Developer notaroomba (AKA Nathan Alspaugh) has published details of his Keybytes project on GitHub. In essence, this is a modular project where a Keyword hub is magnetically connected to Keybit keys, and each key has its own microcontroller. Hence the number of keys and their layout are entirely up to the user, with a modular design akin to building Lego.

We’ve seen oodles of imaginative and truly excellent mechanical keyboards over recent years, but Keybytes probably offers the greatest flexibility with regard to layout and key selection we’ve ever seen.

It starts with a Keyword, which is the main board that the Keybits connect to. This central component houses a stacked pair of PCBs. The top board packs an Arm Cortex M4-powered microcontroller, Bluetooth antenna, and flash memory. The lower board offers USB-C, charging, and a buck-boost converter.

Adding keys seems like a cinch. Every Keybit, one of the modular keys, contains a CH32V003 RISC-V microcontroller. Moreover, it features pogo pins on all 4 sides of every key for power and I2C. The case is magnetic so you can connect it to any aspect of the Keyword and other Keybits. Atop the Keybit, a Cherry MX switch is installed. We guess you can follow the GitHub MIT-licensed plans for this project and use your preferred variety of mechanical switches.

On the GitHub project page, there are no more than two Keybits together with a Keyword, so you don’t get to see what crazy layout plans he’s hoping to conjure up. However, it is still early days. Per the project journal, Keybytes only became a thing back in March this year, and it was only over the weekend that the developer got to finally boast “it finally works!!”

Both the Keyword and the Keybit modules are 1U sized (19.05 x 19.05mm).

Alspaugh, a student at MIT, has shared all the assets, files, and details you might need to make your own Keybytes keyboard. The GitHub repository says that everything is released under the permissive MIT license.

It might quickly become expensive for individuals to put together a usable layout with, say, 60 keys. Getting the PCBs made, buying and soldering all the components, and 3D printing all the custom bits and pieces is also a considerable task when your proposed keyboard layout is more than a handful of shortcut keys. In the aforementioned journal, Alspaugh actually mentions that he priced up a “full sized keyboard (2 keywords and like 110 keybits) and it's around $900 assembled.”

Keyword has a status light, but the Keybits lack any kind of lighting. My wishlist for Keybytes 2.0 includes customizable RGB lighting, and I would also like to propose Dialbits, a Fingerprintbit, and a matching Touchpadbit.

Ukraine's military intelligence agency GUR released details of a new 3D-printed Russian cruise missile that was first deployed around September and October of this year. The missile is faster than traditional weapons, hitting speeds of 500mph, and has a range of over 700 miles. According to Business Insider, these cruise missiles, called “Filin,” are more affordable than the traditional Kh-101 cruise missile that costs more than $2,000,000 per launch. This is why some fear that these weapons would be used by the Russian military in “missile spam” tactics against Kyiv to overwhelm its air defenses.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which was originally planned to last just a few weeks, has turned into a multi-year war of attrition. This has made the frontlines a costly effort for both man and machine, which is why both sides are looking for more cost-efficient ways to conduct warfare. While drones have seen widespread use in this conflict, they’re relatively slow and are easier to shoot down. The Geran-5, which has been known to disintegrate in flight, could only hit a maximum speed of 270 mph, while the Filin can reportedly hit speeds of 500 mph and has a range of 745 miles. While this still isn’t as fast as modern fighter jets like the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the increased top speed could make it that much harder for Ukrainian air defenses to deal with the threat.

The GUR said that the Filin has a carbon and fiberglass fuselage, while also featuring some 3D-printed parts. It also said that Moscow was able to keep costs on the cruise missile low by relying on commercially available parts from both domestic and foreign companies. It used Russian-made engines instead of the Chinese turbojets found in many Shahed drones, while many electronic components, such as the flight controller, inertial navigation systems, equipment controllers, and counter-jamming hardware, are said to come from Western nations and their allies. The Ukrainian intelligence agency listed the following sources: 35 components come from the U.S., 22 from China, and 13 from Japan, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the Netherlands.

While 3D-printing isn’t necessarily cheaper than traditional manufacturing methods, it’s sometimes more cost-efficient for producing items that require unique geometries, such as solid rocket fuel or jet-engine turbine blades. It has even allowed a tech hobbyist to build a DIY MANPADS for under $100. While the Filin will likely cost way more than a home-made 3D-printed missile, the fact that it’s significantly more affordable than traditional cruise missiles could allow Russia to launch more of them, spelling trouble for the Ukrainian defenders.

Bambu Lab’s long-anticipated tool changer will launch on November 3rd. Dubbed the H3C, the 3D printer has 9 tools held by a Vortex-like rack mounted on the front of the chamber. Tool changers are the wave of the future, as they can switch colors faster and with less waste than Bambu Lab’s current AMS system.

Unfortunately, most of the information about the new 3D printer is shrouded in secrecy, but there are plenty of details that are already public knowledge. Bambu Lab is quite proud of this latest engineering feat, which you can see in the video below, and I’ll admit, I’m pretty impressed, too.

Here’s what we can confirm about the H3C: It is a member of the H-line of flagship printers, which includes the H2S, H2D, and H2C. As you can imagine, it is most similar to its namesake, the H2C, which is a 7-tool induction-heated “nozzle swapper” with a motorized Vortex rack to hold tools not in use. The H2C is one of the larger Bambu Lab machines, with a 330 x 320 x 325mm build volume.

The 11-second-long teaser video shows the tool rack dropping down, along with a satisfying metallic snick. As you might imagine, tool heads that are stored above the build plate are not going to get in your way when you’re watching that first layer go down. This is an annoying problem with the Bondtech INDX system, which we reviewed paired up with a Prusa CORE One, which forces you to peer through the tool rack to see what's going on inside the printer. Visibility on the Bambu H3C is probably better.

If you type “H3C leak” on YouTube, you can find several YouTubers who do not have machines under review dissecting the clues sprinkled around the internet. One “AI-enhanced” image showed 10 spools, which I can now finally confirm is completely wrong. Today’s video clearly shows only nine colorful Bowden tools arching over the top of the printer. We’re not at liberty to say what’s holding the spools, but I think it’s safe to acknowledge that it's a very Bambu sort of system.

The H2 line has been touted as a home manufacturing hub, so you might wonder if the H3C is the same? Perhaps it is. I had an opportunity to talk to Dr. Tao at Formnext last year when the H2C was fresh, and he was very interested in creating multitasking machines that could do more than just 3D print.

Sadly, not everyone was impressed with adding a laser to the H2D, but since the Bambu Lab A2L has an optional blade cutting and embossing tool, we can safely assume that the notion of multitasking is alive and well. I once programmed an Ender 3 to pick up Sharpie markers, so just think about the things a much more sophisticated machine with a team of sharp engineers could program.

I can’t wait to tell you more about the H3C. There are definitely a couple of surprising things about this printer that are going to come out of left field. We’ll let it all out on November 3rd.

A 3D scanner is an amazing tool to add to your 3D printing workflow, allowing you to scan real-life objects to import into sculpting or CAD software, then print out your own modified copies on a 3D printer. In the past, a good scanner cost thousands of dollars, but Creality has finally given us a device within reach of hobby-level consumers. The Creality Pika is easy to use, with the look, feel, and size of a point-and-shoot digital camera. It can wirelessly tether to a mobile phone running a Creality scanning app, which makes scanning on the go easier than ever before.

It can also be tethered to a laptop wirelessly or with a cable for more stable scanning, but marker-free laser scanning can only be performed while physically tethered to a computer. The scanner runs on AA-sized rechargeable batteries, which are provided.

It weighs just 260 grams (just slightly over a half-pound) with the batteries installed, reducing arm fatigue when operating without a tripod. A tabletop tripod and manual turntable are included for scanning small items. While not as precise as Creality’s Sermoon series, the Creality Pika, currently on pre-order for $699, is a fraction of the price. The best part is that both use the same software, Creality Scan, which is excellent.

The Creality Pika’s portability and price make this one of the best scanners we’ve reviewed in 2026.

Specifications: Creality Pika

Included in the Box: Creality Pika

The Creality Pika comes with a very nice tripod. Also included are the glass calibration board, a manual turntable, marking blocks, batteries (including a spare), a generous pack of marking dots, and a mostly useless quick start guide. The Quick Start guide is just a packing list in eleven different languages and QR codes to Creality’s website and Facebook community.

Design of the Creality Pika

The Creality Pika is a small handheld scanner that weighs only 260 g with its battery. It has a 3-inch touch screen on the back that shows the scan in progress while paired to a phone or PC on Wi-Fi, or allows exposure and zoom adjustments when scanning via cord. There are two buttons on the top of the scanner for power and start/stop, and a selector switch for USB or Wi-Fi.

The scanner has a play button to start and stop scans, as well as a button to adjust the lights and a toggle for zoom. The front of the scanner has an RGB camera, two 3D scanning cameras, a DOE projector, a parallel-line laser, four blue and white fill lights, and four infrared fill lights. There is an always-on cooling fan with grills on the top and bottom of the scanner. Two batteries are included, which can be charged in the camera or via a USB-C port located near the top of the battery.

The batteries, curiously, have both positive and negative terminals on top of the battery. Care should be taken when carrying these to avoid shorting them together with anything metal in a purse or pocket.

Getting Started and Calibrating the Creality Pika

The Creality Pika uses a glass calibration board to do an initial calibration of the scanner. The calibration process involves holding the scanner above the board at various heights and at various angles. The process takes about ten minutes.

Installing the Software for Creality Pika

Creality Scan app can be downloaded from Creality's website, with versions for PC, Mac, Android, and iPhone. A really good user guide with links to tutorials and troubleshooting help is located on the Creality Scan homepage. The discovery tab has links to items scanned by other Creality users.

The Pika must be tethered by cable or Wi-Fi. Though the Pika does have an onboard 8-core 2.0 GHz CPU, it passes along a big chunk of computer processing to whatever it’s connected to. My iPhone 15 has just enough oomph to power the scanner, so you may have an even better experience with a newer device. Either way, using a wireless connection is slower, and using it with hardware near the minimum requirements can be frustrating.

My old laptop, with only 8GB of RAM, did not work, despite being enough to run previous scanners. Thankfully, my admittedly low-end gaming laptop, with 16GB of RAM, was good enough to run the scanner quite well. The software installed on the computer is used for both scanning and processing.

Creality Scan can export scans as STL, PLY, OBJ, or ASC files. These files can be tidied up in other modeling software or uploaded directly to your 3D printer’s slicer.

Blue Laser Line 3D Scanning with the Creality Pika

The Creality Pika uses blue laser line scanning for detailed geometry capture, with seven parallel laser lines. The provided manual turntable works well when plastered with a bunch of the included marker dots. Unfortunately, it has a few millimeters of play in the center bearing, which can lead to a rough surface texture if not careful.

The photo above shows the raw scan of a copy of Michelangelo’s David. I did get much better scans later, but even this one is easily made usable in the software. The first step is fusing the model, which allows you to remove the marker dots and noise from the scan.

After fusing, the model is much smoother. There are still some unattached pieces and holes, and the bottom of the model is not flat. The lasso tool can select and remove the unattached pieces, and a clipping plane can be generated by choosing markers surrounding the scan. The plane can then be raised or lowered to give you the best base of the model.

The next step is mesh processing of the model. In this step, you can further smooth the model, simplify it, and fill small holes shown in yellow. Don’t select “make watertight” if you have a large hole (like the bottom of a model), as it will cover the holes by ballooning out a good bit. After running the mesh processing, you will have another opportunity to simplify, smooth, and fill holes.

Use Plane type hole filling for large flat surfaces.

The final model: filled, smoothed, simplified, and ready to export for printing.

This bust of David came with an early Creality scanner, so I’ve been using it as a test model for some time now. This may be the best scan I’ve gotten of it. The main reason is that the Creality Pika is small and lightweight, and tracks well enough to scan the underside of David’s hair and chin for the most part. The software’s hole filling and smoothing did the rest, with phenomenal results.

The above image on the right was printed on the Prusa Core One L with Inland Bone White PLA. The model looks nearly perfect.

Since the Pika did so well with David, I decided to try a smaller model. This little guy (below) came with my kid’s Fisher-Price castle. He’s only 62 mm tall and was just too small to paint for 3D printing. He was also printed in Inland bone white on the Prusa Core One L.

Both the print and scan are nicely detailed.

I swiped my husband’s vintage Saint Louis University Billiken bobblehead for more tests. I had to put some sticky tack on his head to keep it steady on the turntable. Creality Scan did a terrific job smoothing out the wrinkles, and the model is perfect. I used the clipping plane to remove the logo of an old wireless company that provided the game day freebie. I gave it a quick coloring job in PrusaSlicer, but skipped doing the face.

The model was printed on the Prusa XL using Anycubic turquoise and orange PLA, with Creality white and black PLA.

NIR 3D Scanning with the Creality Pika

I spent a ton of time putting random dots on the included turntable, which made Blue light scanning a breeze. NIR 3D scanning doesn’t use them. Scanning a person seems to work well until you get hair involved. Then it gets dodgy.

I ran two good scans using NIR. This time I borrowed my husband to operate the scanner, since scanning yourself is a bit more difficult than taking a selfie. I stitched together two scans of my foot, which I’ll use later to size some TPU shoes. I was able to further clean up the scan in Nomad Sculpt, since the scan wasn’t very flattering. It works quite well for sizing, however. The shoes will turn up in a future printer review.

After the less-than-stellar scan he took of my head for the Creality Sermoon S1, my husband graciously volunteered to have me scan his head for this review. Using any of the modes available, hair just seems to flummox the scanner. Fortunately, my husband has less hair than I do, so the scan did complete, and no, I’m not going to 3D print it. 3D scans are quite brutal, but if he ever wants a custom driver for his Death Racer, we’re covered.

Bottom Line

The Creality Pika is a small and light, yet totally capable scanner. It needs a good mobile phone or fairly decent laptop to drive it. The software backing up the hardware is easy to use and really does an excellent job cleaning up the rough areas of your scans. Currently, it is available at a comparatively bargain-basement pre-order price of $699.

If you want a scanner with a little more horsepower, check out the Creality Sermoon S1, which retails for $2,069. Creality also makes the Sermoon P1, which can run completely untethered and retails for $3,299.

A software engineer who’s also into drones and 3D printing has shared a single-motor drone that they built inside their home and tested on their bed. Joshua Bird shared a video of how they created it on YouTube, highlighting the unique technique they used to maintain controllability and stability. The design used a combination of a hinged propeller, rapid changes to the motor’s rotation speed, and a custom flight controller and motor controller firmware that allowed the motor to react to necessary changes in under 0.2 milliseconds.

Most rotary wing aircraft require a mechanism to counteract the torque generated by the motor or engine and to change its flight direction, typically with the use of a swash plate to change rotor disk attitude and a secondary propeller. While this method has been effective for decades, it has made rotary-wing aircraft heavier and more complex. This single-motor drone cut the need for a secondary mechanism by constantly adjusting the speed of the motor — speeding it up produces more reaction torque while slowing it down applies opposite reaction torque. This essentially turns into a balancing act between these two forces to reduce the torque on the drone body to a more manageable level.

The hinged rotor also relies on the same mechanism for directional control instead of relying on a swashplate. Each rotor blade sits on a 45-degree hinge that makes it pivot when the motor accelerates. As this happens, one blade pitches up to produce more lift, while the other blade pitches down, reducing lift. By accelerating and decelerating the motor as needed, Bird would be able to change the drone’s roll and pitch movement. It also combines this with the main rotor torque, motor adjustments, and the 3D-printed stabilizing fins to produce effective yaw control as well.

This was the theoretical part — the majority of the build video focused on fixing issues, including the part where Bird built a high-speed camera using a Sony camera and a flash unit controlled by a microcontroller that gets its signals from the prototype drone’s motor controller and camera shutter. This home-made high-speed camera revealed that the drone’s propellers were too soft and had to be replaced with a 3D-printed version that used sturdier filament.

The creator had to launch several test flights from their bed, many of which resulted in a crashed drone and some wall damage as they fine-tuned the drone’s programming. Bird was eventually able to make the 3D-printed drone fly, although it was limited to the bedroom because of its fixed-base IR beacon navigation method. They said that they eventually want to add a linear camera to the build so that it could take off in other environments in the future.

While other researchers and engineers have built smaller, quieter drones, with China even revealing a mosquito-sized unit, Joshua Bird’s single-motor project is still a unique take on drones. But what made the YouTube video much more interesting is the problem-solving process and the solutions that came afterward. You can check out the complete video below and even start your own similar project by looking at the Single Propeller Drone GitHub repository.

Anycubic's Kobra X Multicolor 3D Printer is at the lowest price it's ever been since reaching retail availability. Prime members who head over to the Anycubic store on Amazon can now snag this well-reviewed device for just $299.99 for a limited time. The 17% or $60 off its MSRP makes the Kobra X a bargain, as it was highly praised as a contender in the entry-level four-color printer category by our reviewer earlier this year. It even won a coveted Tom's Hardware Editor's Choice award.

• Check out this Anycubic Kobra X 3D printer deal on Amazon

Though it may appear to be a Bambu Lab A1 clone at first glance, we praised the Kobra X for its multimaterial system, the ACE Gen 2, which is built directly into the toolhead. This is a great timesaver for prints with lots of color changes, and we calculated that on a four-color print with 776 color swaps, the Kobra X was a shocking 10 hours faster than the rival A1, despite similar printing speeds.

The Anycubic Kobra X Multicolor 3D printer was launched earlier this year, with consumer shipments starting in late March / early April. We reviewed it in February and gave it a great score for its innovative ACE Gen 2 system, fast filament swaps, and reliable 49-point full-auto leveling and vibration compensation. It also "worked flawlessly" throughout the testing period. The only stain on its glowing report card was due to the spool holder guide making loading awkward.

This 600mm/s 3D printer expands up to 19 colors if combined with four ACE 2 Pro units. It also packs a 720P camera with real-time monitoring and instant error alerts, plus AI-driven anti-foreign object and spaghetti detection, and reasonably quiet operation at ≤48 dB.

Now at its lowest price to the public since launch, at just $299.99, this Bambu Lab A1 rival is a compelling choice for 260 x 260 x 260mm (10.23 x 10.23 x 10.23-inch) build volume projects in PLA/PETG/TPU/PVA/PLA-CF/PETG-CF/ASA materials.

X-Bow Systems, a solid rocket motor (SRM) manufacturer specializing in additive manufacturing (AM), has secured a deal with Leidos to develop and build rocket boosters for the U.S. Army’s Low-Cost Containerized Munition (LCCM) project. According to 3D Printing Industry, the LCCM is one of the Department of War’s programs under the “Arsenal of Freedom” initiative, which aims to rebuild the United States’ defense industrial base.

“Modern conflict is decided by how many rounds you can put downrange, not how exquisite each one is,” X-Bow founder and CEO Jason Hundley said. He also added that collaborating with Leidos would allow it to “turn out combat-ready rocket motors at production scale, fast.” Even though X-Bow Systems is a relatively new company, having been founded in 2016, it has already successfully produced over 2,100 combat-ready rocket motors. This means that it has the experience and expertise to produce the rocket engines in the numbers that the U.S. Army requires.

While conventional manufacturing methods still offer several advantages over 3D printing, the latter is still more effective when dealing with the complex geometries that some SRMs require. It’s also a faster solution when you need to iterate designs multiple times, which is why X-Bow can create and build new designs in a matter of days, instead of the months or years that it takes traditional defense contractors to prototype and test rocket motors.

Other companies have been experimenting and working with 3D-printed SRMs — Chromatic 3D Materials has completed a successful static-fire test of its 3D-printed rocket propellant earlier this year, while Indian startup Othisis successfully demonstrated its cryogenic rocket engine in August. One 3D-printing enthusiast was even able to create a DIY MANPADS for under $100.

3D-printing technology isn’t limited to rocket motors, either. Another startup secured a $30 million contract to prototype 3D-printed jet engines for the USAF for drones and other long-range weapons, while the U.S. Navy has started 3D-printing drones and parts aboard aircraft carriers. Some U.S. Army troops have also started 3D-printing ‘Dragoon Bombs’ and paired them with in-house assembled drones for anti-personnel and anti-light-armor missions at distances of up to 12 miles.

Drones and 3D printing have been around for decades, but the war in Ukraine is the first time that we see these technologies deployed at such a scale on the battlefield. It also demonstrated that their innovative use could help a smaller force to withstand the brunt of a larger military. This is probably why larger militaries like the U.S. and Japan are looking at these technologies for more cost-effective weapons.

Gun rights activist Cody Wilson, known for creating the world's first 3D-printed firearm over a decade ago, has unveiled a new creation he claims is "the first AI-made gun." Dubbed the WASP, the weapon is 3D-printed and was designed by an artificial intelligence model he has creatively named 'GatGPT,' The Verge reports.

The report describes the WASP as "little more than a pistol barrel attached to a spring-loaded plastic box" that closely resembles another 3D-printed, single-shot weapon made by Wilson known as Liberator. As you can see from the image below, the weapon faintly resembles a regular firearm, but boasts a very strange grip and somewhat unconventional design.

Wilson claims not to have simply made an AI-generated gun, but rather "an AI that can generate guns." Not simply one 3D printed creation, Wilson claims to have created a custom AI gunsmith model he calls GatGPT. According to the report, the model has been trained on DEFCAD's (the world's biggest online repo of digital guns) gun file library and can even help creators pick out parts for their builds.

The story is a seemingly significant development in the proliferation of "ghost guns," homemade firearms that don't have serial numbers, making them much more difficult to track and regulate. Wilson claims firearm access is "a fundamental human right." Interestingly, the report reveals that the WASP was designed simply by way of a conversation with the AI model, a polite way of saying that the gun was vibe-coded. According to the report, it fires real bullets and doesn't have a serial number.

3D-printed guns, while less regulated than the standard firearms market, have previously required manufacturers to have some level of technical knowledge in order to make weapons. However, the existence of a custom AI model that could bridge that knowledge gap would drastically decrease how difficult it is to 3D-print a working firearm. This leap requires exactly the type of unrestricted, custom AI model Wilson claims to have made, as using a mainstream AI service like Google Gemini, for example, isn't viable — the AI simply states "I cannot provide explanations or details regarding the creation, operation, or design of ghost guns or 3D-printed firearms."

Lawmakers are trying to come to grips with this rapidly evolving problem, with ongoing court battles and legislation in numerous states trying to address the problem. California recently sued a 3D printer filament company for promoting ghost guns by marketing to a 3D-printed gun community. In August, a Federal judge struck down an ATF ruling requiring regulation of part kits that can be converted into functional weapons, frames, or receivers to the same degree as complete guns.

The 3D-printed firearm market has advanced in recent years. In March, two brothers were convicted of running an entire ghost gun factory, while last year it emerged that 3D-printed full-auto bullpup ghost guns could be made for just a couple of hundred dollars. Where this latest development could cause some concern is in the aforementioned democratization of the 3D-printed firearm-making process, with AI assistance effectively opening up the practice to anyone with a 3D printer.

The report cites experts who criticized the WASP's strange design and seemingly hallucinated details, like the unfinished trigger guard, but Wilson told the report that he expects the AI's design to improve, much like any AI model.

Formlabs Form Studio 1 is the company’s first consumer-level resin printer, and it’s aimed at those looking to hit print, walk away, and come back to a finished print. The print simplicity and reliability come from years of company testing, understanding users and their needs, and Formlabs specialized resins. Sure, you can use third-party resins, but you ultimately risk that print reliability.

Formlabs has really hit a lot of good points with this printer. It looks amazing with its see-through side panels giving old-school iMac vibes. The resin cartridge easily slides in and out, and the printer and its screen basically tell you what you need to do before and after every print to make sure your experience is the best it can be.

At launch, Formlabs is offering multiple packages for the Form Studio 1:

• Form Studio 1 Basic Package – Printer just by itself - $699, includes shipping
• Form Studio 1 Flex Package (what we tested) – $749, includes shipping

From Studio 1 Flex Package “Founders Edition” – $749 includes shipping (different color case options include Graphite, Aqua, Violet, or Teal). This will also include a Founders Edition easter egg on the Printer UI, A limited Form Studio 1 Plushie, Alpha Resin starting at $29, and 25% off up to $100 at Form Now (US Only).

Specifications: Formlabs Form Studio 1

Included in the Box: Formlabs Form Studio 1

The Formlabs Form Studio 1 ships with the usual printer accessories. This includes a sanding block, flush cutters, nitrile gloves, a leveling disc, a USB-A to USB-C data cable, a quick-start guide, a cleaning sheet removal tool, and a resin tray.

On the back of the Form Studio 1 is a small turn knob for access to the vent system. Formlabs has an add-on VOC extractor ($179) to help with the resin fumes it does output.

Printing Safety with the Formlabs Form Studio 1

The Formlabs Studio 1 requires the same safety precautions as most resin printers. Uncured resin is dangerous, and the solvents used to clean your prints can be irritating to skin or cause sensitivity issues over time. Use gloves and safety glasses when pouring resin and handling uncured prints.

Make sure the room you use your resin printer in is well-ventilated to avoid inhaling fumes. Spilled resin should be immediately cleaned up with 99% isopropyl alcohol. After printing, make sure to wipe down your printer and bottles to remove smudges of uncured resin. Always keep your resin tightly sealed and safely stored out of reach of pets and children. Formlabs states that a respirator is not required, but it’s always good to have one to be extra safe.

Assembling the Formlabs Form Studio 1

The Formlabs Form Studio 1 comes almost fully assembled out of the box. You'll need to remove packing material from the inside of the hood and remove the plastic covering the vat. You'll then need to unbox the build plate and insert it onto the printer's mast.

Calibrating the Build Plate on the Formlabs Form Studio 1

The Form Studio 1 came pre-leveled and ready to go out of the box. But if needed, you can adjust the plate by using the included alignment shims and a 4mm hex key that is neatly tucked away on the left front side of the printer.

Design of the Formlabs Form Studio 1

The Formlabs Form Studio 1 shares similar styling features to its larger, much-pricier professional-grade resin printers, with its distinct Orange and Grey coloring. But the company has slimmed down the design and given it more of a modern, skeleton-style panel. The build plate has a nice tab-locking system to help users lock and remove the build plate with ease. The same can be said for the vat system, with two clamp locks on the side to help keep the vat in place, while making it easy to quickly change vats if needed.

The seven-inch display on the Form Studio 1 is large and responsive. It’s the largest screen I have seen on a printer of this size, and a great addition to the setup so you can see what is happening without having to walk right up to the printer. The printer also makes useful sounds to let you know when something is removed, put back into place, or even when there is an issue with a check while printing.

The hood does feel a little flimsy, particularly where it mounts to the arms for the hood, but it’s not terrible. This is about the only thing I found on the printer that seemed like the company cut some hardware corners. But again, it works, and the arms are solid. Formlabs did state that they are working on the design of this to make it a little better.

There is also a camera on the bottom left for live access to your current print job, or to show off an awesome time-lapse of the previous prints you did. One feature I was not expecting was the little pocket on the front left of the printer, shown in an image above, holds hex keys and leveling items. Most printers just have the tools there in a box and expect you to either print a case or toss them in a drawer and forget about them. This little case is 3D printed (files are available to download and make your own too), which is a nice touch showcasing what 3D printers are for.

Setup

When you set up the Formlabs Form Studio 1, it walks you through a series of setup screens, like most resin printers now, but I did not expect the printer to ask me to level the physical printer. This is something normally overlooked by many when resin printing. Leveling the entire printer makes sure that the Automatic resin feed system is properly balanced, keeping the system from making a big mess when the auto refill is triggered, and not overfilling the vat. This step can be skipped, but it is a good idea to make sure the printer is level.

Let's talk about resins, and specifically Formlabs resins. When it comes to resin printers, most users will end up using their prefered resin, or whatever is cheapest. This can still be done with the Form Studio 1 with its Open Material Mode. But you will still need to calibrate your resins through the slicer as normal, to get successful prints.

Formlabs Alpha Resins are the first and 3D printing resins that are UL GREENGUARD Gold certified when using Form Studio 1 and Formlabs’ VOC Extractor. This means they pass an independent test for chemical emissions during printing that are low enough to be considered healthy for sensitive groups. The company’s resins are low odor, and parts printed with Alpha Resins have passed tests for long-term skin safety.

Formlabs achieved this by changing up the ingredients in its resin. There are no known chemicals with acute toxicity or known long-term effects on organ and reproductive health. This is good news for those who are scared of the chemical side of resin printing. Now, this doesn't mean that you can just carelessly toss out your PPE, but it does mean that resins are getting better and safer for users. Maybe one day we’ll get to a point where we don’t need PPE.

Slicer compatibility with the Formlabs Form Studio 1

The Formlabs Form Studio 1 comes with the PreForm Form Studio 1 slicer. This is Formlabs’ slicer for all its printers. It takes a little bit to get used to if you're coming from Lychee or Chitubox, like most resin printers, but after your third print, you should be getting the hang of it. If you're a new user, it’ll be a little troublesome understanding how to properly angle the print and size it, but that's about it.

Sample Prints on the Formlabs Form Studio 1

Using Formlabs Alpha V1 Resin in Grey, I printed a model of Johanna from Diablo 3. I found this model while searching on Makerworld. I used Formlabs’ auto orientation tool for this print. I used stock settings for the Alpha Grey V1 in the slicer and added the stock supports. The file was sliced and sent via Wi-Fi to the printer. I printed this as a solid piece using 264ml of resin, which printed in 10 hours and 56 minutes, at 0.05 mm layer height.

The next print I wanted to tackle was a Halloween-themed print, since it is Spooky season after all.

This print was scaled up to fit the build plate area, and printed with Formlabs Alpha V1 Resin in Grey. I added some supports and sent it to the printer. This print used 224ml of resin and printed in 7 hours and 58 minutes at 0.05 mm layer height.

Lastly, I decided I wanted to try a different resin, one that most people either don’t know about or haven't really used before: flexible resin.

Since Formlabs sent us various resins to test out, I didn't want to just stick with one basic resin type. So I swapped vats and loaded up a bottle of Formlabs’ Flexible 80A V2 Black Resin. I figured the best use case for this was to print something that would be squeezable, so I ran over to Thingiverse to search for stress balls, and a soccer ball-style caught my eye. But also, I wanted to reprint a file I had printed about two years ago to showcase resin, so I went over to Makerworld to grab the tennis ball. Both printed without issue.

I did have to tweak the supports and go the manual support route. Because of the way the slicer sees all the holes, it wanted to add tons of supports that aren't really needed. Once that was completed, I sent it to the printer. These models printed together in 7 hours and 53 minutes, and only took 153 ml of resin at a 0.050mm layer height.

Washing and Curing Your Prints PSA

Before you can admire your prints, you’ll need to wash them with isopropyl alcohol and cure them with a UV light. I like to give prints a 30-second hand rinse in a container of 95% Isopropyl alcohol, then a 5-minute rinse in the Form Studio 1 Wash + Cure Station which is sold separately and retails for $199.

Completely dry the print with a hair dryer on cool – IPA left on the print can make it tacky. You can also let the print air dry in a place away from sunlight. Supports are easier to remove before curing because they are softer. Clip the supports off with side cutters and use tweezers to remove stubborn supports. Remember to always wear gloves while handling uncured prints. Then place the print in a UV curing station for its recommended curing time.

Your IPA should never be flushed down the drain, especially after being contaminated with uncured resin. Instead, keep using the resin until it’s too dirty, then leave the container open to evaporate. The remaining sludge can be cured with UV light or the sun before being thrown away. Supports should also be cured before being thrown away.

Bottom Line

Starting at $699, the Formlabs Form Studio 1 may seem a bit pricey for those looking at comparable resin printers on the market, like the HeyGears Reflex RS ($499) and Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra for $426.99. And while our testing showed slow printing times, you can get Formlabs Fast Resin to print quicker. The build quality of the printer and the Formlabs name instantly appeal to those looking for a premium package. Overall, the price feels right for what you're getting.

Using Formlabs resin pretty much guarantees a completed print over other resin printers I’ve tested. For me, the selling point beyond the name and price is the fact that it just prints. I didn’t have a single issue on that front while testing the Studio 1. That right there will sell me over any new tech or faster print times. Plus, with all the added helpful features in the slicer and the printer, the Form Studio 1 welcomes new users with open arms.

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Bambu Lab has officially teased its S1 3D scanner, ahead of its planned release in November 2026. No details of the product have been released yet, but FCC filings and Bambu Lab’s partnership with SCANOLOGY may hint at the scanner’s capabilities and shared technology.

3D scanners are a niche within a niche, and not necessarily within the 3D printing niche either. 3D scanning is used in many fields, like game asset creation, texture assets, archaeology, prosthetics, and museum archiving; and the rise of 3D printing has created a small but growing demand in the form of reverse engineering automotive and various niche parts. However, because of PC requirements, the intensive and technical scan cleanup, and resurfacing in CAD programs, it remains a small niche; a niche currently being served by brands such as Creality with their CR-Scan line of 3D scanners, Revopoint’s Pop series, mini, and all-in-one MIRACO scanner, and SHINING3D’s Einstar prosumer-level 3D scanner.

Speculations in Bambu Lab’s own forums found FCC filings for a label and drawing of the scanner. The label shows a 60W-rated input, leading some to speculate a shared platform with SCANOLOGY’s 3DeVOK MT Gen2, a wired composite 3D scanner released in 2026, using both blue and IR lasers, and also has a rated input of 60W. The input rating doesn’t necessarily confirm that they share technology, but it does give a small hint of its potential capabilities, with the number of lasers and potentially a screen dictating the power requirements.

Considering the flat spot and the top of the handle on the FCC drawings, it looks like there may be a screen, possibly like the 3DeVOK MT Gen2. More importantly, the 60W rating with no hints of a battery on the label may mean this scanner will require a PC to operate. This is often a pain point, as you would either need a powerful laptop to bring while scanning, or use a really long USB cable to your PC. As for the price, the 3DeVOK MT Gen2 is officially priced at $8,299, which is a very high price point, further making it unlikely that they may share a platform if Bambu Lab wants to keep consumer-friendly pricing.

California is taking another swing at banning 3D-printed “ghost guns,” and this time the target is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of 3D printing filament. Polymaker LLC, headquartered in Shanghai with U.S. operations based in Houston, was named in a civil lawsuit filed October 5, 2026, by San Diego County Counsel on behalf of the People of the State of California. The complaint alleges that Polymaker marketed its filament in such a way as to appeal to gun enthusiasts and thus transform harmless PLA into a regulated “firearm precursor part.”

Under California law, a firearm precursor part is “defined to include any article marketed or sold to the public to become or be used as the frame or receiver of a functional firearm once completed, assembled or converted,” according to the civil complaint filed in San Diego County Superior Court. The County seeks disgorgement of profits, civil penalties and injunctive relief.

The complaint acknowledges that 3D printing filament itself is not illegal. But prosecutors argue that Polymaker actively cultivated and monetized the “ghost gun” community by supporting and then hiring Sean Aranda, who goes by The 3D Print General on social media. Aranda, a 3D printing expert, book author, and gun enthusiast, was banned from YouTube in 2023 over firearm policy violations. His YouTube channel at the time had 123K subs. Polymaker, which had been sponsoring his channel with a special edition creator spool of khaki colored PLA Pro, came to his rescue with a job offer. He became the Head of Customer Experience, which entailed fostering Polymaker’s online community and attending community festivals with the company. He is now a Senior Technical Account Manager for Polymaker.

Aranda is mentioned 65 times in the 39-page People v. Polymaker complaint. The prosecution implies that Aranda was specifically hired for his connection to the 3D printing gun community and not that he was simply a qualified individual searching for a job away from content creation.

The prosecution attempts to link a common marketing tactic used within the online creator community to the illegal proliferation of ghost guns: affiliate links. Affiliate links are used by content creators to promote the products they use, be it spools of PLA, energy drinks, or dog food. When an audience member clicks a link and makes a purchase, the content creator is awarded a small percentage of the sale.

Polymaker supports all manner of 3D printing content creators, and the application for affiliate links is publicly posted on its website. The application asks for your name, location, and number of followers on assorted platforms. It does not ask what type of content you create or how big your audience might be. “Whether you run a YouTube channel, a TikTok account, or a niche 3D printing blog, you're welcome here. If you love Polymaker, you qualify.”

The lawsuit is presented by San Diego County’s new Consumer Fairness and Public Protection Division. If it prevails, the ramifications will extend far beyond 3D-printed firearms. If a manufacturer in Texas can be held civilly liable in California because a YouTuber used that product to do something that is not against the law in their home state, every raw material supplier, software developer, and desktop hardware manufacturer operating in the digital age could find itself in the crosshairs.

The Kingchaser, a 3D-printed jet-powered remote-controlled aircraft made out of PETG, PPS-CF, carbon-fiber rods, and aluminum, aims to take the world speed record after its maiden flight, with a target of Mach 0.8. The Mach Initiative aims to break the current Guinness World Record held for 9 years by German pilot Neils Herbrich. The team of graduates from the University of Bath has posted their maiden flight of the Kingfisher to YouTube.

The team started out with their first miniature prototype, the Kinglet, made out of PETG, PET-CF, and some PLA. It didn’t use a jet turbine yet, opting instead for an EDF (Electric Ducted Fan) as a safe and low-cost way to iterate. The Kinglet used a modular design to rapidly prototype the aircraft in sections and replace any broken parts without needing a whole new body.

Once the Kinglet had reached a level of performance the team was happy with, they moved on to the Kingfisher, measuring just under a meter, propelled by the Jetcat P60, a miniature jet turbine engine capable of 63 N · m of thrust, reaching a top speed of 205 mph (330 km/h). The Mach Initiative stated that this engine is not powerful enough, nor is it intended to break the record, aiming solely to achieve flight with a jet engine. The team had to make some major design changes from the Kinglet due to the larger size and much higher forces the aircraft would have to endure. The Kingfisher is still also made mainly out of PETG, with the housing of the engine out of annealed PET-CF. The engine is held in place by aluminum hardware, with the rest of the aircraft being reinforced by an aluminum skeleton.

The engineers initially intended the Kingfisher MK2 to be the aircraft that would house a 150Nm jet engine to break the record, attempting to hit 614 mph (988 km/h), leaving the world's fastest electric drone (434 mph) in the dust. However, they decided to make a new aircraft that was 20% larger than the Kingfisher and called it the Kingchaser, with significant changes to the design.

The 20 lb (9 kg) Kingchaser still uses mostly PETG for its external construction, but instead of annealed PET-CF for the engine housing, they switched to PPS-CF, as annealing the larger housing caused warping, possibly due to uneven heating. The PPS-CF is also skinned with a few layers of carbon fiber, further reinforced with aluminum and steel to mount the engine. They also put titanium exhaust sheets and aluminum tape to shield the print from the engine’s heat. The aluminum skeleton running through the PETG body has also been replaced with carbon fiber rods instead to save more weight and use fewer custom-CNC machined parts.

For the electronics, they have a dedicated flight control and avionics member who works on the electronics. The Kingchaser has a fully instrumented avionics system to collect as much telemetry from the aircraft as possible; it is also equipped with an FPV system for better piloting at speed. To control the aircraft, 70 kg-cm (5.06 ft-lbs) high-torque servos were used on the elevons, as it would take a considerable amount of force to move those flaps at speed.

There is currently no announcement of when the record attempt will be made, but you can keep up with The Mach Initiative’s entertaining build logs on their YouTube channel.

Shenzhen Tuozhu Technology, Bambu Lab’s parent company, has filed a patent application in the U.S. for a new heatbed design, which was published on September 10, 2026. This design aims to heat a printbed more evenly, reducing issues with prints as commonly reported by many users of various 3D printer brands. The patent describes the construction, heating method, and its claim of better adhesion to improve print quality.

The abstract of patent US20260264331A1 states: “The heated bed comprises a heated bed body, a heating unit, and a bottom case, wherein one end of the heating unit is configured to be electrically connected to one end of a power supply, and the other end of the heating unit is configured to be electrically connected to the other end of the power supply; the heating unit is disposed between the heated bed body and the bottom case. The heating unit is attached to a surface, proximal to the bottom case, of the heated bed body, and the heating unit is configured to heat the heated bed body. By implementing the present application, the adhesion capability of the print panel can be improved and the print quality can be improved.”

It’s hard to imagine from the abstract alone, but the patent’s sheets visually show us what Bambu Lab is trying to achieve, and the claims tell us more details. The current heatbeds use a laminated heating sheet, adhered to a sheet of aluminum with magnets to hold a build plate. Bambu Lab’s new design wants to replace the laminated heating sandwich with a “heated bed body.” Looking at FIG. 3 of the patent, you can see what looks to be a monolithic heatbed with a machined channel where the heating element will run through; claim 5 describes the recess’ shape resembling the Chinese character “凹,” which also happens to mean sunken or depressed.

As previously described, the heating element loops around inside a recess in the heatbed, but it is one long unit that is connected to a single power supply at each end. The loops reach the corners, potentially reducing peeling for large prints that use most of the bed’s surface; this configuration may also improve the time to reach target temperatures. It does not describe being able to heat zones independently, however.

Machining a recess in a large piece of aluminum is quite costly, in both materials and machining costs, though it is possible for Bambu Lab to create this heated bed body from multiple pieces, possibly from multiple layers of aluminum sheets to avoid using large and expensive billets.

Besides the new heatbed, included are claims describing a 3D printer. It describes a fairly generic CoreXY 3D printer, but don’t panic; this doesn’t mean every brand is suddenly going to infringe on this patent. The claims describing a 3D printer are tied to the heatbed design, so it would take a printer that has Bambu Lab’s patented heatbed design to potentially fall within the patent’s scope — the PCT application is still pending, however, so the patent cannot be enforced yet.

If the patent does get granted and the performance is superior to the current heatbed design, this could potentially mean Bambu Lab would be tempted to charge more for their replacement heatbeds and possibly the printer as a whole. In the meantime, there is no information on the performance of this design, so we will have to wait and use a bit more glue on our buildplates.

Amazon's Big Deal Days 2026 event is here, and so are the savings on our favorite 3D printers. We've sifted through Amazon to find the best bargains you can get on brands like Bambu Lab, Prusa Research, Snapmaker, Anycubic, and Elegoo. These prices won’t last long, so you'll need to act quickly.

There are plenty of great deals on FDM and resin 3D printers, including machines you’ll find on our list of best 3D printers. We're also rounding up deals on filament and resin, so you can stock up now.

Bambu Lab A1 Mini

Bambu Lab A1 Mini: $249 at Amazon

The Bambu Lab A1 Mini is our favorite beginner printer for kids and teens because it is easy to use, super affordable, and doesn’t take up a lot of space. Right now, you can get the A1 Mini Combo for $315.50, or get a single-color A1 Mini for $249. The single-color machine comes with a bonus LED lamp kit, so you can make cool projects right away with the help of free files from MakerWorld, Bambu’s file-sharing site.

Original Prusa MK4S

Original Prusa MK4S: $1,299 at Amazon

The Prusa Research MK4S, the old-school workhorse of the Prusa lineup, is $1,299. This machine comes fully assembled and ships from Prusa’s US Amazon warehouse in Delaware for free with your Prime Membership.

Original Prusa Core One

Original Prusa Core One: $1,499 at Amazon

The Prusa Research Core One is our favorite premium 3D printer and comes fully assembled and pre-tested for the best out-of-the-box experience. Prusa 3D printers are built to last a lifetime, with updates for years to come, and can be easily repaired or modded with the help of open-source parts. This machine ships for free from Prusa’s US Amazon warehouse in Delaware.

Original Prusa CORE One L

Original Prusa Core One L: $2,399 at Amazon

The Prusa Research Core One L is a beast of a machine, with a 300 x 300 mm build plate and high marks for secure, cloud-free printing. Prusa’s US Amazon warehouse is located in Delaware, so these Prime Big Deal machines are in stock and ready to ship for free with your Prime Membership.

Snapmaker U1

Snapmaker U1: $849 at Amazon

Ranked the best multicolor 3D printer, the Snapmaker U1 is our favorite four-color tool changer. Snapmaker is leading the way on Full Spectrum printing, a way to squeeze a whole rainbow of color from only four spools. An optional lid makes this an all-temperature powerhouse.

Anycubic Kobra X

Anycubic Kobra X: was $359.99, now $299.99 at Amazon

The Kobra X is a terrific four-color 3D printer, and our pick for the best budget machine. This machine is a real steal with a price tag under $300 and would make a great gift to stash away for the holidays.

Creality SPARKX i7 Combo

Creality SPARKX i7 Combo: was $429, now $359 at Amazon

Ranked the best 3D printer for beginners, the SparkX i7 is a four-color bed slinger with an automatic material handler that can load any spool, from tiny coils up to 3kg spools.

Elegoo Centauri 2

Elegoo Centauri 2: $279 at Amazon

The bare-bones Centauri 2 does an excellent job of printing in four colors of PLA, PETG, or TPU. Coming in well under $300, this is a great machine for testing the waters of 3D printing with a full-sized 256 x 256 mm build plate.

FlashForge Creator 5

FlashForge Creator 5: was $839, now $699 at Amazon

The FlashForge Creator 5 is a no-nonsense four-color tool changer with great quality. It can handle PLA, PETG, and TPU, but can’t be upgraded to an enclosed machine for high-temperature filaments.

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Also, you can join the Tom's Hardware deals Discord for up-to-the-minute hardware deals.

3D printing is a fun and rewarding hobby, but with it also comes the frustrations of trying to maintain the quality output of your printer and also tidying up the finished look of your prints. You need a host of tools to keep the process running smoothly.

Some manufacturers throw a few cheap tools in the box with a new 3D printer, but if they don't, then investing in a dedicated 3D printer toolkit will make a huge difference in caring for not only your 3D printer, but also your creations.

We've trawled through the Amazon Prime Big Deal Days sales event and used our expert knowledge to source the tools you absolutely need for your 3D printing toolkit.

Quick links

• Creality 3D printer tool wrap. (Save 32%)
• Flush Cutters. (Save 21%)
• 49-in-1 Precision Screwdriver Set. (Now just $5.69)
• HOTO 24-in-1 Mini Screwdriver. (Save 30%)
• HOTO Precision Electric Screwdriver Set. (Save 25%)
• Wuben E7 Mini Flashlight (Save 24%)

A large 3D printer tool wrap set

This 74-piece 3D printer tool kit from Creality is packed with everything that you need to keep your printer going. This toolkit has everything from a 34-piece screwdriver set to a magnetic project mat. Perfect for a budding 3D printer enthusiast, this is a "one and done" purchase.

Essential cutting tools

Whether you are cutting your filament, cleaning out supports, or removing cable ties, wire/flush/side cutters are an essential part of the 3D printer toolkit. Sometimes you get a pair with your printer, but if you don't, or you need a spare set, then this pair of snips is a good alternative for you.

These cheap cutters are superb for 3D printing, electronics, and some general home maintenance tasks. Model makers and electronics hobbyists can also use these cutters to trim parts of dried knots and dribbles.

Hex Keys

Hex keys are essential 3D printer tools. The majority of 3D printers are held together by machine screws that sport an Allen / hex head. If you don't get a set with your printer, it's not too much money to buy a spare set off Amazon.

When the prints don't pop off the plate

A 3D printer's print beds are designed to be super grippy, so the side effect is that sometimes you may need to use a tool to persuade the print to release from the print sheet. Scrapers are superb tools for the job, with the thin metal blades perfect for breaking the seal between the print and the build plate!

Screwdrivers

A good general-purpose precision screwdriver set is a necessity. This 49-in-1 set isn't on sale, but it has all the bits and is super cheap. For higher quality, you can step up to the HOTO driver, albeit with fewer bits, or go all in on an electric screwdriver.

Unclog or change your 3D printer nozzle

3D printers will get clogged at some point; that's a 100% guarantee. Hot plastic or the wrong type of filament being used at the wrong temps will mess up the most expensive printers. Luckily, the solution to this common problem is a very low-cost one.

Swapping out the nozzle on your 3D printer is also a fairly simple task, but that task is made far easier with the right tools.

Clean up your prints

Take your prints to the next level by giving them a professional finish. Clean up the edges of your projects and remove leftover bits of print support with this handy deburring tool.

Shine a light on it

Perfect for performing repairs in the tight spaces of an enclosed 3D printer, or for attaching to a cap to light up the project you're working on and highlight any print deformities that may need addressing. With 1800 Lumens of light, USB Type-C charging, an IP68 rating, a baseball cap clip, and a magnetic base, this is a great flashlight for working on 3D printing projects.

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The Prime Day sales season is in full swing, and there are plenty of deals on offer for anyone wanting to take up the hobby of 3D printing or for veteran creators to upgrade their existing equipment. One of our favorite 3D printer manufacturers, Anycubic, has a host of Prime Day deals available right now, where you can save big on the latest 3D printing tech.

There are numerous great deals on mainstream FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) printers that utilize common filaments such as PLA and PETG. In addition to resin, SLA (Stereolithography Apparatus) 3D printers utilize layers of cured resin to produce highly detailed prints.

So whether you want to create spare parts to repair that old broken piece of tech, knock up a customizable gadget from a print schematic that you found online, or even create your own 3D miniature to paint, there's a 3D printer model that will suit your needs. From beginner to expert users, check out the excellent deals below.

Anycubic Deals

Bambu Lab's brilliant 3D printers are on sale right now for Halloween. If you're in the mood for something spooky and you're looking to print some awesomely scary models, then a new 3D printer from Bambu Lab is the answer.

Bambu Lab's Halloween sale coincides with Amazon's Big Deal Days sales event between October 6 and October 7. Bambu Lab's sale is running even longer, with deals on sale until October 16. That means you'll see some discounts on Amazon, along with Bambu Lab's own website, for both printers and filament.

● Check out Bambu Lab deals at Amazon

● See all Bambu Lab Halloween sale deals

It also means you can pick up savings of up to 30% directly from Bambu Lab. One of the biggest printers on sale is this $250 discount on the Bambu Lab H2D with AMS combo, down to $1,749. You can also pick up some of the other favorites, like the Bambu Lab P1S for $399, as well as the A1 for $299. These represent big price drops compared to their original pricing earlier in the year, with the P1S originally priced at $699, and the A1 $399.

However, it's the consumables that are seeing the biggest discounts right now. Bambu Lab is running a 30% discount on filament when you buy it in bulk. If you pick up two items, you'll get 5% off, with the full 30% off given for 10 items or more.

You can find the best Bambu Lab deals that are currently running listed below. We've included links to Bambu Lab printers that we've previously reviewed, too, which you can check before you buy to see a full run-through of each printer's performance to help you make your decision.

Bambu Lab Deals on 3D Printers

Bambu Lab Filament Deals

You'll need filament with your 3D printer, unless it's a resin printer, as it's the material you'll need to start printing with. You can pick these up from third-party manufacturers, but right now, Bambu Lab is running a 30% off discount when you buy them in bulk.

These discounts mean you can score between 5% with two items, up to the full 30% off with 10. Check out the deals you can find below, with more colors available at Bambu Lab's website. There are also some awesome Halloween-themed bundles that you can pick up on sale, too.

Bambu Lab Automatic Material Systems Attachment Deals

AMS addons (Automatic Material Systems) for Bambu Lab printers will allow you to print with multiple different colors at the same time, while also helping to keep your filament dry and secure. Depending on the 3D printer combination and compatibility, you can link multiple units together, too.

These don't appear to be on sale at the moment, but if you're upgrading your existing kit, you might want to pick one up anyway.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law a bill that requires 3D printer manufacturers to include firearm-blocking technology in their products once an industry standard is published by ASTM International. This makes California the second state to enact firearm restrictions on 3D printers following New York. Two other states, Colorado and Washington state, also have similar bills that would require “blocking features” moving through state legislatures.

Since the law only affects 3D printers that have yet to be sold, existing 3D printers do not need to be retrofitted with firearm-blocking technology, addressing one of the major concerns of the 3D printing community. It’s also not a straightforward ban on non-compliant printers and only regulates the sale and transfer of 3D printers, not their ownership or use.

The application of firearm-blocking technology on 3D printers will only be required for manufacturers once ASTM International, a non-profit organization that sets voluntary standards across different industries, publishes or adopts a standard for firearm-blocking technology for 3D printers. The law mandates the California Department of Justice (DOJ) to check for a standard quarterly, starting no later than July 1, 2027, until July 1, 2029. If the organization hasn’t published a standard by that date, then the DOJ is no longer required to check for it, meaning the process to write the guidelines or regulations that manufacturers need to follow to sell 3D printers in California might not even begin.

There are currently two primary ways to detect if a print file is intended for a 3D-printed firearm — it could either be matched against a known database of gun files or analyzed by a trained model to determine if the design could potentially be used for a firearm. However, both techniques suffer from shortcomings. The former could easily be defeated by just modifying the file, like changing its size or splitting it into multiple pieces for later assembly, while the latter is prone to false positives and could prevent the printing of barrels, brackets, levers, tubes, and other parts that may look similar but have a totally different, legitimate use. This is one of the reasons why the Electronic Frontier Foundation said in June 2026 that “there is no world where the mandated technology actually works as intended.”

The California law attempts to address these concerns raised by 3D printing enthusiasts by mandating the DOJ to base its implementation on standards set by ASTM International instead of defining it itself. So, until the standards group publishes or adopts one within the set timeframe, the requirements for manufacturers to build the technology into their 3D printer models would not come into play.

AI has transformed the way we do things in life. If you are passionate about 3D printing, Meshy 7 is a tool you should try. This AI-powered platform can revolutionize your workflow by bringing your ideas to life as quickly as possible, with no modeling skills required. If you are not already on board, Meshy is running a special offer for new customers. They can enjoy a 60% discount on their first month’s subscription with the exclusive code TOMESHY60.

• Check out the Meshy 7 deal on Meshy

Instead of spending hours modeling from scratch, Meshy 7 gives you a platform to generate print-ready 3D models of your ideas in minutes. All you need to do is feed the AI with text prompts and 2D images (sketches, drawings, or photographs), and Meshy 7 will prepare the 3D model, which you can send to the best 3D printers to commence the print job. Meshy 7 produces some of the best 3D models with regard to speed and quality.

Meshy 7, the latest model launched in August of this year, brings many improvements over its predecessor. The AI has improved significantly, and your projects come out very close to what you imagine, eliminating the need for repeated prompts or going back to the drawing board. 3D models from Meshy 7 feature improved geometry and texture quality, with greater accuracy to the original image.

Meshy currently offers four subscription plans: Free, Starter, Pro, and Premium. The Free plan is a great way to get started and explore the platform’s capabilities. However, 3D printing enthusiasts or professionals should choose a paid tier, which offers higher priority in the generation queue, faster processing speeds, and the ability to run more concurrent tasks.

Newcomers get 50% off their first month on the Pro, Premium, and Ultra plans, which are regularly priced at $40 and $20, respectively. The savings do not stop there. Use code TOMESHY60 at checkout for an additional 10% off. The code has no expiration date, so you can take your time and explore Meshy 7's benefits with this risk-free deal.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, Best Motherboard, or CPU Deals pages.

Virginia Tech graduate student Hugh Grennan mixed eutectic gallium-indium (EGaIn) into uncured polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) silicone in a “3D Printing LIQUID METAL!” video on the 3D Printing Nerd YouTube channel hosted by Joel Telling. He cast a slab of the mixture, pressed a line into it to light an LED, sliced that line with a razor blade to show it still conducted, and then printed the same material on a syringe-fed printer to guide heat rather than electricity.

The metal is eutectic gallium-indium, which Grennan described as “about three parts gallium, one part indium” that, once mixed, is “liquid at room temperature.” The lab’s website says the droplets give the composite “soft elasticity” and “extreme toughness,” along with “autonomously self-healing electrical circuits.”

The metal is mixed into the uncured PDMS, which breaks it into separate droplets, each wrapped in a thin gallium oxide skin. About an hour in an oven turns the silicone from a gel into a solid, but the droplets inside stay liquid. The droplets are “on the order of 10 to 100 microns in diameter,” Grennan said in the video. The video was filmed at VT MADE, the university’s “New Center for Advanced Manufacturing,” a group of labs that includes the Soft Materials and Structures Lab where Grennan works.

The printer is a syringe-fed machine built so the lab can load the composite and print straight from the syringe, Grennan said. Droplet shape is determined by a setting that controls the ratio of how fast the composite leaves the nozzle compared to how fast the print bed moves. The proper selection stretches the round droplets into long, thin ones. Stretching the droplets allows heat to travel along the long axis of each, “away from a heat source to a heat sink,” Grennan said. Asked about uses, he pointed to custom heat sinks and stretchable wearable devices.

A 2025 paper in Advanced Functional Materials, co-authored by Michael Bartlett, the associate professor of mechanical engineering who runs the lab, put the printed composite’s thermal conductivity along the droplets’ direction at 9.9 W/mK, about 40 times that of the unfilled silicone. A separate 2024 paper in Additive Manufacturing says that the oxide skin “is found to play a unique and critical role in the reconfiguration and retention of droplet shape.”

For the electrical demo, Grennan pressed a line into the cast slab with an indenter. The pressure forced the droplets to merge into a continuous conductive track, and a small LED lit up. Under a microscope, the track appeared as a solid line with metal squeezed to the surface. He then cut across it with a razor blade, pressed again near the cut, and the LED came back, faintly.

Asked whether cutting raised the resistance, he said “not necessarily,” since cutting or puncturing simply “[reforms] all those pathways and the liquid metal flows” through them. The droplets begin insulated from one another by the silicone and by their own oxide skins. A conductive path here is metal that has flowed together, with a cut, something the path can flow around.

The video is a demonstration of research by the lab going back multiple years. It shows how the technology works in an understandable way while pointing to multiple applications. “It’s really cool to have this like it’s just a tool in the toolkit,” Grennan said. Liquid metal is already used in some PC hardware as a thermal interface. Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition uses a gallium alloy in place of thermal paste.

The wearables market Grennan pointed to keeps growing, too. Market analysis firm IDC puts worldwide shipments in the first quarter of 2026 at 145.7 million units, up 4.3% from a year earlier. The lab’s newest listed paper covers a stretchable liquid metal and polymer feedstock for 3D printing parts that conduct on their own. If the lab’s papers are a guide, we can expect improved heat spreaders and flexible device wires. Named applications include directed cooling for electric vehicles, robots, and electronics, and practical refinements for wearables.

There's a stunning discount on a featured-packed resin 3D printer that'll save you 39% on its usual price, but only if you're quick. Thanks to the Elegoo Day makers sale, you can pick up the Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16K resin 3D printer for just $399, down from $649.99. You'll have to be quick, though, as Elegoo's sale ends in just a few days.

● Check out this deal on Elegoo's website

The Saturn 4 Ultra 16K is a slightly upgraded version of the model that we tested in our Saturn 4 Ultra review, which saw it score highly and gain an Editor's Choice award based on its brilliant performance. This deal brings an already featured-packed and good-value resin 3D printer down to an even more enticing price, with the upgrades including an integrated vat heater and upgraded Wi-Fi connectivity.

With the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K, you're getting a resin printer that includes a 4-inch capacitive touchscreen on the front, giving you full access to several of the built-in smart features to help you start printing. The build volume is 211.68 x 118.37 x 220mm, slightly smaller than the original 4 Ultra, but only just.

You also get a 10-inch, 16K LCD screen with this printer. For resin printer newcomers, this isn't a display, but a mask that helps to block or let UV light pass through to cure each individual layer of liquid resin that prints. You're getting a 11,520 x 5,120 resolution with this printer, giving you an accuracy of 14 microns. Compare and contrast to the humble human hair, which is around 70 microns in thickness. This improved over the original Saturn 4 Ultra's 12K screen.

The Saturn 4 Ultra 16K's integrated vat heater is a real improvement on this model, which means you can maintain optimal resin temperatures for reliable prints, even in a really cold environment, giving you a solid 86°F or 30°C. You've also got mechanical sensors that help stop the plate from crushing the screen if a print fails, as well as a tilt-release feature that moves the entire tank away to peel resin layers one by one, giving you a 150mm/hr print speed. There's also power loss recovery to protect your print progress in an outage, as well as a built-in camera to help you monitor your print and create time-lapse videos.

The $399 sale price for the Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 12K is a brilliant one for the upgraded version of one of our favorite resin 3D printers. With the Elegoo Day sale set to finish on September 29, you've only got a few days to dive into a new hobby or expand your existing collection with this very affordable resin printer.

A Texas jury found Bambu Lab liable for patent infringement in the creation of the X1, P1, and A1 series of 3D printers, and awarded Stratasys, Inc. $27.6 million dollars in damages. The patents in dispute cover prime towers and bed leveling methods used by consumer 3D printers of multiple brands. Bambu Lab has issued a statement to Tom's Hardware about the developments.

Stratasys, Inc., invented FDM 3D printing. Its co-founder Scott Crump held US5121329 filed in 1989, for the "Apparatus and Method for Creating Three-Dimensional Objects. That patent expired in 2009, opening the doors to consumer 3D printing.

No injunctions have been placed on the machines named in the suit, which are all from Bambu Lab’s “first generation” of 3D printers. An anonymous source said Bambu Lab has been working on an alternative to prime towers should the need arise, but that information has not yet been made public.

The X1, Bambu Lab’s first 3D printer, launched in May 2022, was retired earlier this year. The P1S is not officially retired, but was nominally replaced by the P2S in October 2025. The A1 and A1 Mini are still part of Bambu’s active lineup, though a larger A2L was introduced this summer.

The first-gen Bambu Lab machines use single-nozzle filament purging, covered by Stratasys US 9421713 patent. They also rely on specific strain-gauge and force-sensor implementations targeted by Stratasys's US 9168698 patent.

The newer H2 lineup, as well as the X2, are all dual-nozzle machines, which have side-stepped US 9421713. They also employ optical sensors and re-engineered bed probing that avoid the force-detection feedback loops claimed by Stratasys.

We asked the team at Prusa Research if this ongoing patent dispute had any impact on the development of the INDX, a multi-nozzle toolchanger that does not require the use of a prime or purge tower.

“Our motivation was to have minimal waste,” said a Prusa Research rep. “In our eyes, this is a better solution than a prime tower.” The INDX nozzles prime filament by wiping tiny pellets no larger than a grain of rice into a waste cup inside the printer.

A representative from Bambu Lab reached out to Tom’s Hardware with the following statement:

"We appreciate the time and effort of the jury in considering this matter. While we respect the judicial process, we disagree with the verdict reached in this case. The law provides Bambu with the right to seek post-trial review and to appeal, and Bambu intends to avail itself of these legal processes."

Bambu Lab has a sticky situation on its hands, as this ruling only covers US patents, and thus machines sold in the United States. In Europe, the company successfully defended its use of the technology held under similar European patents. This means an X1-Carbon in New York would violate a Stratasys prime tower patent, but the same machine in Germany would not.

In April of this year, the European Unified Patent Court (UPC) The Hague Local Division dismissed Stratasys’ preliminary injunction application against Bambu Lab. The court rejected Stratasys’ attempts to broaden its claims, and Stratasys did not appeal.

The Texas judgement handed down Friday is part of a larger multi-patent dispute. Bambu Lab successfully invalidated patents US 9592660 covering the use of heated build surfaces and flexible spring steel plates. Bambu Lab argued that this is not one singular invention but a combination of designs that were later patented by Stratasys after it acquired Arevo, Inc. These designs were revealed in prior art, making them fair game.

It was also able to defend its use of networked, cloud-connected 3D printing with remote camera monitoring, covered by US 8562324.

Four more patents are still awaiting judgement in Texas. These cover RFID tags on material, remote networking, LiDAR scanning and automatic printer detection. Notably, the LiDAR has only been used on the now defunct X1 Carbon.

Stratasys filed two civil lawsuits in 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against Bambu Lab for the alleged infringement of ten different U.S. patents regarding 3D printers. Stratasys was founded in Eden Prairie, MN, and has its North American headquarters there. Bambu Lab, a Chinese company, maintains offices in Austin, TX, which is in the Western Texas District Court. The Eastern District has a reputation for being friendly to patent holders, with U.S. District Judge Alan Albright at one point hearing over 25% of the nation’s patent cases.

The Prusa INDX is a revolutionary new toolchanger capable of printing up to eight colors of various materials. INDX stands for Induction Dynamic Extruder, with each slim toolhead having no moving parts, just a nozzle and filament path. The extruder, or “smart head,” does all the work.

INDX is a collaborative project between Prusa Research and Bondtech. Prusa makes the platform, in this case a CORE One+ Gen 2, while Bondtech produces the toolhead system. The two companies have a long history of working together, going back to 2017’s MK3 bedslinger. The INDX can also be purchased separately on Bondtech’s site as a DIY kit to be mounted on any open-source 3D printer you feel like modding.

There are definite advantages of going with the Prusa INDX. You can buy it ready to roll, premounted on CORE One that’s ready to print ten minutes after removing it from the box. Even purchasing it as a kit from Prusa removes a lot of hassle and headache, as the kit is custom-fitted to CORE One, with all the wiring, programming, and whatnot done for you.

Sorting through the website to figure out what combination of kit and printer you need is the hardest part of the INDX experience. If you already have a CORE One, prices start at $749 for a four-color INDX “conversion” kit. Prusa optimistically says the kit takes 5 to 6 hours to install, but it took me the better part of a weekend to disassemble my machine and rebuild it as an INDX when I tested out the early Founder’s Edition.

The Prusa INDX is the first multicolor 3D printer to ditch the prime tower, making it practically waste-free. While all toolchangers can seriously cut down on wasted material by virtue of having a nozzle for each color, they still need to “prime” the nozzles before printing. This priming creates a tower of wasted material. Prusa has circumvented the prime tower with a new wiper mechanism that quickly shoots out a tiny blob of filament that’s about 13 milligrams in size – smaller than a grain of rice.

In my testing, I found the Prusa INDX was faster and less wasteful than any other toolchanger in the workshop. I ran the same model with similar settings on both the Prusa INDX and the Bambu Lab H2C, the closest machine to a toolchanger that Bambu currently has in production. The INDX was able to run it nearly nine hours faster, with 83.58 grams less wasted material (not counting supports) and 3 more colors.

The CORE One+ INDX starts at $1,699 for a DIY kit with four toolheads and goes up to $2,119 for an assembled 3D printer with eight toolheads, plus a Buddy Cam and Advanced filtration. If you already have the printer, the conversion kit is $749 for four toolheads and $999 for eight. There is no pricing for individual toolheads at the moment, but you can start with four toolheads and later add more. Individual tools are currently $45 on the Bondtech website.

The Prusa CORE One+ INDX lives up to its reputation and is one of the best 3D printers we’ve tested to date.

Specifications

Prusa CORE One+ INDX: Included in the Box

The Prusa CORE One+ INDX we received was pre-assembled and included eight toolheads. It only needed to be unpacked, have its screen mounted, then snap on the spool holders and Bowden tubes. Besides tools, the printer comes with a full spool of Galaxy Black Prusament PLA, a USB Stick, a handbook on 3D printing with your new machine, and a bag of Gummy Bears. The USB stick contains several models, while PrusaSlicer is available for free download from the website.

We also received a Buddy Camera and several boxes of filament to perform the review.

Design of the Prusa CORE One+ INDX

The CORE One+ INDX is a Core XY 3D printer converted into a toolchanger. It has a slim, steel exoskeleton with indents on either side. The right side holds a 3D-printed waste container on the outside for the tiny bits of filament the machine drops from the wiper system inside the chamber. We’re unsure if this mod is a permanent feature or an apology bonus for being unable to deliver fully hardened steel nozzles at launch.

Like the original CORE One, the door and upper parts of the side panels are translucent black polymer. The top panel is now replaced by a “top hat” to give the multitude of Bowden tubes room to work. Since the shell is made of folded steel, it’s not exactly airtight, but so far we haven’t had any trouble printing ASA or ABS in the machine.

The exoskeleton is an interesting concept. It provides a strong, stiff frame for the printer while also minimizing materials and avoiding that cheap plastic feel that plagues many other designs. The indented sides do more than slim down the printer’s silhouette; they reduce the interior space of the printer, allowing the chamber to be sufficiently heated (when needed) by only the heater bed.

Like every other Prusa printer before it, several of the CORE One+ parts are 3D printed with PC Blend Carbon Fiber, though more pieces are moving to in-house injection molding. Most of the machine is manufactured at the main factory in Prague, though printers assembled in the United States will have some parts printed locally in Delaware.

The CORE One+ has a door that can be flipped to open on either side. And thankfully, that door can remain closed at all times thanks to an active cooling system and automatic top vent.

The INDX ditches the Nextruder extruder for the Bondtech induction-heated toolhead. The toolhead looks way too exposed out of necessity, as it picks up the passive nozzles by simply ramming itself onto the rack and grabbing the toolhead with magnets. The motion system is extremely accurate, and I had no problems with it during testing. You can see the copper coils of the induction heating system very plainly.

Unlike the Prusa XL, the toolheads mount on a rack in the front of the chamber. They take up very little space, but you will lose 15 mm of Y and 2 mm of X on the build plate compared to the CORE One+.

The rack does make seeing inside the printer a bit of a challenge, but the optional Buddy Cam has a clear view from the inside.

The wiper is located to the side, on top of the indent. In the Founder’s Edition, the wiper dumped into a small removable cup clamped to the side panel. Our review unit has a hole drilled into it to dump into a large exterior container, which is a huge improvement.

Anyone who’s had to calibrate an XL will rejoice at the new automatic tool offset calibration system. A calibration sensor sits in the front corner of the machine, and you don’t need to do a thing but keep it clean.

The CORE One+ has active chamber temperature control, which is NOT the same as chamber heating. Instead, the machine’s interior geometry is optimized to capture heat thrown from the bed to heat the chamber up to 55C. A fan and smart ventilation system likewise keep the chamber cool enough for PLA even with the door closed.

Assembling the Prusa CORE One+ INDX

The Prusa CORE One+ INDX we reviewed came fully assembled and only needed to be unpacked. Simply pull it out of the box, remove the packing materials, snap the screen on and the spool holders, and plug it in.

Once the machine is turned on, you’ll see a cartoon version of Josef Prusa to guide you through setup. However, calibration is now handled at the factory, so there’s nothing left to do but make sure you’ve removed the zip ties and carry on your merry way.

Leveling the Prusa CORE One+ INDX

Bed leveling is a no-brainer, as the Prusa CORE One+ is fully automatic. There are no manual adjustments and no need to adjust the Z offset. The printer uses a load cell sensor connected to the nozzle, which physically taps the print surface for precise measurement.

The printer trams the bed and calculates the required Z height before each print. And yes, if you need it, live Z adjustments are available in the control panel.

Loading Filament on the Prusa CORE One+ INDX

Loading filament is very simple. Simply place the spools on the side-mounted rack and feed the plastic into the reverse Bowden tube until it reaches the hotend. You’ll need to open the printer menu and tell it which toolhead you’re loading, since the toolheads themselves are passive. The carriage will zip over, grab the requested tool, and take it to the nozzle wiper to purge a small amount of filament into the cup. It will wipe the nozzle and park the toolhead when you’re done.

The inductive heater brings each nozzle up to temperature in a matter of seconds.

Unfortunately, the printer only asks what kind of filament you’re loading (PLA, ASA, Flex, or more) but not what color. This is probably due to the fact that the slicer does not constantly communicate with the printer over the cloud, but I’m hoping that this feature will become available with a future firmware update. For now, you’ll have to manually enter your filament colors into the slicer. There is a remapping option on the control screen, but shifting around eight spools' worth of information in this fashion is tedious.

The spoolholders are sturdy manual devices that can hold literally any brand of filament you might be using. They even expand to hold 3KG spools.

Preparing Files / Software for Prusa CORE One+

The Prusa CORE One+ uses its native slicer, PrusaSlicer. This open-source slicer is developed by Prusa Research and serves as the foundation for many other slicers. It comes with dozens of profiles for every material and nozzle size that Prusa Research makes.

The slicer also has built- in Color Mixing, which allows you to blend two or three colors with ultra-fine layers to create the illusion of more colors.

The CORE One+ can also use Prusa’s web-based slicer, EasyPrint, to print directly from Printables, Prusa’s free library of files, or from a mobile device.

Printing on the Prusa CORE One+ INDX

The fully assembled CORE One+ comes with a full 1 KG roll of Prusament PLA Galaxy Black. If you want more colors and materials like silks and multicolor filaments, you should check out our guide to the best filaments for 3D printing for suggestions.

I used some of the sample rolls sent my way, plus a couple more lying about the workshop, to Prusa’s new calibration butterfly, Otto. This eight-color sample test print took 1 hour and 14 minutes. The wings are a first-layer test and are only two layers thick. A tab on the wing slots into the body to prove that tolerances and extrusion flow are correct. The multi-colored wing segments act as a visual test for first-layer quality, belt tension, and toolhead alignment, as any tiny offset in color boundaries or axis motion will show up instantly. This is a lot more useful than a Benchy for multicolor printing, and it makes a cool decoration you can keep on the shelf.

I printed this 100%, 150mm tall, Cinderwing3D Butterfly Dragon that I could never get to stick to the bed with other multicolor machines. Sitting next to it is a small container with all the waste this print produced from 1646 tool changes: 18 grams. When you look really close, they look like Nerds candy.

This printed in 25 hours, 41 minutes, using a .2 mm layer height, 3 walls and 10% gyroid infill. It took a little longer to print because I slowed it down to 100mm/s across the board due to the precarious wing situation. The filament is Prusament PLA in Orange, Yellow, Simply Green and Galaxy Black; Inland Purple, and Bambu Lab Basic Pink.

For PETG, I printed a planter I designed. I’ve been trying to learn Nomad Sculpt, but I still need to rough things out in Tinkercad. For that reason, please excuse the rough layer line near the bottom, which is entirely a design flaw and not the printer’s fault. PETG doesn't color swap quite as cleanly as PLA, and I had to pick a few stray flecks off the print. Otherwise, it’s pretty darn good. This is printed in Prusament Galaxy Black and Yellow Gold PETG, with Deepwater Blue from Greengate. This print took 6 hours and 14 minutes to print using default settings and a .2mm layer height. There was 6.84 grams of filament wasted with 537 tool changes.

For high-temperature testing, I made these pumpkin containers, again with a mash-up of Tinkercad and my fledgling Nomad Sculpt skills. You really don’t want to see the insides of these things. But they printed really well in Prusament ASA Orange and Galaxy Black, with Ambrosia Armored Turtle Green ASA. I couldn’t find any white ASA, so I found a random spool of white ABS to fill in. The printer had no problem mixing the two materials as they are quite similar. I don’t think this photo does the orange justice; it’s possible it’s a bit fluorescent. Most importantly, there was no odor while these ran, as the printer remained closed and filtered. The large pumpkin took 13 hours and 45 minutes to print using a default .2mm layer height. It had 9.4 grams of waste over 632 tool changes.

A note on TPU: The Prusa INDX does not have an official profile for flexible materials as yet, but it is listed as being TPU-capable. I wrote up my own profile, copied from a standard CORE One+, and had mixed luck. It had difficulty with oozing and would occasionally jam up when trying to print with more than one color. This needs further work and experimentation.

Bottom Line

The Prusa CORE One+ INDX is the machine Prusa Research needs right now to compete in the modern marketplace. Is it a bit of a splurge? Yes, but the company’s reputation for reliability, right to repair, data security, and continued support through the years makes it a safe splurge.

Starting at $749 for a four-tool conversion kit and going to $2,119 for a fully assembled machine with the works, the CORE One+ INDX offers flexible price points for Prusa fans. Once assembled, the 3D printer itself is easy enough for families and school kids to use, but capable enough for small businesses and workshops. Plus, the ability to take the machine completely offline means it's a secure work partner for those who are mindful of data security or simply have unreliable internet service.

If you're a tinkerer and already have a CORE One or heck, even a MK4S, there is an upgrade path that could be a fun project that will net you the latest printer at half the cost.

If a Prusa machine seems just a bit too spendy for your budget, the $849 Snapmaker U1 is an awesome four-color toolchanger with an evolving ecosystem and a thriving community of users. The Bambu Lab H2C nozzle swapper is a touch more expensive at $2,499, but has a larger 330 x 320 mm build plate, even if it only does five colors.

MORE: Best Budget 3D Printers

MORE: Best Budget 3D Printers for Beginners

MORE: Best Multicolor 3D Printers

Elegoo has a huge sale right now, making it a great time to pick up a new 3D printer. This special Elegoo Day sale on new 3D printers is running throughout September to celebrate its community of makers, with limited-time discounts across its whole range, with resin and filament also on sale. You can score up to 40% off a new 3D printer right now, but you'll have to be quick about it.

● Check out these Elegoo 3D printer sales

Elegoo has placed almost its entire range of 3D printers on sale. One of its best offers lets you pick up an Elegoo Centuari Carbon 2 Combo, along with 1KG of filament, for just $400. The printer is just $399 right now, but the extra dollar gets you 1KG of PLA filament on top.

You've also got 26% off the ultra-big OrangeStorm Giga, now $2,299. At the other end, you can score 37% off the Neptune 4 Plus, down to $269. Beginner-friendly resin printers, like the Mars 5 Ultra, are also on sale, down to $259.

This Elegoo Day flash sale isn't going to be around forever. The discounts will end on September 29, 2026, at 3 AM ET, but there's no guarantee that the stock will last until then, so you'd better be quick.

Elegoo FDM 3D Printer Deals

Elegoo Resin 3D Printer Deals

Elegoo 3D Printer Filament and Resin Deals

How do you make a really good printer even better? How about a $25 upgrade kit? Recently, Prusa Research rolled out a series of upgrades to the big three: the CORE One, CORE One L, and the XL 3D printers. Since the CORE One L is the newest printer of the batch, it only needed a tweak rather than a full overhaul to earn a “+” designation. No one was surprised by this update, as Josef Prusa has a reputation for upgrading his machines rather than letting them fall by the wayside. In fact, the CORE One L is only the third major variation of Prusa-designed printers since the company was founded in 2012.

As we were wrapping up this review, Prusa Research announced the CORE One L+ is now compatible with the Prusa INDX conversion kit, which is $799 for four tools, or $1,079 for eight. We’re currently reviewing the INDX on a standard-size CORE One + (Gen 2), and spoiler alert: it’s running spectacularly.

The Prusa CORE One L never left my workshop since its introduction nearly a year ago. In over 1000 hours of hard use, it’s been quietly printing abrasives like carbon and glass fiber, and even a pinch of Prusa Ultra Glow, with no problems. It’s been a real workhorse for practical prints.

The “plus” upgrade removes a super annoying flaw that has spoiled an otherwise perfect machine: nozzle wiping failures. Before this upgrade, all Prusa machines would clean the nozzle before bed leveling by tapping the bed, leaving little dots of filament on the plate. When you’re running higher-temp filaments, oozing is a real problem and nozzle wiping fails are more frequent. The error itself isn’t a big deal, and I would often choose to ignore it as I still get excellent prints. The problem is the time I’d lose if I wasn’t watching the printer like a hawk, as the printer would shut down bed heating while it waits for you to come tend to it.

We’ve had nozzle wipers on other brands of 3D printers for years now, and it’s a relief that Prusa has finally gotten on board. With a simple addition of a silicone brush, the CORE One L+ is now one of the few printers I trust to set it and forget it.

The Prusa CORE One L+ upgrade also came with a set of GT1.5 timing belts. The tighter tooth spacing on the belts and drive gears makes an already precise system more precise, resulting in smoother surfaces.

Another update is that this 3D printer is finished at the factory. When firing up the Prusa CORE One L+ for the first time, you’ll notice one thing right off the bat. A winking Josef Prusa pops up to help you set up your printer (as usual), but now there isn’t much set up to do. All the calibration has been done at the factory, and you get your first print going in about five minutes after ripping into the box. You can eat your complimentary package of Gold Bears while watching the first layer go down.

One thing that Prusa Research did not change is the 290 °C hot end limit. Most printers in this class can go 300 °C, with the Bambu H2S good to 350 °C and the Qidi XPlus 5 capable of 370 °C. Prusa offers an HT hotend upgrade that hits 400 °C and is listed at $199, but it's currently out of stock. 400 °C is hot enough for PEKK and more than enough for PPS CF. But I’d like to see the CORE One L+ do at least 300°C from the get go.

This is one of the few printers that can be operated entirely offline, making it the 3D printer of choice for businesses and government entities who need to keep data extra secure. Yet the machine itself is mostly online and open source, to make sure users can freely repair and mod their own devices.

Plus, the CORE One L+ has an optional Advanced Filtration Module with HEPA and Active Carbon filters to make sure whatever fumes your filament produces stays out of your home or office. That same vent can also be attached to an HVAC system.

For these reasons, we’re happy to put the Prusa CORE One L+ on the list of best 3D printers we’ve tested as the best Cloud Free/Open Source 3D Printer we’ve seen so far. The CORE One L+ is retailing at $1,999, the same price as before the upgrade. It’s only being offered as a fully built machine, no kits this time.

Specifications

Prusa CORE One L+: Included in the Box

The Prusa CORE One L+ is 99% assembled at the factory. Also included are a bag of Haribo Goldbears, a toolkit, a USB stick, country specific power cord, a PEI flex plate, a spool holder, and a full spool of Galaxy Black Prusament PLA.

Design of the Prusa CORE One L+

The CORE One L+ is a tank of a machine, weighing almost 50 lbs and built with a rigid metal frame, metal side panels, a plexiglass door, and top and side windows. The side panels jut into the interior of the machine to both allow clean lines on the outside and to get rid of useless space on the interior that would need to be heated. The filament spool nests neatly inside the recessed panel.

With a build volume of 300 x 300 x 330 mm, the CORE One L+ has a lot of heat area. This is accomplished with a thick aluminum heatbed that runs on line current, switching automatically from 110V to 220V. The chamber is heated with two fans mounted under the bed to create a convection effect, blowing cold air over the bed. The toolhead is now driven by finer-toothed GT1.5 belts that run on a linear rail for the X-axis and two linear rods for the Y-axis. The bed is driven by three independent stepper motors with lead screws.

The toolhead has a planetary-geared Nextruder, which does a great job pushing plastic. A large cooling fan is on the front, and a large parts cooling blower on the back leads to a duct that wraps almost completely around the nozzle.

The CORE One L+ comes with a .4 brass CHT high flow nozzle installed, and a bonus hardened steel nozzle included. The first thing I did after a quick test print was to switch to the hardened nozzle. These nozzles are not exactly quick release, but are fairly easy to replace. The two thumb screws on the left side of the tool head release the nozzle, which then must be unscrewed from the heater block. Care must be taken since, once the nozzle is removed, the only thing holding the heater block is the wiring. I haven’t run into any issues yet, but I’m very careful with the wiring.

The hotend can reach a temperature of 290 °C, and as mentioned earlier, there's an optional HT hotend that hits 400 °C if you really need the extra heat.

The door on the Prusa CORE One L+ has a switch, which can be disabled, to safely stop the printer if it is opened while running. I really love that the door can be mounted on the opposite side of the machine, in case that works better for your setup.

The top vent on the printer is opened and closed automatically as needed. There are two fans on the back of the case to help ventilate the chamber. This is quite enough to run lower-temp filaments like PLA with the door shut. There is an optional HEPA filter that mounts over the rear case fans.

The Buddy3D camera provides excellent video for monitoring your prints from Prusa Connect and the Prusa App. The one thing it can’t do is send a timelapse video to your computer. To record a timelapse video, you must add an SD card to the camera.

Assembling the Prusa CORE One L+

The Prusa CORE One L+ arrives mostly assembled. After removing three screws holding down the bed, you can put the tool kit away. The screen and trim panel slot into the front of the printer and are held in place with magnets. The wiring for the buddy cam is preinstalled, and the camera mounts to the printer’s inner wall with magnets. The spool holder attaches to its base with a quarter turn. The toolhead is freed by removing the cardboard holding it in place. Within just a minute or two, you are ready to print.

Leveling the Prusa CORE One L+

The Prusa CORE One L+ is calibrated at the factory. So there is no need to run through the usual 30 minutes of calibrating and leveling when powered on. The printer does check the level before each print.

Loading Filament on the Prusa CORE One L+

Loading filament on the Prusa CORE One L+ is simple. Filament is pushed past the runout sensor and into the toolhead, where it is grabbed automatically by the extruder. The printer then asks what kind of filament you are loading and heats the nozzle to the appropriate temperature.

Loading TPU is the same, but there is a switch to disengage the filament runout sensor. This really helps loading noodly TPU. I tried TPU from several companies, and 95A TPU loaded just fine. For softer TPU, I couldn’t push it past the 90 degree bend in the Bowden tube at the toolhead. I needed to remove the Bowden tube and load the filament directly.

Preparing Files / Software for Prusa CORE One L+

Prusa printers run on PrusaSlicer, an open-source slicer based on Slice3r that serves as the foundation for most of the other slicers out there. While the Prusa CORE One L+ can be run completely offline, PrusaSlicer can directly access Printables, Prusa’s vast and curated file-sharing service, and can directly control and upload files to the printer through Prusa Connect.

Initially, the buddy camera only produced still photos that were updated frequently, but after a firmware update (which was already present on the camera for this printer), the live video quality is excellent. Prusa has also developed its web-based EasyPrint slicer, which can be used for slicing files on mobile, and it offers a more comprehensive set of options than any other app or online slicer I’ve seen.

Printing on the Prusa CORE One L+

The CORE One L+ comes with a full 1 KG roll of Prusament PLA Galaxy Black. If you want more colors and materials like silks and multicolor filaments, you should check out our guide to the best filaments for 3D printing for suggestions.

First, I printed an Articulated Cobra + Pencil Holder from McGybeer. I used the provided Galaxy Black PLA for the snake, and the pencil holder was run in Meta Taro Purple PLA from Sunlu. Both were printed with a .2 layer height with an average print speed of 100 mm/s. The pencil holder took 9 hours and 44 minutes to print, with the cobra taking 16 hours and 44 minutes. The snake is wrapped around the pencil holder when you’re not playing with it. Both look absolutely perfect.

I printed a plate of carpenter pencil sharpeners from Anakel. They use a standard utility blade and work really well. Printed at a .2 layer height and an average print speed of 120 mm/s, they were completed in 3 hours and 35 minutes. They look great in grey high-speed PETG+ filament from Inland.

Next, I ran two plates of weapons for our battle tops, which are listed on Printables.com. Printed in Prusa Orange ASA with a .2 mm layer height and running at an average of 120 mm/s, the plates took a little over 5 hours each. They are printed solid with a bit of overextrusion to lock everything together and look really good, if I do say so myself. The bed leveling and adhesion were perfect out to the edges of the build plate.

To test the Prusa CORE One L+ on a more technical filament, I printed a plate of clips from Afrie using PA6-CF20 from Polymaker. This is not the easiest filament to print, and one that I normally run at 300C, which is hotter than the CORE One L+ can go. Using a .2mm layer height and an average speed of 50 mm/s, the clips took almost four hours to print. The parts are print-in-place, and there is some roughness on the unsupported overhangs, but for PA6-CF they still look fantastic. After a few hours of annealing, they are in use all over my house at this point.

TPU is easier to print on the CORE One L+ than on many printers on the market today. I printed weapons for our DeathRacer combat robots using Cookiecad Witches Blue 95A TPU and white Polymaker Polyflex TPU 90A. With a .2mm layer height and an average print speed of 35 mm/s, these blades took a little over 6 hours each and look great with just a tiny amount of stringing.

Bottom Line

The CORE One L+ is a fast, quiet, easy to set up printer that is a joy to use. If it could get a little hotter on the nozzle without an upgrade, it would be nearly perfect for a wider range of practical filaments.

With a retail price of $1,999, the CORE One L+ is a significant investment when compared to the more budget-friendly Core XY machines from other brands. However, the legendary 24 hour 7 days a week, English speaking customer service and rabid fan base willing to share tips and tricks are a huge perk. So is the knowledge that when you buy a Prusa today, you’ll still be running it in 10 years or more because it is infinitely repairable and moddable.

If a Prusa CORE One L seems just a bit too spendy for your budget, the smaller Prusa CORE One comes in at $999 for a kit. The slightly more budget-friendly, but equally sized Bambu Lab H2S Combo is currently on sale for $1,399, and if you need some massive CORE XY size, the Creality K2 Plus is worth checking out at $1,199.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) agents arrested 19-year-old Emani Rey Justavino of Jacksonville, Florida, after he sold them “Glock switches” on two separate occasions. According to News4Jax, these 3D-printed devices are designed to convert semiautomatic firearms into fully automatic weapons, which is a federal offense. More than that, the mere possession of these devices is already considered a violation of the law and carries a penalty of up to 10 years in federal prison.

The complaint says that the ATF learned that someone who goes by “J.B.J.” was selling the devices on Instagram, so an undercover source contacted him in order to make a purchase. They were then redirected to someone with the Instagram handle “904hottshop,” who agreed to sell four 3D-printed conversion devices for $200 on August 18. The undercover source and another undercover agent met Justavino at a restaurant, who then redirected them to “Ray,” who lived in a nearby home and handed over the items for the agreed price.

The following day, the undercover ATF agent contacted Justavino again to buy 16 more of the devices for $400. The suspect allegedly said that he had printed 50 more devices overnight and, when he met with the agent, offered the entire batch for $300 instead. He additionally offered a tan Glock 19 for $1,000 but refused to sell it when the undercover officer offered a barter trade instead. The ATF filed the criminal complaint against Justavino last September 3, leading to his arrest on September 10.

Authorities across different states have been concerned about 3D-printed ghost guns, with California, Colorado, New York, and Washington State taking steps to stop their production. Some state legislatures have considered this issue a priority, especially as there have been multiple cases of people getting arrested for using 3D printers to build conversion kits and actual weapons, with one enthusiast even building a shoulder-mounted guided missile launcher for just $96 in parts and filament. However, 3D-printing enthusiasts are concerned that these steps could be too restrictive, prevent the legitimate use of 3D printers, and even negatively affect education, open hardware, and small 3D printer manufacturers. One federal judge also struck down an ATF “ghost gun” rule for 3D-printed parts, saying that it violates the Fifth Amendment and the “historical tradition of DIY gunsmithing.”

It's not even Prime Day yet, but we're already seeing a lot of individual fall sales popping up from a lot of online tech retailers. Now, 3D printer sales are pretty common, with some manufacturers seemingly offering almost year-round discounts, but today's fall sale deal on a new Bambu Lab P1S 3D printer is a new all-time low price of just $349. From what I can see. The last time this model of printer was on sale, the price was $399, so a saving of $50. That means more money for filament to start you off on your new 3D printing hobby journey.

● Grab this deal at Bambu Lab's store

Bambu Lab makes some of our favorite 3D printers, with the P1S scoring highly in our review and receiving an Editor's Choice award. An excellent choice for beginners or seasoned printer enthusiasts, the P1S is easy to set up, arriving semi-assembled and requiring only 15 minutes to get up and running. Featuring automatic bed leveling, easy-to-use presets, a built-in LCD screen and control panel, a time-lapse camera, a fully enclosed printing area, and the capability to later attach a multicolor AMS filament unit, the P1S is a great choice, especially at this price.

It is worth noting that the P1S has been surpassed by the latest P2S 3D printer, but with the P2S still costing around $549, you do have to shell out $200 more for the newer model. With the P1S, you're still getting a fully enclosed printing environment, a good option for prints that require uniform high temperatures for cleaner prints. A build volume of 256 x 256 x 256 mm and a large textured PEI spring steel sheet for removing your creations easily after they've finished printing.

The Bambu Lab P1S is a fairly speedy printer for the price, able to achieve up to a 20,000 mm/s² acceleration limit. The P1S comes with Bambu Lab's proprietary 0.4mm nozzles as standard, attached to a direct drive extruder. This gives better pressure control while you're printing, improving accuracy and avoiding excessive filament waste.

The built-in LCD screen and control panel let you easily control and set up your printer to start creating. WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity let you transfer your prints to the printer with ease, but there's also a microSD port if you want to transfer prints directly to the machine. To keep an eye on how your prints are doing, you can access the built-in time-lapse camera to make sure everything is running smoothly and is on track for a completed print.

This is a superb choice for a starting 3D printer for someone new to the hobby, especially if you're looking for a printer with an enclosure. At just $349, it's going to be hard to find a printer with this kind of pedigree for less.

A software engineer and creative tinkerer has shown off a futuristic Meta Quest plus 3D printer workflow in a video shared on social media. Hank on X demonstrates modeling a 3D object on his computer, which he then picks up and throws to his 3D printing system across the room. “I've never felt more like Tony Stark,” joked the tech enthusiast.

Let’s look more closely at the hardware in use before talking about the integration in play. The demonstration video clearly shows that Hank has a Bambu Lab P2S 3D printer with an AMS 2 multi-material system on top. We reviewed the Bambu Lab P2S with AMS2 last October, and gave it a pretty glowing 4.5/5 review score thanks to lots of features and factors in its favor. Hank has integrated this 3D printer with his Meta Quest 3 headset. We last reviewed one of these HMDs back in December 2024 when we tested the Quest 3S, and it was also a 4.5/5 star winner.

So, these two great pieces of hardware don’t usually work together, but that didn’t deter Hank. Not much anyway. Later in the tweet thread, Hank reveals that “The Bambu Lab printers have an API that you can use to control them locally! [So I] Spun up a quick web server on my PC that glued everything together! (Android app -> PC -> 3D printer).”

Of course, other Bambu Lab 3D printer users with Meta Quest headsets were interested in following in Hank’s footsteps. The software engineer said that the integration was finessed with the help of OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra model (so, yes, it’s vibe coded), but wasn’t available on GitHub as yet. However, our 3D printing-in-VR hero indicated that they would be happy to share the code online if there was enough interest (and after a bit of code polishing).

Hank’s tweets are full of interesting projects mixing VR and vibe coding. In another noteworthy post (embedded above), he shows he used Astra to get the recently released Super Smash Bros Melee decompilation to work on the Meta Quest 3 with VR controls.

Elegoo is running a special sale on new 3D printers throughout September, in celebration of its community of makers. The Elegoo Day sale means that, right now, you can pick up an Elegoo Centuari Carbon 2 Combo, along with 1KG of filament, for just $400. You can actually secure it for $399, but the extra dollar nets you 1KG of PLA filament on top, which seems like a fair trade.

● Check out this deal at Elegoo

Introduced earlier in the year, this stripped-down version of the Centauri Carbon 2 scored 3.5 stars in our review. It's the cheaper model, with some missing features compared to its bigger sibling, but it's a worthy option for beginner makers, especially given its price.

In terms of specs, you're getting a Core XY 3D printer that uses the Canvas four-color system, with instant color switching and smart filament detection, and with a build volume of 256 x 256 x 256mm. You can expect to hit temperatures between 110C and 350C with this bed, which means you're able to print with some of the more problematic filament types like PET-GF and PCTG, although the printer offers support for a variety of materials, including PLA, PETG, TPU, and ABS.

You get a large touchscreen for controlling the printer, with features like calibration and auto bed leveling, and 31 intelligent sensors to help probe and level the print area, all designed to make the printer simple to use. The Carbon 2 Combo is easy to use, with great print quality that rivals Elegoo's pricier models.

The 3D printer market is filled with choice, but the Centauri Carbon 2 Combo is a good, budget-friendly option for makers to try for just $400 right now. The fairly large build volume, fast print speeds, four-color filament system, and wide support mean you're able to get started with complex prints with ease. The $370 sale price includes 1KG of PLA filament, one of the best filaments for 3D printers to start out with due to its forgiving nature. You can choose between white, black, and grey filaments, with further sale discounts available on additional spools.

Anycubic’s newest Photon P1 was released a few months ago, and now it’s time for its bigger brother to step into the resin printing spotlight. Replacing the current Mono M7 Max, the Anycubic Photon P1 MAX packs in some new tech, along with a larger build volume.

Anycubic is showing off its new refined look for resin printing here – sleek, simple, and user- friendly. The Photon P1 Max has the same look and feel as the P1. However, the firmware on the machine we are testing was still in its early stages. With a few bugs, it still works as it should.

The Anycubic P1 MAX is currently on a presale on Anycubic's website for $1,103.00. After the presale, the P1 MAX will go up to $1,149, which isn’t a significant price increase. With all the tech packed into this printer and its simple, sleek design, it’s a great addition to any 3D printer’s workshop and lands a spot on our best resin printers list.

Specifications: Anycubic Photon P1 MAX

Included in the Box: Anycubic Photon P1 MAX

The Anycubic P1 Max ships with the standard resin printer starter accessories. This includes a Metal scraper, a set of Allen keys, a user manual, a USB drive, a power cord, plus a wipe for the inside of the hood and a plastic scraper.

The USB drive comes pre-loaded with Anycubic’s Photon Workshop Slicer, test files, and a digital manual.

On the back of the printer is a rubber grommet for those who want to add a vent to the back of the printer for fume extraction. No hose is provided with this printer, so you will need to source one that fits to make it usable.

Printing Safety with Anycubic Photon P1 MAX

The Anycubic Photon P1 MAX requires the same safety precautions as any other resin printer. Uncured resin is dangerous, and the solvents used to clean your prints can be irritating to skin or cause sensitivity issues over time. Use gloves and safety glasses when pouring resin and handling uncured prints.

Make sure the room you use your resin printer in is well-ventilated to avoid inhaling fumes. Spilled resin should be immediately cleaned up with 99% isopropyl alcohol. After printing, make sure to wipe down your printer and bottles to remove smudges of uncured resin. Always keep your resin tightly sealed and safely stored out of reach of pets and children.

Assembling the Anycubic Photon P1 MAX

The Anycubic P1 MAX comes fully assembled out of the box. You’ll just need to remove the packing material from the build plate area and peel the screen protectors and labels off the printer and FEP Film.

If you choose any add-ons, such as the perforated build plate, they will be supplied in separate boxes.

Calibrating the Build Plate on the Anycubic Photon P1 MAX

The P1 MAX, just like the smaller P1, has the same assist features for leveling. You can choose to have the auto-leveling feature on at all times, which I do recommend, but there are times when it’s a good idea to check and make sure all is good after printing for a while. Personally, with these new printers, I tend to check the level right after the first test print to make sure everything is leveled properly.

I am still humbled by the fact that this printer has a pressure system to level the printer. It’s such a nice feature to have. That said, our review unit seems to have a firmware glitch. It levels the build plate, then raises the build plate off the screen about 100 mm. Then you adjust the screws and do it again to get the proper level. It’s not that bad, honestly. You just need to make sure you give it a little turn and go and adjust from there. Hopefully, Anycubic will patch this to make it work just like the smaller P1, where you adjust while the plate is against the screen, as it should be.

Design of the Anycubic Photon P1 MAX

The Anycubic P1 MAX shares the same exterior and interior design as the smaller P1, which is polished and professional-looking. Anycubic has stepped up its game significantly on the design front, and I’m here for it. Normally, we see cutbacks on newer printers to make them more affordable for the end user, and that's all fine and dandy, but there is something about a nice, weighted printer that gives you that feel of quality over quantity.

The Locking System for the build plate is one of the better ones out there – no longer are you worrying about unscrewing the normal screw like in the past with resin printers. This has a flip-up / down locking system that is nice and chunky, a big plus. The same follows with the vat, which features a slide-in / out locking system that gets rid of the old screws. This is a nice upgrade, because you no longer have to worry about losing screws or getting resin spilled inside the screw holes when swapping vats.

The touch screen is just your standard 4.5-inch panel, but it was also nice and responsive in our testing. Handles on the sides of the printer make it easy to move around if needed, as well.

The P1 MAX has a heated vat that is constantly being maintained at a precise 35 degrees Celsius (95 F). Previous Anycubic resin owners have struggled with printers only initially heating up and then cutting off after that. That is no longer the case here.

The vat also features a drop tray for your build plate, which makes resin cleanup much easier. One thing you won't have to worry about much is the vat capacity: This Vat holds up to 1900ML(1.9L) of resin, which is plenty for any print task.

The most unique feature on the P1 MAX is the Wave Release technology. Anycubic decided to put a special screen cover over the LCD to help ease the release of all prints, and it works wonderfully. This tech keeps air bubbles from being trapped between the FEP Film and the screen, making the peel force smooth like butter.

Slicer compatibility with the Anycubic Photon P1 MAX

The Anycubic Photon P1 MAX comes with Anycubic’s Photon Workshop Slicer pre-loaded onto the USB drive. It’s generally very user-friendly and works very well with prints. You select your resin, add your supports, and slice. Send the file to your printer, and you're done. For those who are not fans of having multiple slicers on their system, the good news is that both Chitubox and Lychee support the Anycubic Photon P1 MAX.

Sample Prints on the Anycubic Photon P1 MAX

Using Anycubic Standard Resin in Gray, I wanted to print out some models for a co-worker who is a big Diablo fan. Searching around Makerworld, I came across this figure of Tyrael, and this model by FotisMint was already split into pieces for easier printing. I brought it into the slicer, angled the print, added some automatic medium supports, hit slice, and sent it off to the printer via WIFI. This model printed in 7 hours and 24 minutes at 0.050mm layer height. Taking 254ml of resin, it cost a little over $5 to print. A normal figure like this would be roughly between $25-$80. That’s quite the savings, even adding in the cost of paint.

Adding another print from the Diablo series, I decided to print the Lord of Terror from Makerworld as well. This print I scaled up a bit to make it more boss-like.

This was printed with a mix of Anycubic’s standard gray and white. It printed in 14 hours and 15 minutes, using 1106ML(1.1kg) of resin.

For the last test print, I wanted to do something different. A few years ago, I saw a print for a Pokémon Cubone mask for a dog. So to MakerWorld I went, searching for one that I could print easily, and I found one. It was a two-part mask with little pegs to clip them together. This is nice in part, because if one side of the mask breaks, you can just reprint it. This was sized for a smaller dog right off the bat, so I supported the print and sent it to the printer.

It printed in six hours and five minutes and used 519 ml of resin. I printed this in standard Anycubic gray resin.

Washing and Curing Your Prints PSA

Before you can admire your prints, you’ll need to wash them with isopropyl alcohol and cure them with a UV light. I like to give prints a 30-second hand rinse in a container of 95% Isopropyl alcohol, then a 2-minute rinse in the Anycubic Wash and Cure, which is sold separately and retails for $249 at Anycubic.com.

Completely dry the print with a hair dryer on cool – IPA left on the print will turn white. You can also let the print air dry in a place away from sunlight.

Supports are easier to remove before curing because they are softer. Clip the supports off with side cutters and use tweezers to remove stubborn supports. Remember to always wear gloves while handling uncured prints.

Then place the print in a UV curing station for 15 minutes, or outside in bright sunlight for a few hours.

Your IPA should never be flushed down the drain, especially after being contaminated with uncured resin. Instead, keep using the resin until it’s too dirty, then leave the container open to evaporate. The remaining sludge can be cured with UV light or the sun before being thrown away.

Supports should also be cured before being thrown away.

Bottom Line

The Anycubic Photon P1 MAX is packed with tech and features that are handy for novices and experienced printers alike. It’s easy to use and straightforward to set up. The touchscreen walks you through every aspect to get it started. Anycubic really took user suggestions on this printer and implemented them with precision. If you're new to resin printing and looking for a simple, easy-to-use, and helpful resin printer with a larger volume, this one should be on your short list.

At its current price of $1,103, it’s also a great value. And if you miss the presale window, the $1,149 standard price isn’t a big jump. You can also buy it at Amazon for only $899, if you avail of the $230 coupon. It has features to make sure your print comes out as expected, a heated vat for those who print in cold climates, and the build plate size is a home run in this price range. If you're not looking to print large-size models, the P1 is a great alternative and is currently on sale for only $499.

The Labor Day tech deals are nearly finished, but there are still a few discounts on 3D printers that a budding hobbyist won't want to miss. The price of two popular Elegoo Neptune printers has dropped, with a discount of up to 35% available for buyers who are quick. You've got less than a day to grab these discounts before these beginner-friendly 3D printers shoot back up in price, however.

• Check out this Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro deal
• Check out this Elegoo Neptune 4 Plus deal

Both of these 3D printers are significantly cheaper than the prices you'll find at big retailers, including at Amazon. Elegoo's price drop means you can pick up the Neptune 3 Pro for just $169, while the Neptune 4 Plus is priced at only $309. We've tested and scored both printers highly in past reviews, with a near-perfect 4.5 stars for both, with each delivering a strong set of features that pros and beginners will love.

The Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro is the older and cheaper model, but it's still a workhorse worth considering. Our Neptune 3 Pro review back in 2022 saw us shower it with praise over its auto-leveling abilities, direct drive, and quiet operation overall. It's an easy printer to assemble and start using, which makes it a good option for beginners. The direct drive extruder, meanwhile, means it's fine with difficult-to-use filaments like TPU, with a (fairly standard) 225 x 225 x 2280 build volume to work with.

Auto-leveling, along with its heated PEI build platform, round out the Neptune 3 as a good start option for someone looking to start printing models at home.

Meanwhile, our Elegoo Neptune 4 Plus review proves what a strong option this more advanced model is for anyone looking to print on a larger scale. It has a dual-gear direct drive extruder, but the MVP is its huge 230 x 230 x 285mm build size. That makes this Elegoo printer a sheer powerhouse for printing, and a standout choice for any creators who are looking for speed and scale without a huge budget.

This is a premium option over the Neptune 3 Pro, and it comes with extra features like acceleration sensors, integrated Wi-Fi connectivity, and uses the popular open-source firmware for control, making it better to use.

Choosing either of these Elegoo Neptune printers won't leave you disappointed. Beginners can start off with the Neptune 3 Pro, a great 3D printer for someone looking for a well-spec'd 3D printer that's easy to assemble and use. If your funds stretch a little higher, you can go for the Neptune 4 Plus instead, a feature-filled upgrade for larger models.

The sale prices of $169 for the Neptune 3 Pro and $309 for the Neptune 4 Plus make these Elegoo 3D printers affordable and accessible, especially for somebody who hasn't owned one before. These discounts are ending soon, with the Neptune 3 Pro set to go back up in price in less than a day. If you're interested, you're going to need to be quick to secure these sale prices for yourself.

Japan’s military has decided to mass-procure Terra B1 interceptor drones. These drones are fabricated using 3D printers and are based on the tried and tested A1 model from Terra Drone, which began to be deployed by Ukraine earlier this year. A demo of the Terra B1 impressed Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Forces enough to swing the mass-procurement agreement. These interceptors are expected to capably counter notorious drone threats like the Shahed designs and anti-radar loitering munitions such as the IAI Harpy, notes 3D Printing Industry news.

The Japanese Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Agency (ATLA) is the body that rubberstamped the deal with Terra Drone. According to a press release from the latter, the Terra B1 is being mass-produced in Japan after successfully passing trials. It was just one of a range of designs put forward by 38 separate companies. To be chosen by ALTA, the B1 had to satisfy a number of criteria such as “effective range, flight duration, flight distance, maximum and cruising speed, guidance method, number of aircraft that can be controlled simultaneously, launch and recovery methods, integration with other systems, safety measures, [and] operational track record,” says Terra Drone. The first Terra B1 interceptors are expected off the domestic production lines sometime this month.

We witnessed the clamor for cheap and effective anti-drone solutions when the conflict between the U.S. and Iran erupted earlier this year. Gulf states seen as U.S. allies or sympathizers were repeatedly targeted by airborne Iranian threats, but their anti-air missiles weren’t designed to counter such attacks. Patriot missiles, for example, are too expensive and in too short supply to match drone threats 1-to-1. It wasn’t sustainable. It didn’t take long, therefore, for battle-proven Ukrainian anti-drone tech to be bought in.

Now we see Japan proactively following the cheap-yet-effective drone interceptor route. 3D printing is another emerging tech that will be applied here to enable Japan’s Self-Defense Forces “to acquire more effective drone countermeasure equipment with greater speed.” After a successful initial deployment by the Maritime Self-Defense Force, Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force and Ground Self-Defense Force may also look at customizing Terra B1 interceptors for their needs.

This isn't the first example of important synergies between drone and 3D printing technologies. We also recently reported on drones, drone parts, and other maintenance and repair essentials being 3D printed aboard the USS Essex. This was all done inside a compact containerized factory as the ship sailed to take part in RIMPAC 2026 around Hawaii.

It's Labor Day, and now's a great time for you to get started with a brand new hobby: 3D printing. Creality's flash sale for Labor Day has slashed the prices of its flagship range of 3D printers, with up to 50% off right now. If you've been waiting for the chance to jump into the 3D printing world, this is the perfect opportunity.

You've got some of Creality's best printers on sale right now, along with resin and filament discounts for those who need to top up their materials. One of the biggest discounts you'll want to take advantage of is the Creality K1, which is down to just $299 right now, saving you half compared to its usual list price.

● Check out Creality's 3D printer deals

Other sales you'll want to look at include the beginner-friendly Creality Ender 3 V3 Plus, now priced at just $339, along with the Creality SparkX i7, which features in our best 3D printers guide and has dropped to just $229.

That said, these Labor Day 3D printer sales won't last forever. These discounts are running until September 15, 2026, at 23:59 ET, although Creality might pull the sale early if it proves too popular, so you'll want to get your order in quickly. You can check out our roundup of Creality's best discounts on 3D printers below.

Creality 3D Printer Deals

Creality 3D Printer Filament and Resin Deals

Creality 3D Printer Accessories

More Tech Deals

Check out our Amazon Labor Day and Best Buy Labor Day tech deals pages for more limited-time discounts this weekend.

If you're looking for further savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, or CPU Deals pages.

You can also join the Tom's Hardware deals Discord for up-to-the-minute hardware deals.

AliExpress’s annual 828 sale is live, and one of the standout deals is from the Flashforge brand. Whether you are looking for high-quality filaments like HS PLA or a 3D printer like the Adventurer 5M, AD5X, or Adventurer 5M Pro, this is a great opportunity to upgrade your setup for less.

• Check out the Flashforge HS PLA deal on AliExpress
• Check out the Flashforge Adventurer 5M deal on AliExpress
• Check out the Flashforge AD5X deal on AliExpress
• Check out the Flashforge Adventurer 5M Pro deal on AliExpress

During the AliExpress 828 sale window, you can use our coupons to get great discounts on Flashforge 3D printers. We have suggested the best discount code for each 3D printer. However, the discount scales based on your overall cart value, so you can use a higher coupon code if you plan to purchase more than one Flashforge product.

• Spend $15 and get $3 off = VSFUTURE3
• Spend $36 and get $6 off = VSFUTURE6
• Spend $79 and get $12 off = VFUTURE12
• Spend $99 and get $20 off = FUTURE032
• Spend $119 and get $20 off = VFUTURE20
• Spend $159 and get $32 off = FUTURE032
• Spend $239 and get $40 off = VFUTURE40
• Spend $369 and get $55 off = VFUTURE55
• Spend $499 and get $75 off = VFUTURE75
• Spend $600 and get $120 off = VFUTURE120

Flashforge’s HS PLA (High Speed PLA) filament offers many benefits over standard PLA filaments. It enables faster print speeds, reduced melt viscosity, and rapid cooling. This means your print projects will come out more precisely in less time. HS PLA filament works great with CoreXY 3D printers, such as the Adventurer 5M series, for the best results.

The Adventurer 5M features an open-frame FDM design centered on a robust all-metal CoreXY structure. With a standard build volume of 220 x 220 x 220 mm, the Adventurer 5M can handle everyday projects with ease. What sets the Adventurer 5M apart from rival budget 3D printers is the performance. It boasts maximum print speeds of up to 600 mm/s and accelerations up to 20,000 mm/s², which substantially lowers print times.

The AD5X shares many core specifications with the Adventurer 5M. However, this model's standout attribute is its Intelligent Filament System (IFS). It brings automatic filament loading and switching to the table, minimizing manual interaction during printing. The IFS supports up to four distinct filament colors or types, such as PLA, PETG, and TPU 64D.

The Adventurer 5M Pro maintains the impressive performance figures as the other SKUs in the series. However, it distinguishes itself with an enclosed FDM design. The enclosure reduces noise during printing, maintains thermal stability, and helps prevent dust and other debris from contacting the print. The 3D printer comes equipped with a dual-layer filtration system consisting of HEPA and activated carbon filters, which are intended to block 99% of particulate matter and volatile organic compounds.

The AliExpress 828 sale is one of the year's most anticipated sales events, where buyers can find products from quality brands at very attractive prices. On this occasion, Flashforge's portfolio of products, including the HS PLA filament and Adventurer 5M, AD5X, and Adventurer 5M Pro 3D printers, is available at prices that are too good to ignore.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, Best Motherboard, or CPU Deals pages.

The Elegoo Centauri 2 Combo is a stripped-down version of the Centauri Carbon 2, but we’re left wondering if losing the camera, lights, enclosure, and ventilation is worth the $60 you’re saving. This printer is so affordable, one wonders if Elegoo is making any profit at all.

The math and naming convention are downright puzzling. The Centauri 2 Combo is currently on sale for $319, while the single-color Centauri Carbon is $309, the Centauri Carbon 2 is $329, and the Centauri Carbon 2 Combo is $379. Forgive us if we need an evidence board and spool of red string to make sense of all this.

You’re still getting a lot of printer for your money. It’s a fast Core XY machine with the rock-solid CANVAS four-color system and a 256 mm cubed build volume. The toolhead can get to a toasty 350°C with 110°C on the bed, which is great for a bunch of technical filaments that you ultimately can use without an enclosure, but it does come in a pinch for printing less finicky high-temperature filaments like PET-GF and PCTG.

The big question is, is it worth the savings? A lot of beginners only use PLA, and see a four-color machine as a toy printing factory. But you might regret not getting that enclosure when you start getting into more practical prints and could really use the strength of an ASA print.

Ranking this printer was difficult, because yes, the print quality is great and it’s easy to use. But with so many other, even better, Centauri options available, this one just falls short of making our list of Best 3D printers.

Specifications: Elegoo Centauri 2 Combo

Elegoo Centauri 2 Combo: Included in the Box