Additive manufacturing news and European prices, with independent expert commentary
Topics
Biocompatibility is not a property of a material, but an evaluation of a finished medical device for a specific contact and duration. ISO 10993, titanium versus PEEK, complication data and what to ask before anything goes into the body.
The four alloys that appear most often in the portfolios of metal AM system manufacturers. Data from more than fifteen manufacturers, independent laboratory verification and academic literature, side by side and with clear limitations.
Food-contact status is not a property of a material, it's a property of a finished part made through a proven, documented process. A certificate on a powder...
A qualified process does not mean every part is good. How the scope of verification follows the part's criticality, the three acceptance stages in ISO/ASTM 52901, and what is actually tested on the part.
Custom-made, patient-matched or adaptable? How the EU, UK, Switzerland, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, USA, Canada, Brazil, China, Japan and Australia regulate 3D printed implants, and why biocompatibility is always shown on the finished device.
A material is chosen by what the part has to withstand, not by its name. Environment, load, technology, certifications, and why datasheets often cannot be compared.
BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Volkswagen, GM, Ford, Daimler Buses, Porsche, Toyota and Honda are building their own additive manufacturing. What it means for...
Additive manufacturing rarely fails because of the machine today. It fails because nobody in the company understands design, materials, process, quality and...
Process qualification is proof that the same machine, with the same material and the same parameters, always produces the same part. What IQ, OQ and PQ cover, which ISO/ASTM standards describe the work, and where companies usually get stuck.
A factory profile is made for everyone, so it is optimized for no one. When it is enough, when it isn't, and how to tune and lock a profile for repeatable production.
TotalEnergies EP Denmark has put seven anti-surge valves into service with 3D printed nickel alloy disk stacks from IMI. The parts met DNV-ST-B203 AMC Level 3 and matched conventionally made nickel alloy components in testing. It is a documented case of laser powder bed fusion in a safety-critical sour-gas setting.
Horizon Microtechnologies is working to produce metal-coated 3D printed micro components for satellite radio frequency systems in larger quantities. After talks at European Microwave Week in London, the company reports growing interest in concrete applications and in solid qualification data. The focus is on antenna parts, where mass, geometry and electrical behaviour are closely linked.
Creatz3D in Singapore has supplied 600 sets of printed alumina lift pins to a major semiconductor foundry, after the parts passed production qualification for CVD chambers. The parts were made on 3DCERAM SINTO ceramic machines, and the full cycle took six weeks. It is a concrete example of ceramic additive manufacturing moving from prototypes into qualified series supply.
GKN Aerospace has received Nadcap accreditation for its laser wire directed energy deposition (L-DED-w) process at its Trollhättan site. The review covered process controls, procedures, personnel qualifications, equipment, and materials handling and traceability. The company expects it to speed up use of the process in full-scale aircraft production.
Researchers at Vellore Institute of Technology compared two auxetic lattice geometries printed in the same photopolymer resin, on the same printer and under the same compression test. The star-triangular cell carried far more load than the re-entrant hexagon, with peak forces of about 2,700 N against 660 N and roughly threefold higher energy absorption. The team used an ASTM D695 based procedure and a finite element model in Abaqus, which matched a published ABS simulation within about 3 percent. The authors suggest the hexagon for cushioning uses such as implants, footwear and padding, and the star design for strength and impact resistance. The study used only four specimens per design, so the authors call for larger test batches before drawing statistical conclusions. The work isolates cell shape as the variable, a question that resin printed lattice research has rarely addressed directly.
Rolls-Royce has placed a purchase order with Norsk Titanium for a structural Ti-6Al-4V part made with Rapid Plasma Deposition, a possible fit for current civil engine programmes. The part was printed in Norway and will be machined in Germany. Norsk is now an approved supplier for Rolls-Royce development work, but the order is exploratory and no series decision is attached.
Stratasys will unveil a new polymer system aimed at series production on 17 November at Formnext 2026 in Frankfurt, but has not yet named it or given specifications. The booth in Hall 12.1 will also show the F870 large-format FDM printer for the first time in Europe, along with tooling applications from Toyota and GM.
StandardFlow has launched an AI platform that compares a supplier's engineering documents with technical standards and flags compliance gaps. It starts with additive manufacturing in regulated sectors. The company argues that qualification is often held up by missing proof, not by the printing process.
The University of Turku has integrated a Schaeffler Aerosint multi-material recoater into its Aconity MIDI+ laser powder bed fusion system. Funded through the EUREKA AM4Plasma project, it will be used to study how different metals can be combined within one printed part, starting with plasma generator hardware.
A research team at Washington State University has applied artificial intelligence to a metal alloy that is hard to process in additive manufacturing. The aim is to print the alloy, GRCop-42, more economically and efficiently. The available report is only a short teaser, so details on the method, the machines and the results are not yet known.
A video test by Igor of My Tech Fun compared PC-ABS parts from a Stratasys Fortus 450mc with parts from a Prusa Core One L and a Bambu Lab H2D using Polymaker filament. The industrial parts were more dimensionally accurate, while the home prints looked better, and mechanical differences were mostly small.
Othisis, a two-year-old Indian startup, has carried out a stationary test-fire of a 5 kN rocket engine made with selective laser melting. The engine burns liquid oxygen and methane and is meant for a reusable vertical take-off, vertical landing vehicle. The test followed several failed attempts.
Stratasys has been awarded $7.8 million through the 2026 America Makes and Department of War Organic Industrial Base Modernization Challenge. The 24-month project will develop on-site quality assurance for the F3300 and F900 industrial FDM platforms. The aim is to generate process data during the build and so reduce reliance on post-build inspection and qualification.
Bambu Lab has released PLA Pure, a PLA filament made from five ingredients, each taken from the EU 10/2011 positive list for food-contact plastics. The material also carries UL 2904 GREENGUARD emissions certification and passed EN 71-3 toy safety testing. It costs 24.99 dollars with spool or 21.99 dollars as a refill.