Why You Need an Enclosed 3D Printer for ABS If you’ve ever tried printing ABS on an open-frame printer, you already know the pain: warped corners, cracked layers, parts popping off the bed mid-print, and that unmistakable chemical smell filling your workspace. ABS is a fantastic engineering material — tough, heat-resistant, and acetone-smoothable — but…
Multi-Color 3D Printing Has Finally Grown Up Two years ago, multi-color 3D printing was a novelty reserved for tinkerers willing to babysit their machines through endless filament jams. In 2026, it’s become genuinely practical. Multiple manufacturers now offer reliable multi-material systems, and the technology has split into three distinct approaches: automated material systems (AMS), multi-material…
3D printers have moved from “cool tech toy” to essential classroom tool faster than most educators expected. From elementary STEM labs to university engineering departments, 3D printing in education is transforming how students learn design thinking, problem-solving, and hands-on engineering. But choosing the right printer for a school setting is very different from picking one…
When your projects outgrow a standard 220x220mm build plate, you need a large format 3D printer. Whether you’re printing cosplay armor, architectural models, functional prototypes, or decorative pieces that make a statement, having a bigger build volume changes what’s possible. No more splitting models into pieces and gluing them together — just print the whole…
Starting a 3D printing business doesn’t require a warehouse and a million-dollar investment anymore. In 2026, a single well-chosen printer can pay for itself in weeks, and a small fleet of machines can generate serious revenue from a spare room or garage. But choosing the wrong printer for your business means wasted money, frustrated customers,…
Bambu Lab A1 Mini: Quick Overview The Bambu Lab A1 Mini burst onto the budget 3D printer scene in late 2023 and has since become one of the most recommended entry-level machines in the community. At around $199 for the base model (or $299 with the AMS Lite multi-color system), it competes directly with printers…
The 3D printer market in 2026 is remarkably different from just two years ago. Machines that cost $500 in 2024 now have equivalents at half the price, and features like auto bed leveling, direct drive extrusion, and enclosed chambers have trickled down to even the most affordable models. For someone just getting started, this is…
Why Upgrade to an All-Metal Hotend? Every FDM 3D printer ships with a hotend — the component that melts filament and deposits it layer by layer. Budget printers typically use a PTFE-lined hotend where a Teflon tube runs all the way down to the nozzle. This works fine for PLA and basic PETG, but it…
Can You Really Get a Good 3D Printer for Under $200? A few years ago, spending under $200 on a 3D printer meant settling for a barely functional kit that required hours of assembly and endless tinkering. That era is over. The budget printer market in 2025 has reached a point where sub-$200 machines deliver…
Why TPU Needs a Different Kind of Printer Printing with TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) is where FDM 3D printing gets interesting. Flexible phone cases, drone bumpers, shoe insoles, gaskets, vibration dampeners — TPU opens up a whole category of functional prints that rigid filaments simply can’t do. But it also introduces a whole category of printing…