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Full-color 3D-printing Design Guide from Xometry

With Xometry's PolyJet 3D-printing service, you can order full-color 3D prints easily. Their no-cost design guide will help you learn about different aspects of 3D printing colorful parts, how to create and add color to your models, and best practices to keep in mind when printing in full color. Learn how to take full advantage of the 600,000 unique colors available in this flexible additive process.
Get the Xometry guide.

What's new in hyperMILL 2026?

OPEN MIND Technologies has announced a wide range of new and enhanced capabilities in its hyperMILL 2026 CAD/CAM Software Suite that save time and increase accuracy. For precise and efficient 2.5D, 3D, precision 5-axis, and mill/turn machining, hyperMILL offers users exceptionally productive programming and powerful machining strategies. Check out all the new features.
Learn more.

Clear, high-flexibility silicone meets NASA low-outgassing specs

Master Bond MasterSil 981-LO is a two-component, addition-cured silicone for bonding, sealing, coating, and encapsulating. Meeting NASA low-outgassing specs, its optical clarity suits aerospace, satellite, and optoelectronic applications. This 100% reactive, solvent-free system features a forgiving 1:1 mix ratio, minimal shrinkage, a 3- to 4-hr working life, and cures overnight at room temperature plus heat.
Learn more.

What's a high-helix (high-lead) screw and what can it do for you?

"High-helix (high-lead) screws are a crucial component in many motion control systems, offering increased efficiency and faster linear motion," says Christopher Nook, CEO and founder of Helix Linear Technologies. "Unlike standard lead screws, these specialized screws feature a steeper helix angle, allowing for greater lead per revolution." Learn their mechanics, advantages, and many applications.
Read the Helix Linear Technologies blog.

New interactive factory microsite helps manufacturers discover EXAIR solutions

EXAIR and BETE have launched a new interactive factory microsite designed to help manufacturers quickly identify products that can improve efficiency, safety, and performance throughout their facility. From conveying and cooling to blowoff, static elimination, and industrial cleanup, the platform demonstrates how liquid and air solutions integrate into everyday manufacturing challenges. The digital experience features a fully interactive factory floor map with clickable hotspots positioned throughout key production and maintenance areas. Each hotspot highlights how specific EXAIR and BETE products can be applied in real-world industrial processes.
Explore the interactive microsite.

Next-gen SLA materials rival traditional thermoplastics

Formlabs has announced two new SLA materials that bring 3D printing significantly closer to being a manufacturing method for end-use part production. Tough 1000 Resin and a significantly improved Tough 2000 Resin join Tough 1500 Resin, forming the new Tough Resin family. These resilient engineering materials stand up to harsh environments, impact, and repeated wear, all while delivering a dark, matte surface finish with crisp details when printed on Form 4 Series 3D printers.
Learn more.

SOLIDWORKS: Mastering sheet metal -- advanced tips and tricks

GoEngineer's Brady Daniels, Senior Applications Engineer, gives a master class in next-level sheet metal design. This on-demand webinar covers practical tips and techniques aimed at expanding your understanding and improving real-world workflows. Topics include bend calculations, comparing design approaches, how flat patterns work, and embracing multi-body design. Skip through or take in the whole presentation when you have time. [Credit: Screenshot courtesy of GoEngineer]
View the GoEngineer video.

SJT Industries SIM couplings and timing pulleys

Automation-Direct now offers SIM couplings and 8M timing pulleys for reliable power transmission in OEM and MRO applications. Designed for precise motion control, these components efficiently transmit torque and rotational power. Available in multiple bore sizes and configurations, they ensure accurate alignment, consistent torque transfer, and dependable tooth engagement for various industrial equipment systems.
Learn more.

Top Tech Tip: How do you 3D print STL files?

Learn the basics of 3D printing STL files -- the files that serve as the digital foundation for 3D printing -- and a whole lot more from the experts at Xometry. These files have advantages, of course, but did you know they have disadvantages too? Also learn about STL tools and programs, and how to reduce file size or even repair a file you are having trouble with.
Read the Xometry article.

Tech Tip: Why pins walk and how to ensure it doesn't happen

Lateral movement of installed solid, slotted, or coiled spring pins, commonly referred to as "walking," can occur within a dynamic application if proper design guidelines are not followed. Issues with different pin types may have different causes. Learn the many reasons why pins walk and the design best practices you should follow to avoid the condition.
Read this informative SPIROL Tech Tip.

Ball screw assemblies: Ships in 2 to 3 weeks

Designed to simplify your projects and minimize assembly time, the BNK and SDA-VZ Ball Screw Assembly Series from THK are ready when you are. Each ball screw assembly includes: ball screw shaft (finished ends for standard THK support units), nut bracket, support units, housings, and coupling. Intermediate flange and coupling kit for your motor available.
Learn more.

Cool! New energy-efficient R290 enclosure air conditioners

Seifert Systems introduces PFAS-free SoliTherm^® SlimLine NEO air conditioners using eco-friendly R290 refrigerant. These units offer high energy efficiency (EER up to 3.6) and a compact, under-8-in. internal depth. Featuring maintenance-free design with external or recessed mounting options, they deliver up to 8,500 BTU/hr, providing flexible cooling solutions for varied industrial enclosure needs. Several models available based on size/cooling capacity needs.
Learn more and see all your options.

Surface inspection: From Army depot to factory floor

Born from U.S. Army requirements for rotorcraft inspection, the GelSight Modulus 3D surface measurement system has surpassed 100 units sold to commercial and Department of Defense customers. The handheld, micron-scale tool with interchangeable probe tips delivers fast, high-res measurements in places traditional tools can't reach.
Read the full article.

What is Cold Metal Fusion?

Cold Metal Fusion is an open industry standard for sinter-based metal additive manufacturing. It combines polymer SLS design freedom with reliable debinding and sintering workflows, enabling complex geometries, lightweighting, lattice structures, conformal cooling channels, and high-precision metal parts with predictable shrink behavior. Now available from TriMech Group, this process offers a faster, cost-effective way to produce strong, high-performance metal parts.
Learn more from TriMech Group.

Cool! Internal threading in hard materials now possible

INSACO has a new capability where they can machine an internal thread in ceramic, sapphire, quartz, and other very hard materials. This advance pushes the boundaries of what's possible to support advanced applications that demand high precision and complexity. Ultra-hard materials are alternatives for when metal can't do the job. Ideal for aerospace, medical, and industrial applications.
Learn more. Video available on right side of page.

Engineers create and patent 3D-printed bendable concrete

[Credit: Video screenshot courtesy of UNM]

 

 

By Carly Bowling, University of New Mexico

Armed with a 3D concrete printer, careful measuring tools, and just the right ingredients, a team at The University of New Mexico (UNM) has worked hard to design the construction building blocks of the future. Now, their bendable concrete material design is officially patented.

Researchers in the Gerald May Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering are working to develop the materials necessary to 3D print concrete structures.

Traditional construction relies on people operating heavy machinery to place steel or wood beams to create a building frame, but the process can be dangerous and expensive. It's just one of the material and manufacturing problems Maryam Hojati, assistant professor in the Gerald May Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, hopes to solve.

Another problem is infrastructure maintenance. You've probably noticed cracks while walking down a sidewalk before. That's because concrete, while very strong, is also brittle. Even concrete reinforced with steel requires ongoing repair, which means regular maintenance on everything from buildings and bridges to sidewalks. A more resilient material could make public infrastructure longer lasting and less expensive to maintain.

"Concrete by itself does not show any tensile properties, meaning if you have a piece of concrete and start pulling it apart, it can easily break. It's a very brittle material," Hojati said.

Concrete's tendency to fracture under stress is especially problematic when it comes to natural disasters and weather events like earthquakes and winds that put lateral stress, or tension, on buildings.

"The material should hold and resist both tension and compression. Concrete is a great material for compression, but when it comes to tension, it's a weak material," she said.

Researchers worldwide have explored what materials and processes might solve these problems. Some structures have been built in part with 3D printers, but so far, most processes rely on the placement of key materials like beams or rebars, limiting the automation that 3D printing should offer. To print something without those supports, the material must be strong enough to hold itself up without getting stuck in the printer.

Muhammad Saeed Zafar, who received his Ph.D. in summer 2024 and worked as a graduate research assistant for Hojati, created a substance that might fit the bill.

"If we talk about 3D printing or additive manufacturing in the field of metals and plastics, it's at a very advanced stage, but concrete printing is still developing," Zafar said. "If we can successfully design ultra-high-ductile material without using conventional steel bars, it will solve the problem of the incompatibility of reinforcement with the 3D-printing process."

The resulting substance, known as self-reinforced ultra-ductile cementitious material, was patented last August by UNM Rainforest Innovations on behalf of Hojati, Zafar, and Amir Bakhshi, who worked on the project as a research assistant and master's degree student early in its development. Zafar published his research on substances in construction and building materials last year.

VIDEO: UNM researchers build the future of 3D printing with bendable concrete. [Credit: UNM School of Engineering]

"The basic purpose of doing this work was to address the problem of reinforcement in 3D concrete printing," Zafar said. "We claim that 3D concrete printing is an automated process." However, the conventional reinforcing methods are compromising the automation in this process.

The ultra-ductile cementitious material must contain enough fiber to stand firmly on its own while maintaining a viscosity that allows it to pass through the printing nozzle without getting stuck. While it might sound simple, finding the right balance is a complex research challenge. Too little fiber in the mix, and the printed shapes might cave in on themselves. Too much fiber, and the material won't make it very far in the printing process. To test the viability of the materials, they must be precisely mixed, measured, and printed. Even after designs are printed in several different shapes and designs, including small structures, prisms, and dog bones, they must be tested for their bending and direct tensile strength. The researchers repeated this process and explored mixes made of many materials and fibers, like polyvinyl alcohol, fly ash, silica fume, and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers.

The resulting patent offers four different mixes with up to 11.9% higher strain capacity.

"Because of the incorporation of large quantities of short polymeric fibers in this material, it could hold all of the concrete together when subjected to any bending or tension load," Hojati said. "If we use this material at a larger scale, we can minimize the requirement of external reinforcement to the printed concrete structure."

The development of a bendable, printable concrete-like substance was funded by grants from the Transportation Consortium of South-Central States (Tran-SET), Region Six's University Transportation Center. The grants funded three research projects: developing a 3D-printable engineered cementitious material, evaluating the material's properties in both fresh and hardened states, and developing a 3D-printable eco-concrete.

After the first two project phases and many designs, researchers successfully designed the material the team submitted for a patent.

Eventually, 3D concrete printing technology could help astronauts explore other planets. The constraints of space travel make traditional construction unlikely, if not outright impossible. Heavy materials like steel beams and the large workforces required to place them are too difficult to transport. NASA and other space agencies are looking for alternative construction methods with hopes that bots equipped with 3D printers may one day be able to solve the problem. Hojati is involved in several projects that address space construction challenges.

Here on Earth, new materials like the one developed at UNM could eventually offer benefits like greater resilience to natural disasters, less frequent maintenance, and more automation in the construction process.

"This was very successful research. This material has 3D-printing properties and very high structural viability that could be used in the construction industry," Hojati said.

Published April 2025

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