3D Printing News Briefs, October 21, 2026: Digital Twins, AI CAD Service, AR Smart Glasses, & More

In today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, America Makes announced the winners of its MIAMI Project Call, and AM Europe released a new report. Artec 3D launched its new Artec Twins software, and WeeklyVentures launched CADlingo 2.0. Finally, ENGO launched augmented reality smart glasses with 3D printed titanium temples.

America Makes Announces MIAMI Project Call Winners

America Makes and and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) have announced the winners of a Project Call. The Maturation Initiative for Additive Metals Interchangeability, or MIAMI, project call was launched in May, and is worth $12.4 million in funding from the Office of the Under Secretary of War, Acquisition & Sustainment, Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy, Industrial Base Resilience, Warfighting Investments, Resourcing, and Execution Office (OSW WIRE). The point of this one is to validate that it’s possible for metallic additive manufacturing (AM) materials to reliably replace the traditional alloys used in DoW weapon systems components, while reducing redundant testing and speeding up qualification. Teams will choose candidate parts, define the performance requirements, and generate validated data that shows their material either meets, or exceeds, critical properties of the legacy alloy it could replace.

Congratulations to the MIAMI Project Call winners and their project team partners:

• Project Lead: Northrop Grumman Corporation
  • Project Partner: Georgia Institute of Technology; Contextualize, LLC
• Project Lead: Fastech
  • Project Partners: Pacific Engineering, Inc.; Auburn University’s National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence (NCAME); Texas A&M University; Prime Tech Data Management; AML3D; Westmoreland Mechanical Testing & Research, Inc.

AM Europe’s Report Shows Priorities for Industrial AM Adoption

Last year, CECIMO, the European Association of Manufacturing Technologies, and nine national associations formed AM-Europe, a pan-European initiative representing over 700 companies to give the AM sector a single, strong voice at the EU level. This summer, it was formally launched as a dedicated European platform for AM. Now, AM-Europe is launching “Mapping European Additive Manufacturing Research Capabilities,” a new report that looks at how Europe can successfully turn research expertise into commercially viable production. The report covers digital technologies, materials, testing, and sector applications, and maps the capabilities that will best support industrial adoption of AM. Some of the findings show obstacles to adoption for smaller businesses, such as financing qualification and finding proper facilities. The report identifies several priorities in achieving the goal, including shared testing, stronger industry partnerships, and more accessible facilities.

“CECIMO monitors the European Additive Manufacturing sector and conducts an Additive Manufacturing survey to collect data directly from 3D printing companies that operate in the participating countries. It is a six-month survey that helps the industry record trend indications for key business areas, such as domestic business, AM exports, orders by type of material, client industry demand and trend investment.”

You can read a short summary of the report here, and sign up to get the full report here.

Artec 3D Launches New Artec Twins Software Platform

Luxembourg-based Artec 3D has launched its latest 3D scanning software, Artec Twins, specifically meant for digitizing large-scale environments at high speed and scale. It was first conceived for the company’s SLAM-based Artec Jet LiDAR scanner for mapping at scale, but the platform has moved beyond just that one system. Artec 3D is known for building precision into 3D capture, and Artec Twins applies this at a landscape scale, with just one platform for processing and rendering billion-point environments, like cities, heritage landmarks, and construction sites, at up to 200 frames per second, into a presentable, measurable digital twin. It supports multi-source data fusion, so data can be imported from drones, smartphones, any Artec 3D scanner, and even satellites, and then exported to an industry standard third-party software of your choice. Artec 3D built the platform on the foundations of Artec Studio, and also features Gaussian Splatting, built-in analysis tools, and specialized algorithms for working with large-scale 3D datasets. Additionally, users can work with meshes, point clouds, or Gaussian Splats, switching between photorealism and precision measurement in one platform.

“Most existing solutions ask users to compromise. Either they support handheld 3D scanning, SLAM-LiDAR, or aerial capture – but not all of the above. Many also require dedicated workstations or third-party tools. Artec Twins offers a complete solution for handling incredibly large datasets, without any trade-offs in speed, accuracy or scale,” said Art Yukhin, President & CEO of Artec 3D.

“We’ve built a market-leading engine that handles the largest point clouds imaginable without decimation or latency. It’s geometry first, so the measurement is always right, and beside it, we offer superior visualization for presentation, drawn from the very same data. That’s the Artec advantage: a digital twin you can both measure and present.”

Artec Twins is now available for purchase, either through the Artec 3D website or Artec 3D’s global reseller network.

WeeklyVentures Launches CADlingo 2.0 AI CAD Service

A year after launching an early version of its browser-based AI CAD service CADlingo, WeeklyVentures has released CADlingo 2.0, which has a few helpful updates. The AI CAD service basically turns natural-language descriptions into editable 3D models, using parametric modeling and STEP export, as opposed to mesh-based 3D generation. The idea is to simplify the path from a user’s design intent to an editable CAD file, and this new version adds multi-part modeling and individual part export, and makes the modeling workflow simpler. Users are able to inspect components individually, generate models with multiple parts, and download individual parts, or the complete model. The updated service also asks questions when it needs design clarification, and moves clear, easy-to-understand requests right into model generation. Additionally, users are able to directly adjust exposed parameters, and request design changes using natural language. There’s no need to install any software, as everything takes place in the browser.

“Our mission is to transform the design process so makers, engineers, product planners, and founders can turn their ideas into prototypes faster. Our long-term vision is a universal development environment that turns human intent into real products,” said WeeklyVentures CEO Sangmin Lee, also a frequent 3DPrint.com freelancer.

CADlingo 2.0 is available in beta, and users can try CAD generation and export STL files at no charge; eligible paid plans are available for STEP export.

engo Titanium AR Smart Glasses with 3D Printed Temples

ENGO, a Grenoble-based specialist in augmented reality (AR) smart glasses for running and cycling, has launched engo Titanium, a limited edition pair of AR glasses that weighs just 28.9 grams, and features 3D printed titanium temples that can adjust horizontally and vertically. Cyclists and runners wearing these glasses can see in their field of vision personal metrics, like pace, heart rate, and cadence, in real time, thanks to ActiveLook Light AR technology. The AR glasses come with a companion app, which allows you to customize the interface. engo Titanium glasses also integrate widgets that enable users to follow structured workouts, and adjust their pace, without having to look away from the road. A double tap sensor gives you control, and the glasses connect via Bluetooth Smart (BLE); compatibility for Garmin and other ActiveLook devices is also available. To focus more on comfort and battery life (24+ hours minimum per charge), and make the glasses as lightweight as possible, ENGO left out features like AI, audio, and camera. Making the temples out of 3D printed titanium also helped in this endeavor.

“With engo Titanium we redefine what it means to wear performance glasses. Our design is so light and seamless that athletes forget they’re even there while still delivering the most relevant data, anticipating their needs, and keeping them fully focused. For an endurance athlete or road cyclist, we believe that means the right information in your field of view, exceptional comfort and enough battery life to forget about the technology altogether,” said Éric Marcellin-Dibon, Co-founder at ENGO.

The limited edition, available exclusively from engoeyewear.com, engo Titanium is available in Azure, Shift, and Silver variants. The classic version costs EUR €599, USD $689.95 or GBP £489.95, while the photochromic version is EUR €649, USD $759.95 or GBP £549.95.