Additive Manufacturing & 3D Printing
- Exponential Industry
- Technology Area
- 9 Milestones
Layer-by-layer fabrication of parts from polymers, resins, or metals, including vat photopolymerization (SLA), fused filament fabrication, and powder-bed fusion. Desktop and industrial machines now combine multi-material toolchanging, closed chambers, and in-process sensing. Vendors include Formlabs (resin SLA/SLS) and Bambu Lab (FFF with automatic hotend/printhead changing).
Hidden Factory
Additive Manufacturing & 3D Printing
Bambu Lab / Tuozhu printhead-holder patents published
Shenzhen Tuozhu Technology (Bambu Lab parent) applications CN122560412A and CN122560413A, titled Holder and 3D Printer, were filed Jun 30, 2026 and published Aug 14, 2026. They describe a tool head depositing and retrieving a replaceable printhead; CN122560413A claims priority to Nov 6, 2025. Inventors Chen Tianyi, Chen Peng, Xiong Xianwu, and Liu Xin. Secondary coverage says drawings show a nine-bay rack and a hotend-only swap (extruder stays on the toolhead). Patent publication is not a product announcement /3Druck.com/ /3DPCC/.
SyBridge Technologies Acquires Operating Assets of Fast Radius in Section 363 Sale
Crestview Partners-backed SyBridge Technologies completed the acquisition of substantially all operating assets and Cloud Manufacturing OS software of Fast Radius for approximately $15.9 million through a Section 363 bankruptcy sale /PR Newswire / Crestview Partners/ /Lincoln International/.
Fast Radius Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Following Cash Depletion
Fast Radius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware nine months after going public, citing constrained cash proceeds from SPAC redemptions and high operating expenses /WSJ/ /Engineering.com/.
Fast Radius Completes $1.4B SPAC Merger with ECP Environmental Growth Opportunities
Fast Radius completed its de-SPAC business combination with ECP Environmental Growth Opportunities Corp. (NASDAQ: ENNV / FSRX) at a $1.4 billion enterprise value, though over 90% of public shareholders redeemed shares /Nasdaq Press Releases/ /WSJ/.
World Economic Forum Names Fast Radius Global Lighthouse Factory
The World Economic Forum designated Fast Radius as one of the world's first nine 'Lighthouse Factories', highlighting its digital Cloud Manufacturing OS and distributed industrial 3D printing architecture as a benchmark for Industry 4.0 /World Economic Forum/.
MIT Mechanosynthesis Lab Demonstrates High-Speed Laser-Assisted Desktop 3D Printer
MIT Mechanosynthesis Lab researchers led by Professor A. John Hart and Jamison Go unveiled a high-speed desktop 3D printer capable of 10x extrusion speed using laser-assisted filament preheating and a screw drive /MIT News / MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering/.
OSHA Enacts Comprehensive Occupational Beryllium Standard
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published 29 CFR 1910.1024, slashing the 8-hour PEL for airborne beryllium to 0.2 µg/m³ to protect aerospace and industrial workers from Chronic Beryllium Disease /Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)/.
Carbon Unveils Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP) in Science
Joseph DeSimone and the Carbon team published their landmark Science paper and demonstrated CLIP technology live at TED, proving continuous layer-less photopolymerization up to 100x faster than traditional 3D printing /Science/ /Carbon, Inc./.
Greg Mark Founds Markforged to Pioneer Continuous Fiber 3D Printing
Greg Mark founded Markforged in Waltham, MA, inventing Continuous Fiber Reinforcement (CFR) to produce composite parts with aluminum-level tensile strength directly from CAD /Markforged/.