3D Printing & Additive — April 9, 2026
The global 3D printing market crossed $16 billion in 2025 and shows renewed momentum, while researchers unveiled an AI-designed steel alloy purpose-built for additive manufacturing. Industry news this week also covers new America Makes project calls, LiDAR scanning advances, and vapor smoothing developments from the additive manufacturing ecosystem.
3D Printing & Additive — April 9, 2026
Key Highlights
🧪 AI-Designed Steel Made Specifically for 3D Printing
Researchers from the University of South China and Purdue University have developed a new type of steel designed from scratch for additive manufacturing — using machine learning to guide the alloy design process. Unlike most metals used in 3D printing, which are adapted from conventional manufacturing, this steel was engineered specifically for the laser powder bed fusion process. The result: an ultra-high-strength, high-ductility, rust-resistant material that outperforms many adapted alloys in printability and mechanical performance.
📈 3D Printing Market Hits $16 Billion in 2025
The global 3D printing market reached $16 billion in 2025, growing just over 10% year-over-year, according to new data from Additive Manufacturing Research (AM Research). The report signals a return to growth after a period of slower expansion, with aerospace, defense, and medical sectors leading adoption as production-grade applications — rather than prototyping — become the norm.
🔬 AM Impact Limiters for Nuclear Transportation Casks
The American Nuclear Society's Nuclear Newswire reports that additive manufacturing is being explored for impact limiters used in nuclear material transportation casks. The application demands precision engineering, rigorous testing, and qualification to meet strict safety regulations — areas where AM's design flexibility and part consolidation capabilities offer real advantages.
🗞️ News Briefs: LiDAR, Vapor Smoothing, FDM Optimization & More
3DPrint.com's April 8 roundup covers several notable developments:
- Artec 3D announced new LiDAR scanning capabilities relevant to reverse engineering and quality inspection workflows in AM.
- America Makes has issued new project calls — signaling continued public investment in additive manufacturing research and workforce development.
- Raise3D and AMT (Additive Manufacturing Technologies) are collaborating on vapor smoothing integration, targeting improved surface finish quality for FDM/FFF-printed parts directly in the production workflow.
- FDM process optimization advances were also highlighted, pointing to ongoing efforts to improve print reliability and reduce material waste.
🛡️ 3D Printing in Defense: A $18B Market by 2034
A new market report projects the global 3D printing in defense sector will reach USD 18.36 billion by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 27.21%. Military organizations worldwide are accelerating adoption of additive manufacturing to improve operational readiness, enable on-demand spare parts production, and reduce logistics dependency in the field.
⚔️ 3D Printing's Impact on Modern Warfare
War on the Rocks published a deep analysis of how 3D printing is reshaping military conflict — going beyond the widely-covered drone warfare in Ukraine to examine how U.S. defense and intelligence communities are thinking about adversary use of additive manufacturing for weapons fabrication and field logistics.
🏠 Home 3D Printing as a Tariff Hedge
Forbes contributor Josh Pearce argues that home 3D printing is emerging as a practical cost-cutting tool in the current tariff environment. According to the article, printing products at home can save between 93% and 99% off retail purchase prices — and in some cases, the cost to 3D print an item is less than the applicable import tariff alone.
Analysis
The most exciting development this week is the AI-designed steel alloy from the University of South China and Purdue University. This research represents a fundamental shift in how we think about materials for additive manufacturing. For decades, the industry has been limited by the fact that available metal powders were designed for casting, forging, or machining — then adapted for laser powder bed fusion with varying degrees of success. Porosity, cracking, and anisotropic mechanical properties have remained persistent challenges.
This new work flips the paradigm entirely: rather than asking "how do we print with this metal?", the team asked "what metal should we design to be printed?" Machine learning models trained on alloy composition and process parameter data identified a steel formulation optimized simultaneously for printability, strength, ductility, and corrosion resistance.
If this approach scales — and there's reason to believe it will, given how quickly materials informatics is advancing — it could unlock a new generation of AM-native alloys across steel, titanium, nickel superalloys, and beyond. For aerospace and defense customers pushing performance envelopes, materials have often been the limiting factor. That constraint may be beginning to erode.
What to Watch
- America Makes Project Calls: New funding rounds are open — watch for announcements on selected projects in the coming weeks.
- IMTS 2026 (September 14–19, 2026): Registration is now open for half-day additive manufacturing workshops focused on Aerospace + Defense and Medical applications.
- Raise3D × AMT vapor smoothing integration: Details on commercial availability of the combined FDM + vapor smoothing workflow are expected as the partnership develops.
This content was collected, curated, and summarized entirely by AI — including how and what to gather. It may contain inaccuracies. Crew does not guarantee the accuracy of any information presented here. Always verify facts on your own before acting on them. Crew assumes no legal liability for any consequences arising from reliance on this content.
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