Now, RIC Robotics is announcing that it has followed up on that 2024 project with an ADU in Sacramento, which is the first permitted 3D printed building in California’s capital city. The build was executed by K4k Construction, a local company aiming to leverage AC hardware to help customers reimagine what to expect from the construction industry.

In that vein, K4k has put its money where its mouth is: the build actually took place on property owned by the company’s founder and CEO, David Gonzalez, and his wife, Estelle, an engineer at K4k. According to RIC, K4k completed the build of the wall system for the 1200 square foot dwelling in just 12 days, with the home destined for Estelle’s parents.

The news comes right after RIC Robotics announced that, along with partners in Colorado, it has begun work on a unique community in the state that will include dozens of 3D printed homes — what RIC Robotics is calling the first standalone metro district built with the latest generation of advanced construction technologies. RIC Robotics is also the company whose hardware is behind Alquist’s collaboration with Walmart, rounding out the diverse range of venues where its technology is being showcased.

In a press release about K4k’s use of RIC Robotics’ AC hardware to build an ADU in Sacramento, David Gonzalez, the co-founder and CEO of K4k, said, “When we decided to build this home, it wasn’t simply about trying a new construction method, it was about proving that innovative technology can deliver high-quality, code-compliant housing while helping address some of the biggest challenges facing our industry. Building this home for our own family gave us complete confidence in technology, and reaching this milestone reinforces our belief that autonomous construction is a practical solution that can help shape the future of homebuilding.”

First off, is David Gonzalez not the son-in-law of the year? As for the project itself, I think it’s a pretty genius idea. Aside from everything Joris wrote about AC for ADUs in 2024, this specific build gives K4k instant credibility with potential customers.

Moreover, putting the project right in Sacramento, maximizing its visibility and accessibility to state lawmakers, is good marketing, but it’s equally important in terms of the precedent it sets for the permitting process going forward. As I noted in the post on the in-progress community in Colorado, one of the ways that AC could benefit from changing federal policy on affordable housing is by a streamlined permitting process for builders working from a catalog of pre-approved designs.

Ziyou Xu, the founder of RIC Robotics, said, “This project demonstrates that autonomous construction has moved beyond experimentation into real-world residential development. By successfully delivering a permitted residential project, we’re demonstrating how robotics can help builders meet growing housing demand more efficiently while maintaining the quality and standards homeowners expect.”

Now that this home has officially been permitted in the capital, counting as at least the second 3D printed ADU in California, state lawmakers there have a pre-approved design validated multiple times that they can reference in aligning California policy with federal policy on affordable housing. A proof of concept is one thing, but a proof of concept that has been permitted, in this context, is the genuine beginning of commercial viability.

RIC Robotics may be the character foil that ICON needs in order to stay motivated. I like that the two companies, in addition to providing such different technologies, also seem to have fairly different business models. If it is indeed in the process of reinventing itself, the construction industry needs as many different viable solutions on the table as it can get right now.

Images courtesy of K4k

The Q1 2026 reports cover ceramic, metal, and polymer 3D printers, as well as materials and services. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the sequential total market size was $4.29 billion. According to the data, the 3D printing markets totaled $4.35 billion in the first quarter of 2026. The reports also show that there was year over year total market growth of 13.1%.

“Q1 2026 mostly continued the growth trend for AM, continuing to ride the train of global supply chain reorganization and government-backed defense and national security initiatives where the traditional means of production may not be able to provide fast enough solutions,” said Scott Dunham, AM Research Executive Vice President. “Growth is not even across the industry, but it certainly is a growth period, and the first quarter of the year continued on the momentum from the second half of last year.”

The chart below shows the AM primary market in various segments from Q1 2025 through Q1 2026. As you can see, the markets are continuing to move in an upwards trajectory.

During this same quarter last year, the metal AM market was $1.52 billion, and the polymer AM market was $2.33 billion. Now, metal AM has reached $1.76 billion, and polymer AM is $2.59 billion. In Q1 of 2025, the combined AM Services market totaled $2.07 billion, and it’s up to $2.42 billion now.

The “3DP/AM Market Insights” report for this quarter distills and analyzes the data found in the Q1 2026 market data and forecast reports, and features exclusive AM Research insight, data cuts, and commentary. The firm’s quarterly product about the 3D printing/AM market data tracks the markets by application, geography, machine class, print technology, and vendor.

AM Research looked at many industry companies for its “Core Metals” and “Core Polymers” tracking data and “3DP/AM Market Insights” report. These include 3D Systems, Stratasys, Velo3D, ATLIX, EOS, Nikon SLM Solutions, HP, Nano Dimension (Markforged and Desktop Metal), Formlabs, Carbon, Creality, Bambu Lab, Prodways, Renishaw, Optomec, Colibrium Additive, Farsoon Technologies, Eplus3D, BeAM, Bright Laser Technologies (BLT), and several others.

Both the “Core Metals” and “Core Polymers” market data offerings are built on nearly a decade of historical quarterly data. In addition, they also provide ten-year forward forecasts. Our quarterly reports on the metal and polymer AM markets, found on the AM Research website, are available as a one-time purchase, or as a subscription (quarterly updates, one-year term). You can also request a sample report.

Additionally, the quarterly “3DP/AM Market Insights: Q1 2026” report is also available to purchase as a standalone product or as a subscription. Pairing proprietary charting and graphs with a written analysis, it provides context, direction, and insight to the “Core Metals” and “Core Polymers” reports.

Designed for creators, artists, customization businesses, and small production studios, the G1 Series helps users turn digital ideas into colorful, ready-to-use products with less manual finishing.

The Kickstarter campaign launched on July 23 at 9:00 AM PDT, with Super Early Bird pricing starting at $1,999.

Launch Offers

Back the G1 Series within the first 48 hours after launch and you will receive:

1. A Chance to Win a FREE G1 Series Printer: Every eligible backer will be automatically entered into a lucky draw for a chance to receive a full refund on their reward.
2. Free 3D/2D White Ink Set (Worth $109)

• For G1X Full-3D Pack, G1X Deluxe Bundle, and G1X Full-3D Twin Pack Backers: 3 × 1000 ml White UV Resin
• For G1/G1X Starter Pack Backers: 3 × 300 ml White UV Ink

Three Creative Workflows in One Platform

The G1 Series supports three primary workflows: full-color 3D printing, 3D texture printing, and 2D UV printing.

Users can create detailed full-color models, add tactile textures to graphics, or print directly onto compatible flat and cylindrical objects. Potential applications include collectibles, personalized gifts, phone cases, signage, packaging prototypes, promotional products, and customized merchandise.

With support for more than 400 base materials and modular printing configurations, the G1 Series is designed to serve both individual creators and businesses looking to expand their product offerings.

Full-Color 3D Printing Without Hand Painting

The G1X uses Precision Piezo Inkjet technology with UV curing to build vibrant, full-color models layer by layer. This allows users to produce models with gradients, fine details, and multiple colors without relying on time-consuming hand painting.

The system can reproduce millions of colors and supports the combination of transparent and colored materials within a single print. Water-soluble support material also simplifies post-processing, particularly for models with complex shapes or internal structures.

From character figures and artistic models to visual prototypes, users can move from a digital design to a finished full-color object through a more streamlined workflow.

High-Resolution UV Printing

The G1X is equipped with an Epson i3200 industrial-grade printhead featuring 3,200 high-density nozzles, eight ink channels, and ultra-fine 3.9-picoliter droplets.

With resolutions of up to 1440 × 2400 DPI, the system can reproduce detailed images, text, patterns, and surface textures. Its object-recognition and positioning capabilities help users align designs and prepare multiple items for batch printing.

The integrated white-ink circulation, printhead heating, automatic cleaning, and moisturizing functions are designed to support consistent output and reduce maintenance during regular use.

AI-Assisted Design and Printing Workflow

The G1 Series works with HeyGears’ HeyVerse and Blueprint Studio software ecosystem.

Users can select from a library of digital assets, generate 3D models from text or uploaded images, create surface textures, prepare print layouts, and estimate material usage before production.

This connected workflow makes it easier for users without extensive 3D modeling experience to move through the creation process:

Upload or describe → Generate → Prepare → Print

The Kickstarter campaign will feature additional real-world printing demonstrations, including full-color figures, transparent models, textured graphics, customized products, and batch-production examples.

Kickstarter Super Early Bird Pricing

The following reward options are currently confirmed:

Super Early Bird quantities may be limited. Back the G1 Series now to secure the best pricing.

About HeyGears

HeyGears specializes in 3D printing and digital manufacturing, delivering precision solutions across dental, rehabilitation, and consumer applications. From medical personalization to consumer innovation, we help restore, reshape, and reimagine what’s possible—making advanced manufacturing more accessible. To learn more about HeyGears products, visit store.heygears.com or contact contact@heygears.com.

China

Snapmaker raises RMB 1 billion in a Series C round led by Cathay Capital

Snapmaker closed RMB 1 billion (about US$140 million) in Series C financing led by Cathay Capital, with follow-on participation from existing investors including Meituan-linked funds, GL Ventures, and Shunwei Capital. The company plans to invest in products, its supply chain, and international distribution.

Snapmaker booth at RAPID + TCT. Image courtesy of Sarah Saunders/3DPrint.com.

Bambu Lab secures Shenzhen land for a 3-million-unit manufacturing hub

Bambu Lab‘s subsidiary Zhuhe Technology acquired an 83,591-square-meter site in Shenzhen for RMB 141.2 million (about US$20.8 million). The planned complex will manufacture printers, components, and materials, with stated annual capacity of more than 3 million systems. Construction timing has not been disclosed.

Yuding Additive Manufacturing advances to the inquiry stage of its STAR Market IPO

Yuding Additive Manufacturing (煜鼎增材) moved to the Shanghai Stock Exchange inquiry stage on July 3 after its application was accepted on June 23. The Beihang University-linked metal AM company is seeking RMB 1.802 billion (about US$250 million) to expand equipment, materials, and production capacity for aerospace and other high-specification markets.

Jiangsu Runice 3D raises nearly RMB 100 million for printer components

Jiangsu Runice 3D Technology (锐力斯) raised nearly RMB 100 million (about US$14 million) in a Series A round led by Cowin Capital. The Phaetus-brand supplier plans to expand manufacturing and R&D for hot ends, extruders, and multi-material components used in desktop 3D printers.

Xikong Zhizao launches a 650mm-class metal AM system with in-situ strengthening lasers

Xikong Zhizao launched the i3D-AD650S-Z, a 660 x 660 x 740 mm machine combining four forming lasers with four in-situ strengthening lasers. The company says the secondary laser treatment can increase hardness in 7075 aluminum by up to 40%, targeting fatigue-critical aerospace parts.

Chenglian and West China Hospital launch a digital removable partial denture platform

Chenglian Technology (铖联科技) partnered with West China Hospital of Stomatology on a digital RPD platform. The workflow combines AI-assisted design, metal additive manufacturing, and titanium alloy materials for patient-specific removable dental frameworks.

Japan

Serendix tests 3D-printed concrete structures for protective shelter applications

Serendix conducted high-speed projectile impact tests on 3D-printed concrete structures to collect performance data for protective shelter designs. The company plans to present results and concepts at Farnborough International Airshow 2026 through Japan’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency booth.

A 20-metric-ton reinforced concrete frame. Image courtesy of Serendix.

Polyuse passes 300 construction 3D printing projects in Japan

Polyuse surpassed 300 cumulative construction printing projects with about 40 Polyuse One systems deployed. The company is targeting a fleet of 100 units by the end of fiscal 2026 across housing, civil infrastructure, and commercial building applications.

South Korea

Partners Lab and KITECH join the DMX field manufacturing exercise linked to RIMPAC 2026

Partners Lab and the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology participated in the U.S.-led DMX exercise as the first Korean company team. Using an EOS M290 with aluminum and titanium alloys, the team tested a secure workflow covering part requests, digital-file transmission, local manufacture, and inspection during the month-long exercise.

GENOSS shows its 3D printed spinal implant lineup at a Korean spine conference

GENOSS presented 3D-printed cervical cages, lumbar cages, and fixation plates at a Korean spine conference. The company is preparing additional regulatory submissions for its cervical product range.

Australia

Conflux and Dallara develop an AM liquid-hydrogen heat exchanger for endurance racing

Conflux Technology and Italian race-car manufacturer Dallara are co-developing an additively manufactured liquid-hydrogen heat exchanger for endurance racing. The project applies complex internal channels to cryogenic cooling and is positioned against the Automobile Club de l’Ouest’s hydrogen roadmap for Le Mans competition.

Prepared by AMPulse

Now, in partnership with the workforce development nonprofit JobsOhio and the similar organization REDI Cincinnati, Beehive has announced that the company will be investing $70 million to expand its operations there, a move that will create over 200 new jobs. As the company noted in its previous announcement about the acquisition of assets from the two machine shops, Beehive will stand up a Production Machining Center of Excellence (CoE) in the Cincinnati area, at the same time as it’s establishing a Production AM CoE in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Beehive has been signaling that a major buildup of its production capacity is in the works, first with the announcement earlier this year of a $29.7 million Air Force contract, which it followed up with in June when it announced that it had placed the largest publicly-disclosed single order of EOS machines in history, worth $50 million. Via the latter deal, Beehive will purchase 30 EOS machines over the course of this year, which would push the total number of EOS machines in the company’s fleet to 50.

According to Beehive, the moves that the company has been making are part of an overall strategy aiming to deliver over 8,000 engines annually, aligning with a shifting defense acquisition environment in the US that has led to the Pentagon’s seeking out more work with startups that can provide new generations of weapons systems. Ohio has been a leading beneficiary in this emerging landscape, thanks in no small part to AM-friendly organizations including America Makes and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).

In a press release about Beehive Industries’ $70 million investment in Ohio, the state’s governor, Mike DeWine, said, “Beehive Industries’ decision to grow in Southwest Ohio demonstrates once again that our state is the best place in America to do business and the best place to strengthen our national defense. This investment puts our state at the forefront of building the engines our military needs, and we’ll be doing it faster than anyone thought possible.”

Darius Ehteshami, Chief Operations and Finance Officer of Beehive Industries, said, “We are deeply grateful to Governor Mike DeWine, JobsOhio, and REDI Cincinnati for their exceptional collaboration and confidence in Beehive Industries. Their proactive economic tools and regional talent prove that when visionary state leadership aligns with modern defense manufacturing, it creates a model that other states – from the Midwest to the Mountain West – would be wise to emulate.”

The last time that I wrote about a JobsOhio announcement like this, the subject was a partnership with another Colorado-based, metal AM for propulsion specialist, Ursa Major, back in 2024. So Ohio indeed appears to be positioning to become the epicenter of 3D printed engines, which, again, is logical for a state where both America Makes and the AFRL are headquartered. Still, it represents a big win for the idea that historical centers of US manufacturing can be revitalized to support a new hardware tech buildup.

Given the fact that Anduril is spending over a billion dollars to build a manufacturing site in the Columbus area, around 100 miles away from where Beehive will be located, it will be interesting to see just how much the choice of Ohio for Beehive has been influenced by targeting Anduril as a customer. In any case, there seems to be plenty of drone and missile funding to go around, and all the new weapons systems in development will no doubt give rise to all sorts of different customer/supplier combinations in the years ahead.

Meanwhile, when will the sectors of the economy that aren’t just about killing people get in on the action? Does the lethality of the technologies at hand have to be “validated” first before that happens? If so, the horizon for diversification of metal AM adoption growth beyond the military could be getting closer.

And not a moment too soon! The prospects for reshoring in the US still seem to be getting bleaker all the time, but it’s nice to see a startup like Beehive responsible for creating over 200 new jobs that appear far less likely than those in service industries to be automated out of existence with AI at some point in the near future. I’d love to see a similar company pop up with a business model tailored specifically to turbines for the power grid.

Images courtesy of Beehive Industries

“Historically, it didn’t matter who the patient was. Two patients could have completely different teeth, but they would get the exact same bracket,” Lockhart told 3DPrint.com. “That meant much of an orthodontist’s work happened after the braces were already in place. As teeth gradually straightened, doctors often had to reposition brackets, bend wires, and make other adjustments to fine-tune the final result. Now, companies like LightForce are trying to change that by turning every bracket into a custom-made medical device.”

Instead of manufacturing one standard design, the company creates a unique bracket for every tooth of every patient using digital treatment planning and metal or ceramic 3D printing.

“It’s really moving from an average prescription to a personalized prescription for every patient,” Lockhart said.

LightBracket. Image courtesy of LightForce.

A Digital Workflow From Day One

The process begins with a digital scan taken at the orthodontist’s office. LightForce accepts scans from virtually any major intraoral scanner, allowing practices to keep the equipment they already use.

After receiving the scan, the company creates a digital treatment plan that shows how each tooth should move throughout treatment. Orthodontists then review the plan, make any adjustments based on their own preferences, and approve it. Only then does manufacturing begin.

Rather than producing a box of identical brackets, LightForce manufactures a complete set designed specifically for that patient’s teeth. The approach changes more than manufacturing. According to Lockhart, it also changes how treatment progresses.

Dr. Bryan Lockhart. Image courtesy of LightForce.

“Instead of relying on repeated bracket repositioning and wire bending near the end of treatment, much of that planning is built into the customized brackets from the start. When we finish the initial alignment, we don’t have to do all of those tricks we traditionally used,” he said. “The details have already been built into the treatment plan. For patients, that can mean fewer appointments and shorter overall treatment times.”

Lockhart adds that customized brackets also reduce the time patients spend in the chair because all brackets can be bonded to the teeth at the same time using a custom tray, rather than placing each bracket individually.

Manufacturing Millions of Different Parts

While traditional manufacturing is designed to produce identical parts, LightForce’s production line does the opposite: it makes every bracket different.

Katie Doran, Vice President of Physical Operations at LightForce, tells me that changes almost every part of manufacturing.

“Every single one of our products looks unique,” she said. “That means our manufacturing systems and our quality control systems also have to be customized.”

The company manufactures both its ceramic and newly introduced metal brackets in-house at its facility in Wilmington, Massachusetts. Unlike some metal dental manufacturing processes that use 3D printed molds or casting patterns, LightForce prints its metal brackets directly. “There are no molds,” Doran said. LightForce is printing metal directly, thanks to its intellectual property protecting its core manufacturing processes.

“Precision is one of the biggest technical challenges,” Doran noted. “We work to achieve tolerances of roughly 12 microns while producing customized parts at scale. We’ve had some really brilliant engineering minds solving different process challenges.”

More Than Just Metal

LightForce recently introduced LightBracket Metal after hearing repeated requests from orthodontists and patients. For years, the company focused on customized ceramic brackets, which remain available. The decision to introduce metal wasn’t simply about aesthetics. According to Doran, metal allows the company to produce “thinner, lower-profile brackets while meeting growing demand,” particularly among younger patients who increasingly prefer the traditional look of metal braces.

Lockhart says doctors had also been asking for a metal option for practical reasons: “Metal brackets are smaller, familiar to orthodontists, and remain the most widely used type of braces. The addition of metal also expands the number of patients who may choose customized treatment. There was demand from both practices and patients.”

Doran says she does not expect ceramic to disappear. Instead, she believes orthodontists may eventually combine both materials depending on each patient’s needs.

LightForce Orthodontics releases LightBracket Metal. Image courtesy of LightForce Orthodontics.

Although the new metal brackets have received most of the attention, both Lockhart and Doran believe a much bigger change is happening. Orthodontics is starting to move away from one-size-fits-all treatment toward personalized manufacturing.

In fact, Lockhart compares it to earlier changes in the profession: “Years ago, orthodontists bent nearly every wire by hand. Later, manufacturers introduced brackets with built-in prescriptions, making treatment easier. Customized brackets are simply the next step. We’re just moving from average prescriptions to personalized prescriptions.”

Metal brackets may be the company’s newest product, but both Lockhart and Doran see something bigger happening. As more of orthodontics becomes digital, they believe customization will become less of an exception and more of the standard.

This is Part I of a two-part series. In Part II, we explore how customized brackets changed the treatment experience for the first patient to receive LightForce’s new metal braces.

Würth Additive Group Business Unit Announces Closure

The Würth Group, a multinational conglomerate headquartered in Germany, manufactures and sells assembly and fastening materials. It started working with additive manufacturing (AM) in 2017, and opened its Würth Additive Group (WAG) business unit in 2021. In addition to distributing 3D printing materials and hardware through reseller partnerships, WAG’s main goal was to support customers with inventory management solutions, and the unit introduced its AM-driven Digital Inventory Services (DIS) platform at AMUG 2024, officially launching it at AMUG 2025. Things seemed to be going well for WAG, at least from the outside looking in. The company held a Demo Days tour around North America in 2024, co-produced a white paper about AM and digital inventories with Additive Manufacturing Research, and even announced a strategic partnership with B9Creations at AMUG 2026. Then, last week, WAG confirmed that it was closing via a brief LinkedIn post.

If anyone was following along on LinkedIn, maybe you saw the closure coming. Two months ago, AJ Strandquist, Würth Additive’s CEO, posted that he was leaving, “officially closing one chapter and starting another.” Then, three weeks ago, Mikhail Gladkikh, Director of Global Technology and Technical Projects, shared that he’s “actively exploring my next chapter,” citing the “wind-down” of the WAG division. This wind-down was then made official with WAG’s 50-word statement on LinkedIn. As far as I can tell, no reason for the closure has been publicly shared; the post simply said that the company “is committed to an orderly closure of all operations.” In response to every LI comment on the post, WAG has expressed its gratitude, and called the closure “a carefully considered business decision.” Stakeholders with active accounts, or outstanding arrangements, will be contacted directly by the company’s Closing Office. Those with other inquiries should email co@wurthadditive.com. I, for one, will miss Würth Additive Group. I like what they were doing with DIS, I think it was important. But we’ll have to find our digital inventories elsewhere.

BigRep SE Delists from Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Liquidates Parent Company

ONE.5 at work. Image courtesy of BigRep.

And the hits just keep on coming, as large-format 3D printing leader BigRep GmbH will be sold and delisted from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. This is another SPAC casualty, as BigRep is one of many AM firms that went public through a deal with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). When it merged with SMG Technology Acceleration SE in 2024, the company (now BigRep SE) said the public listing would allow it to carry out a buy-and-build strategy to benefit shareholders. Part of the deal included BigRep’s acquisition of competitor HAGE3D from Austria, which would supposedly set the company up for major market expansion. Since then, the company has made strides forward, forming a partnership with Phillips Federal, entering the auto aftermarket, and even launching a new 3D printer at this year’s RAPID. But sadly, it doesn’t have a lot else to show for its buy-and-build strategy, posting annual losses and even attempting a reorganization last year.

The company’s management and supervisory boards made the decision to sell and delist BigRep, and liquidate its holding company. Shareholders held an extraordinary general meeting to approve the sale and liquidation, and the sale was structured to close at fair market value, based on an independent valuation of BigRep GmbH, and subject to customary closing conditions. Shares will be sold to De Krassny GmbH, Koehler Invest GmbH, and Hage Holding GmbH, and the purchase price was not disclosed. Any surplus proceeds or assets will be distributed to shareholders. If the sale goes through as planned, BigRep is set to keep operating under new management. No details have been made public yet about personnel or structure, so we’ll have to wait and see how this plays out.

RA Wind Gets Grant for Robotic 3D Printing of Wind Turbine Blades

Manufacturing wind turbine blades is a demanding application, with large fixed molds, labor-intensive composite layup, and complex logistics to move them to the installation site once they’re complete. That’s why Energy Transition Norway (ETN) member RA Wind AS is using 3D printing to address these issues. The company, founded in 2023, develops rotor and nacelle technology for offshore wind energy, and just received a 500,000 NOK (nearly $52,000) grant from Innovation Norway for a project about onsite, robot-controlled 3D printing of wind turbine blades. The funding will support commercial and technical clarifications, including 3D printing, process simulation, and analysis of small composite material prototypes. By using large industrial robotic 3D printing to fabricate blades onsite, RA Wind hopes to enable site-specific blade design, get rid of long-distance transport, and even usher in lighter, possibly reusable materials. Even more broadly, the company wants to use a patented modular turbine design to lower installation, operations, and maintenance costs for offshore wind by 50%.

RA Wind CEO Lars Raunholt said, “Execution of the Innovation Norway project is a deciding factor for moving this innovative project into the prototype stages.”

The company also completed a capital increase from local investors to match the Innovation Norway grant. The next step is a pilot factory project with up to four large additive robots.

Ampera Completes Full-Scale 3D Printed Nuclear Reactor Module

Ampera CEO Brian Matthews unveils the first module (Image: Ampera)

Florida-based Ampera is working to develop subcritical thorium-based, energy dense microreactor systems that don’t need to be refueled, using neuron-source technology, a proprietary tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuel platform, and advanced AM. It’s achieved a major milestone by completing production of what it says is the first full-scale 3D printed nuclear reactor module. This winter, Ampera submitted a formal letter to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to indicate its desire to begin the pre-application process for its containerized microreactor. By April, it had entered a strategic collaboration with Monaco shipping company Scorpio Tankers Inc. to jointly make and commercialize advanced microreactors for shipping, marine, and related maritime applications. The reactor module, unveiled this month at the company’s innovation center in Palm Beach Gardens, includes the pressure vessel and a spherical monolithic gyroid core, printed out of silicon carbide and designed to work for up to 30 years without refueling. Ampera’s ultimate goal is to deliver factory-built, scalable, deployable, emission-free power for applications like defense, maritime, industrial, and data centers.

“This next-generation nuclear core and pressure vessel sets the foundation for factory-built, mass-produced nuclear energy. The advanced technology and additive manufacturing used demonstrate a clear commercial path for new nuclear technology coming to market in an accelerated manner,” said Ampera’s Founder and CEO Brian Matthews.

“Our reactors are built for the markets that need power the most: AI data centres, defence, industrial and maritime. We expect to be the first company to industrialise factory-built nuclear power with near-term deployment timelines.”

So what happens when AI meets manufacturing? Well, the answer could have less to do with futuristic robots and more to do with an idea proposed more than four decades ago by futurist and author Alvin Toffler. In his 1980 book The Third Wave (Chapter 20, The Rise of the Prosumer), Toffler introduced the idea of the “prosumer,” a blend of producer and consumer. He believed society would gradually move away from centralized mass production and toward a future in which individuals would participate in creating the products and services they consume.

Alvin Toffler. Image courtesy of Toffler Associates.

At that time, Toffler’s idea sounded pretty ambitious. Making products required factories, expensive machinery, and engineering know-how. Most people were consumers who bought products designed and manufactured by companies.

Forty-five years later, the combination of AI and additive manufacturing (AM) may be bringing Toffler’s vision closer to reality. But not because factories are disappearing. And not because AI is replacing engineers. Instead, AI is making it much easier to design products in the first place.

The Promise of AM

In the late 2000s, desktop 3D printers became more common, and so did the idea that manufacturing could move beyond factories. Instead of buying everything from large companies, people could print some products themselves. That possibility helped fuel the maker movement and projects like RepRap.

For a while, it looked like 3D printing might change manufacturing. It changed a lot, though not in the way many people expected. Desktop printers became popular among hobbyists, educators, and makers, but few people began designing and manufacturing their own printers. Most people downloaded files that someone else had already created, and most consumer products continued to come from the same factories and production lines as before. For many people, one of the biggest barriers was knowing how to design a product.

Creating a part isn’t just about its shape. It also has to work, so engineers have to think about materials, making sure it holds up to everyday use, and designing the part so it can actually be made. Clearly, turning an idea into a production-ready part isn’t easy, even for experienced designers.

AI Enters the Design Process

AI has quickly found its way into engineering and product design. At first, it was used mainly for generative design, with software creating multiple design options based on goals set by the engineer. Companies like Autodesk helped popularize the technology, giving engineers new ways to explore and refine designs instead of starting from scratch.

MJK Performance used generative design technology to create a set of lighter and stronger triple clamps for a drag bike. Image courtesy of Autodesk.

Recently, AI-powered engineering platforms have expanded into topology optimization, simulation, materials selection, and workflow automation. Perhaps more important is the rise of text-to-CAD systems. Although the technology is still evolving, users can describe a product in natural language and have AI generate an initial 3D model. Of course, the technology is not yet perfect. Engineering oversight is still important. But the way people interact with design software is becoming much simpler.

The same thing happened with computers in the 1980s and 1990s. Back then, computers required users to type commands to get anything done, making them difficult for most people to use. Graphical interfaces changed that by replacing lines of code with windows, icons, and menus. Suddenly, computers became accessible to millions more people.

AI could have a similar effect on engineering. Instead of learning complex CAD software from the ground up, users can simply describe what they want to create in plain language and let AI handle much of the initial work.

The Missing Piece of Toffler’s Vision

This is where Toffler’s idea starts to make sense. His vision was never just about giving people access to manufacturing. It was about giving them the power to create. For consumers to become producers, they needed access to both production and design capabilities. 3D printing made manufacturing more accessible. AI is now starting to do the same for design.

Take 3D printed prosthetic hands, for example. Not long ago, getting a prosthetic usually meant relying on a manufacturer to produce a standard device. Today, people can download open-source designs, adjust them to fit the user, and print many of the plastic components on a desktop 3D printer. The result is a more personalized, lower-cost device.

E-Nable Uses 3D Printing to Give Prosthetic Hands

Traditional manufacturing is built to produce millions of identical products as efficiently as possible. Meanwhile, one of 3D printing’s biggest strengths has always been customization. Whether it’s one part or one thousand, every print can be different without the need for new molds or tooling.

AI could make that advantage even more useful. Instead of spending hours creating each new variation, designers can use AI to adapt existing models or generate new ones much more quickly. That could make personalized products easier to produce across industries where every customer is different.

Dental aligners are one of the earliest examples, because every patient receives a unique treatment plan done with digital workflows and AM. Other consumer products doing this already include eyewear, footwear, sporting goods, ergonomic tools, gaming accessories, and home products, designed around individual users instead of the average customer. Together, they could make large-scale customization much easier.

The Rise of the Manufacturing Agent

Another idea getting plenty of attention is the AI agent. In manufacturing, it could become more than just a chatbot or digital assistant. Instead of moving between CAD software, simulation tools, optimization programs, and slicers, users could eventually depend on a single AI system to deal with much of that work. A user could simply describe what they need. And since drones have been on our minds lately (following our recent drone report and webcast), they’re a good example. Imagine typing something like: “I need a lightweight drone bracket that can withstand vibration and outdoor use.” An AI system could then generate several design concepts, optimize the geometry, suggest ideal materials, run simulations, prepare the manufacturing files, and recommend the best production method.

So instead of replacing engineers, these systems can boost productivity and extend engineering capabilities to a much bigger group of people, not to mention the impact this could have for small businesses, entrepreneurs, educators, and hobbyists.

Why Factories Are Not Going Away

It’s all very exciting really, but it’s still important to keep things in context. AI can make designing products much easier, but that doesn’t mean traditional manufacturing is going away. As MIT manufacturing expert Dr. John Hart has argued, high-volume manufacturing will remain the most efficient and cost-effective option for many products.

“Additive manufacturing will not make everything in the future. It won’t make close to everything. But it will touch the life cycle of nearly every product that’s designed and made. That can be prototyping, tooling, service parts, or volume production of at least some of its components,” Dr. Hart predicted.

Cost is another factor. Injection molding remains the cheapest way to produce millions of identical parts. Many consumer electronics, cars, packaged goods, and other high-volume products still depend on large factories and established supply chains. For those industries, traditional manufacturing will continue to make the most sense, as Hart described.

Regulations are another reason. Medical devices, aerospace parts, and other safety-critical products must meet strict certification requirements. As AI becomes part of the design process, companies and regulators will also have to answer new questions about validation, liability, and who is ultimately responsible for the final product.

And yet another challenge is intellectual property. If AI creates a replacement part for an existing product, who owns the design? The answer isn’t always clear, and manufacturers, software developers, and regulators are still trying to figure it out.

Quality is another concern. An AI-generated design isn’t automatically safe or ready to manufacture. It still needs to be tested, reviewed, and, in many cases, approved before it can be used. Of course, none of this means AI and 3D printing won’t change manufacturing. They certainly will. But they’re more likely to expand where and how products are made than replace traditional manufacturing altogether.

A Future That Looks Familiar

For years, the AM industry has talked about distributed production, digital inventories, and on-demand manufacturing. Those ideas haven’t changed. What has changed is how much easier it may become for people to participate. 3D printing made manufacturing more accessible. AI is beginning to do the same for design. That doesn’t mean factories are going away or that everyone will become an engineer. But it could mean that many more people, from entrepreneurs and small businesses to hobbyists and makers, can turn an idea into a product. More than 40 years ago, Toffler imagined a future where the line between producers and consumers would begin to blur. AI and AM could one day deliver that vision.

Meanwhile, Western businesses are, if anything, worse — and again, how could we expect otherwise? While we’re all quite sick of talking about Elon Musk, the admiration for him in the Western tech world is a perfect example. Consider that an entire defense tech boom built largely around SpaceX alumni and, more broadly, Musk admirers, is being built up in no small part thanks to fear-mongering about Chinese hegemony. Meanwhile, Musk owes the foundation for much of his entire fortune on Chinese manufacturing supply chains.

There’s no way to spin that into a logical position, so everyone more or less just ignores it, and that’s fair enough. The US is involved in a trade war with China while simultaneously dependent on China for the supply of a countless number of strategic goods, so perhaps there’s no need to be logical.

I, for one, think there’s very little difference between the US and China on the world stage, in the sense that China is acting precisely how the US acted when it still had the credibility to dictate terms to the rest of the world. China is simply following that blueprint on a scale that reflects the demographic scale of China, and is working with a toolbox tailored to the cutting-edge of the 21st century. Let’s say you picked out some member of the American governing elite known for having the harshest possible views on China: perhaps I’m mistaken, but I think if that person could snap his or her fingers and instantly transform the US into an American version of China, that is what would happen.

So, when you delve into Western views on China, you are bound to tread in the muddiest of waters. On the other hand, there is mounting evidence that this could be in the process of changing: that a dividing line is being drawn. Interestingly enough, shifting national policies on additive manufacturing (AM) are one of the pieces of evidence of that.

The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) prohibits DoD from owning or operating 3D printers and 3D printing software from a list of covered countries, the most notable of which is China. DoD also cannot own or operate machines that connect to networks based in those countries. This applies to new contracts entered into a year after the bill’s passage. There are exceptions, including 3D printers used for intelligence purposes, research, training, and electronic warfare, which at least in part seems to be a way to ensure DoD stays apprised of the latest Chinese technology.

However, US defense contractors still aren’t banned from using 3D printing technology from the covered countries, which is a pretty important caveat. If contractors are using restricted 3D printers, they must be completely air gapped, though we may well find out at some point soon that this measure isn’t sufficiently effective, and I think it’s likely that an eventual ban on buying parts made with restricted equipment is inevitable.

Soldiers assigned to Hunter Army Airfield Innovation Center, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Savannah, Ga., work with subject matter experts to assemble drones made from parts that were 3D-printed using the Expeditionary Manufacturing Cell. Image courtesy of Army 1st Lt. Decean Brown, 3rd Infantry Division.

Meanwhile, the FCC also banned last year the purchase of new drones from covered countries:

“As specified below, today’s decision does not impact a consumer’s ability to continue using drones they previously purchased or acquired. Nor does today’s decision prevent retailers from continuing to sell, import, or market device models approved earlier this year or previously through the FCC’s equipment authorization process. By operation of the FCC’s Covered List rules, the restrictions imposed by today’s decision apply to new device models.”

As Joris Peels noted in his post on the topic, this is a playbook that was originally used for network equipment providers like Huawei and ZTE, and I think the same can be said about the ban on 3D printing technology. That ban also started out in piecemeal fashion and evolved into a blanket prohibition, a once extraordinary step that seems to have gradually become more commonplace.

The drone ban and the ban on 3D printing technology, of course, aren’t unrelated. With drones being one of the product categories most likely to be made with inexpensive Chinese 3D printers, restricting both simultaneously helps incentivize the buildup of domestic US drone production capacity, which is one of the principal strategic objectives of current US industrial policy.

Finally, there has also been a developing trend of state-by-state bans on 3D printed firearms. This doesn’t explicitly target Chinese 3D printers but, because of the specific nature of the market, makers of inexpensive 3D printers from China are the most negatively impacted by the trend. While there isn’t a federal ban yet, it’s not impossible for me to imagine that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) has leaned on state governments to address the problem. It’s also a useful way for all parties involved to appear that they’re cracking down on guns without actually doing so.

Collectively, then, it is becoming more difficult to use products originating in the Chinese AM ecosystem in the US. That is the stick, and the carrot comes in the form of increased federal spending on preferred AM technologies. To my earlier points about US stakeholders attempting to create an American version of China, all of these actions are along the lines of things that Western nations used to love when they dominated international manufacturing supply chains, and only grew to dislike after they’d relocated those supply chains to China. Thus it is not the actions themselves that anyone seems to dislike; rather, it is the source of the actions that anyone protesting has a problem with.

All of this could certainly come to nothing, and the US and China could reach some arrangement, which has tended to be the pattern over the last couple of years. But that’s not guaranteed, and an important date to keep in mind is November 10 of this year, when the pause on China’s expanded rare earth controls is set to end. As I’ve noted before, this seems to be the unspoken catalyst for all the geopolitical tensions that seemingly arose out of nowhere in 2026.

The thing to think about is, which nation has more to lose? If the answer is the US, I think we should only expect further changes in the direction of decoupling US and Chinese strategic sectors.

Featured image courtesy of Stratasys

That wasn’t always the case. During the surge in investor interest in AM in the early 2020s, publicly traded 3D printing companies attracted plenty of attention from Wall Street. Capital flowed into the sector through traditional IPOs and SPAC mergers; new companies entered the public markets, and earnings calls had a pretty big mix of analysts who wanted to understand where the industry was headed.

Today, the industry is in a different place. AM has found its footing in markets like aerospace, defense, healthcare, and dental, and investors are paying close attention to where companies are actually growing.

Featured Illustration courtesy of 3DPrint.com: Earnings calls offer one of the clearest views into what Wall Street wants to know about additive manufacturing.