Layer Lines Weekly

Three companies exit additive manufacturing in a single week, and Alex and Jordan dig into what the shakeout actually means for anyone who prints. Plus: the Navy's at-sea printing exercise, BMW's refreshingly boring scaling blueprint, Prusa's INDX toolchanger, a free Blender tool for resin supports, and whether 'vibe coding' your CAD is a real thing or just a vibe.

We profile Bambu Lab, the company that turned 'it just works' into a market-leading strategy for desktop 3D printing. From the X1 Carbon to an integrated ecosystem, a Stratasys lawsuit, and an open-source backlash, we sort what's confirmed from what's hype - including a valuation rumor that does not survive contact with reality.

Auxilium says it bioprinted kidney and liver tissue on the ISS — we dig into what that actually proves. Plus Venus Aerospace's $91M detonation-engine round, Framatome's nuclear WAAM center, DAIHEN and EOS on the materials front, a clever single-AMS color trick, and a University of Utah claim that objects can print in a single 20-second laser shot.

We profile Formlabs, the MIT-born SLA and SLS company that turned a Kickstarter desktop resin printer into a dual-technology manufacturing ecosystem. From the Form 1 to the $84,999 Fuse X1, we dig into its material moat, its move onto the factory floor, and the IPO question hanging over its next chapter.

An $8 billion space mega-deal gets sold as a win for 3D printing — but was it? Plus Velo3D's giant new metal factory, a defense-and-maritime AM surge, recycled scrap becoming LPBF powder, Bambu's 'safer' filament, and the week's most gloriously silly headline: a 3D-printed steak coming to your backyard grill.

We profile Stratasys, the 35-year-old company that invented FDM and now sits in the middle of a high-stakes pivot from prototyping to serial production. From Scott Crump's original patent to a multi-technology portfolio, CEO Yoav Zeif's industrial bet, the $42.5M Markforged deal, and a balance sheet under pressure — here's what the original incumbent actually is in 2026.

Oak Ridge prints composites onto fabric and folds them into shape — claiming a 90% cost cut. Plus sand binder jetting for small foundries, Dow's tougher PLA, metal repair quadrupling bridge life, QinetiQ rescuing a Royal Navy sub, and a consumer 'metal laser printer' that sets off every alarm we own.

Divergent unveils a twelve-laser metal printer and a defense super-factory, Beehive drops $50M on EOS machines, and the C-17 microvanes go fleet-wide. Plus Bambu's 'safe' filament, an open-source revolt against the cloud, and Nano Dimension quietly walking out of the room.

TDK drops up to $400M on electrochemical metal printing for AI data centers, the US Air Force commits to fleet-wide 3D printed microvanes, and a tower-crane concrete printer makes some very tall promises. Plus a yeast-based building material, a high-temp aluminum, and the return of Thingiverse.

New York's mandatory gun-blocking software for 3D printers raises huge feasibility and free-speech questions, with California close behind. Plus Bambu's $469 large-format A2L, Sandvik exits metal AM, Creality's billion-dollar IPO, Prusa's open-source ColorMix, and a Pentagon volcanic-fiber boat fantasy.

Alex and Jordan dig into the biggest AM deal of the year—Stratasys snapping up Markforged for just $42.5 million, minus the metal binder jet line. They also unpack a new dual-laser metal printer priced suspiciously low, Norsk Titanium's first real production contract with Northrop Grumman, and whether an AI that fixes prints mid-job is ready for your garage.