Your daily 3D printing news in plain, simple words. Today: Bambu Lab’s H3C prints fine and thick layers side by side, AXILOOP’s eight-head desktop printer, lighter printed football helmet parts, a new light-based paste printing method, record-strong printed glass, more nylon parts for drones, and Stratasys’ 2030 green goals.
Top image: Bambu Lab H3C, press image from Bambu Lab.
1. Bambu Lab’s H3C can print fine and coarse layers side by side
Bambu Lab explained how its new H3C tool-changer lets a thin 0.2 mm nozzle and a thicker nozzle work on the same part, each with its own layer height. Small details like watch numbers get thin, smooth layers, while big flat areas print fast with thick ones. Bambu says it is the first printer you can buy that does this out of the box.
Source: Bambu Lab blog
Shop related: Mixed nozzles mean more hotends to keep in shape. Spare for your Bambu Lab: Hardened Steel Hotend 0.4 mm for Bambu Lab P1P, P1S, X1C & X1E →
2. AXILOOP shows a desktop printer with eight tool heads
Ahead of Formnext, AXILOOP showed the MC8, a desktop printer with eight separate tool heads, so one print can use up to eight colors or materials. The company says a tool swap takes about four seconds with the head already hot, which means much less filament wasted on purging. A Pro version adds a heated chamber for tougher materials.
Source: 3D Printing Industry
Shop related: Eight colors need eight spools. Stock up on easy-printing matte filament: Matte PLA Filament 1.75 mm, 1 kg →
3. Pellet-printed football helmet parts come out 30% lighter
Pollen AM and RHEON Labs 3D printed the shock-absorbing parts inside a football helmet, using plastic pellets instead of a mold. The printed parts are about 30% lighter and absorb hits at least as well as the molded ones. Skipping the mold can save up to about €150,000 in tooling and months of waiting.
Source: 3Dnatives
Shop related: Want soft, bouncy parts at home? Try flexible filament: TPU 95A Flexible Filament 1.75 mm, 1 kg, Black →
4. Northwestern’s new “DIAL” method prints thick pastes with light
Engineers at Northwestern University built a printing method called DIAL. It spreads thick, paste-like inks into thin sheets, then uses patterns of light to harden each layer. It mixes the speed and detail of resin printing with the wide range of materials that paste printers can use, and it doesn’t need extra support scaffolding.
Source: Northwestern University
Shop related: Light-cured prints can get messy. Keep your bench clean with a big nonstick mat: Large Silicone Mat 36 x 24", Nonstick for Resin & 3D Prints →
5. Tiny 3D prints turn into super-strong glass
Researchers at Germany’s KIT printed microscopic parts in a rubbery material, then heated them until only pure silica glass was left. The finished glass hit a record strength of about 6 GPa for this kind of tiny printing. They also tracked how the parts shrink and change color while baking, which can help make better micro lenses.
Source: 3D Printing Industry
Shop related: Fine details need clean, careful finishing. Our all-in-one kit helps: 3D Printer Tool Kit (trim, scrape, clean) →
6. Protolabs adds 50% more nylon printing for drone makers
Protolabs grew its HP Multi Jet Fusion printing capacity by half because drone, aerospace and defense companies keep asking for more parts. It now works with over 100 drone makers, who like strong, light nylon parts. The printing happens at its factory in North Carolina.
Source: 3D Printing Industry
Shop related: Printing tough nylon or carbon-fiber filament at home? Use a hardened nozzle: DLC-Coated Hardened Bimetal Nozzles 0.4 mm (5-Pack) →
7. Stratasys sets green goals for 2030
Stratasys says it will cut its own greenhouse gas emissions by 40% and its water use by 15% by 2030. It also wants at least 55% of its waste reused or recycled, up from 40% last year. In 2025 it already recycled or reconditioned about 357,000 kg of printing materials.
Source: 3D Printing Industry
Shop related: Recycle at home too: sort PLA and PETG scraps as you print: 3D Print Scrap Sorting Bin, 2-Compartment for PLA/PETG →
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