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Callaway Golf is investing 15M USD in a 3D printing factory in Fort Worth, Texas, making golf clubs in-house for the first time since 1998. The site will combine manufacturing and R&D with a focus on titanium, with set-up targeted for mid-2027 and shipping from 2028. CEO Chip Brewer calls additive the biggest opportunity for club performance in decades. https://3dprint.com/336373/callaway-golf-to-set-up-15-million-3d-printing-location-in-texas/ #3Dprint #3Dprinting #MetalAM

MIT engineers have cast a 3-metre concrete beam in a sewn fabric mould, using around one third as much concrete and half as much steel reinforcement as a conventional beam. The topology-optimised design was converted into cut-and-sew fabric patterns, and under load the beam deflected within about 2 per cent of the computer model. https://news.mit.edu/2026/fabric-molds-could-bring-material-saving-concrete-beams-within-reach-1106 #3Dprint #3Dprinting #Construction

Fabbaloo editor Kerry Stevenson reports his inbox is now flooded with AI-built 3D printing utilities, from STL splitters to CAD interface alternatives, some made in an afternoon rather than months. He argues the commercial value of simple standalone tools is heading to zero, while industrial CAD keeps its edge in reliability and support. https://www.fabbaloo.com/news/is-vibe-coding-slowly-destroying-the-market-for-3d-printing-software #3Dprint #3Dprinting #Software

Prusa has moved to a formal major.minor.patch firmware scheme and shipped versions 7.0.0 and 8.0.0 within days of each other. Version 7 adds support for the 400C hot end on CORE One machines, smarter multimaterial tool mapping and automatic Z-axis alignment. Version 8 adds OpenPrintTag NFC filament identification. Both fix Buddy firmware security findings. https://www.fabbaloo.com/news/why-prusa-released-firmware-7-0-and-8-0-days-apart #3Dprint #3Dprinting #Firmware

Blue Origin has unveiled Northstar, a liquid oxygen and liquefied natural gas booster engine rated at 715,000 pounds of thrust, up from 640,000 on the BE-4. More than 65 per cent of it is additively manufactured in-house, and the redesign cuts mass by 30 per cent and part count by 50 per cent, with assembly now possible in under a day. https://3dprinting.com/news/blue-origin-northstar-booster-engine-is-over-65-percent-printed/ #3Dprint #3Dprinting #Aerospace

A study led by Farid Bettine tested four infill patterns in ABS/polycarbonate on a Zortrax M300 Plus across five build orientations. Linear at 45 degrees gave the weakest tensile strength at 18.60 MPa, honeycomb at 90 degrees reached 38.41 MPa, a 106.5 per cent gain. Four neural networks then ranked the 20 combinations into eight trade-offs. https://www.fabbaloo.com/news/ai-searches-better-infill-and-print-orientations #3Dprint #3Dprinting #Materials

North Dakota filament maker 3D-Fuel has permanently cut prices across all four of its product lines, from 12 to 14 per cent on Standard PLA+ and Pro PETG down to 3 per cent on Pro PCTG. CEO John Schneider says the savings come from new high-speed extrusion lines and automated winders rather than cheaper materials. Volume discounts reach 30 per cent. https://www.fabbaloo.com/news/3d-fuel-permanently-drops-filament-prices/ #3Dprint #3Dprinting #Materials

Researchers at Karabük University in Türkiye tested whether mixing plain PLA with carbon fibre reinforced PLA improves strength. A two-layer build of plain PLA and 5 per cent carbon fibre PLA beat fully reinforced specimens: tensile strength hit 47.58 MPa, about 19 per cent above plain PLA, with elastic modulus up 74 per cent. Where the fibre sits mattered more than how much you use. https://www.fabbaloo.com/news/two-layers-beat-three-in-carbon-fiber-pla/ #3Dprint #3Dprinting #Materials

Protolabs has expanded capacity on its HP Jet Fusion 5600 series by 50% to meet demand from aerospace, defence and drone makers. MJF revenue at US factories grew over 40% year on year through Q3 2026, and the firm now serves more than 100 drone manufacturers. CEO Suresh Krishna says the 5600 series offers higher build density, printing more PA-12 parts per build. https://www.tctmagazine.com/protolabs-increases-multi-jet-fusion-capacity-by-50/ #3Dprint #3Dprinting #Aerospace

Researchers at Transilvania University of Brasov reviewed 231 studies of multi-polymer FFF and found that joints between different materials can reach only 30-40% of same-material strength. Print order matters too: ABS on PETG gave about 23 MPa, reversed only 13 MPa. Interlocking teeth raised PLA-TPU fracture toughness 16-18 times. https://www.fabbaloo.com/news/multi-polymer-fff-puts-interfaces-first #3Dprint #3Dprinting #Materials

Northwestern University's Robotic Matter Lab has developed DIAL, combining a slot-die nozzle and blade with projector light curing. It prints thick functional inks into freestanding lattices over four times faster than extrusion, with walls down to 150 microns, and uncured paste braces overhangs itself, so no scaffolds are needed. https://3dprinting.com/news/northwestern-engineers-print-paste-inks-into-freestanding-lattices-four-times-faster/ #3Dprint #3Dprinting #Materials