve built a full-stack solution – hardware, software and materials – all developed here in WA. Our goal is to make high-quality, large-scale production accessible for any company, anywhere, without the overheads of traditional manufacturing.”

University of Sydney’s Manufacturing Hub Installs MELD Machine 

Speaking of Australia, MELD Manufacturing announced that the University of Sydney has purchased one of its metal 3D printers, which has since been installed at the Sydney Manufacturing Hub’s Metallurgical Facility for Solid State Additive Manufacturing. Here, Dr. Anna Paradowska and the rest of the team at the Hub R&D facility, which also recently installed a WarpSPEE3D printer, will operate the system for research into civil structures and hybrid manufacturing. Specifically, the team will focus on large-scale manufacturing, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in manufacturing, and using novel alloys and high entropy to repair civil structures, such as bridges; additional focus areas include bespoke features and architectural applications.

3D printers from MELD, based in Virginia, use its proprietary additive friction stir deposition (AFSD) technology to print metal alloys in solid-state with properties that the company claims exceed forging requirements. This is why the MELD printer was chosen for infrastructure repair and improvements. The university and the Sydney Manufacturing Hub will be collaborating with the University of Western Sydney, Monash University, and others for this research. Additionally, team lead Dr. Paradowska wants to create new experiences for the students, in hopes of bringing up the next generation of engineers experienced in emerging technologies, like LFAM.

3DQue Releases AMS Mapping for Bambu Lab Print Farms

Canadian technology startup 3DQue recently introduced a new feature in AutoFarm3D called AMS Mapping, which allows Bambu Lab users to automatically print multicolor files across the whole print farm without having to complete manual color mapping or reslicing. With the standard Bambu printer workflow, every multicolor print file is tied to certain AMS slots, and if one file is sent to a different printer, filament assignments must be manually confirmed on the touchscreen by the user, which is inefficient. AMS Mapping gets rid of these repetitive tasks for multicolor workflows and allows AutoFarm3D users to scale production with confidence. Using this tool, users only have to slice a multicolor file once, and the colors and materials are automatically mapped to the correct spools, no matter which slot number they’re in. Capabilities also include a centralized job queue, where files can be automatically routed and printed, filament level tracking, and color overrides—if you decide on a different color after your job has been queued up, you can override it straight from the queue, without having to use mapping or the touchscreen.

“Manual filament mapping works when you’re printing on one machine. But the moment you scale to multiple printers or add auto ejection, it becomes a bottleneck,” said 3DQue’s CEO Steph Sharp. “AMS Mapping makes AMS practical for scaling print farms.”

The new 3DQue feature for Bambu Lab even works when you’re using third-party filament.