Editorials / Opinions
Asia AM Watch: Advantages to the Chinese Way of Doing Business
Timo Göbel, the Head of Additive Manufacturing at the BMW Group, spoke at the AM Forum in Berlin about industrializing additive. He had wise words to share, including that we…
The Additive Chicken Coop, Part IV: Lemmings
If we look at our past, we can see how making custom machines, incessantly watching ourselves, and our inability to rescope shaped our industry. We have also looked at the…
AM & the Military’s Self-Infliction of Rapid Change
I’ve noted before that the additive manufacturing (AM) market for defense has started to evolve so quickly that it’s impossible to even keep track of all the updates in real…
Tectonic 3D Takes Over Solvay 3D Printing Materials Portfolio
High-performance 3D printing materials company Tectonic 3D has bought the 3D printing materials portfolio of Solvay. The Syensqo portfolio, including PEEK AM Filament MS NT1, PEEK CF10 LS1, PPSU, NT1 HC,…
The Additive Chicken Coop, Part III: Bananas
A friend of mine, Ed Davis, once pointed out the level of strategic replication in additive. I wasn’t aware of it before and haven’t been able to unsee it since….
A Hilux for the Seas
With the US turning its back on exquisite, expensive military goods in favor of volume manufacturing of less expensive items, new strategies should come to the fore. But attritable $250,000…
Top DAWG & SAWC: $54 Billion Replicator Reborn
The Defense Autonomous Warfare Group (DAWG), also called the Defense Autonomous Working Group, may be funded to the tune of $55 billion. Overseen by Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, this…
The Additive Chicken Coop, Part II: Rescoping
When we previously looked at the Additive Chicken Coop, we saw how selling devices to labs shaped a lot of our industry. Here, we explore other key factors that have…
6K Energy Secures 7-Year Agreement to Supply CRG Defense with Battery Materials
Last year, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced a ban on certain components sourced from foreign suppliers, including Chinese firms, used in unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Meanwhile, the FY…
Surge Fulcrum: From Crafting the Exquisite To Forging Swarms at the Edge
If you are due to meet a member of the US government to pitch some 3D printing scheme or other idea, you’d do well to bring a copy of Freedom…
The Additive Chicken Coop, Part I: Million Dollar Petri Dishes
After decades of tinkering with our individual technologies, billions were poured into speculative claims and optimism. Now the attention is gone, and sometimes it can seem like we’re surrounded by…
Death Spiral (or The End of the Fairchild Republic)
Previously, I wrote about the disruption of US military power. Since then, events have required a reassessment. The US is clearly in decline, and a death spiral is occurring that…
HP’s MJF 1200 Targets Entry-Level AM — And Could Shift the Competitive Landscape
HP has launched an entry-level MJF solution, the HP Multi Jet Fusion 1200 3D Printer Solution, which will be available in 2027. What is the 1200 exactly? What does it…
Bryson DeChambeau Moving Forward and Backward With 3D Printed Clubs
In 2024, we wrote about golfer Bryson DeChambeau, who turned to 3D printing to make custom clubs for himself. Rather than find a big-name sponsor (he was temporarily without), he…
EOS Buys Metalpine, but What’s Behind the Move?
EOS has bought Austrian powder manufacturer Metalpine. EOS doesn’t buy companies often. And with increased competition from China & SLM, profligate spending doesn’t seem like it would be a good…
Our Industry’s Shipping Container Moment
The additive manufacturing industry likes to think of itself as disruptive, fast-moving, and future-oriented. In many ways, that is true. The technology works. The machines are better than ever. The…
3D Printing’s Chicken-and-Egg Problem: No Demand Without Scale, No Scale Without Demand
There’s a simple problem at the center of the 3D printing industry, and it hasn’t really gone away. Companies say they will invest in additive manufacturing when there is steady…
Metal Base & Scrap Labs Usher in an Ultra-Low-Cost Sub-$10,000 Metal LPBF Evolution
Above, an image of a part coming off the ScrapLabs Scrap 1. Dutch firm Metal Base started a low-cost metal LPBF revolution last month. An ultra-low-cost metal laser powder bed…
From Machines to Mindsets: Why Additive Manufacturing Education Must Start With Teaching, Not Tools
Additive manufacturing (AM) has reached a turning point in education. The question is no longer whether students should be exposed to 3D printing, but whether that exposure actually prepares students…
Asia AM Watch: China’s 5 Million-Printer Export Year Signals Desktop AM at Scale
For years, a lot of the discussion around China and additive manufacturing has focused on industrial competition. Can Chinese companies move into higher-end markets? Can they challenge Western machine makers…
The Convergence of Vision and Experience: AMS and AMUG
During the last few weeks, I spent time on the ground at both the Additive Manufacturing Strategies Forum (AMS) and the Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) meeting. What stands out…
Why Additive Manufacturing Adoption Looks the Way It Does — Part III
The development of additive manufacturing has closely tracked broader trends in industrial digitalization. Additive manufacturing is digital at its point of origin. Geometry, process parameters, and machine instructions are all…
Apple To Further Scale Up Additive Manufacturing?
Apple’s Apple Watch implementation is a shining example of additive manufacturing at scale. Apple now makes two watch cases and a port using additive. Now Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has stated that,…
AM Forum Berlin 2026: Tough Love From BMW’s Timo
We’re once again in the lovely city of Berlin, at the absolutely immense Estrel Center. The congress center, a musical and theater venue, towers over the easternmost reaches of the…
