Multi-material 3D printing produces filament waste if only one nozzle is used

The most common type of 3D printer fabricates objects using plastic

At the consumer level, the most common printing method is fused deposition modeling, which builds objects by melting an extruding thermoplastic filament that is deposited in layers. For industrial applications, selective laser sintering, which uses a laser to fuse particles of polymer powder (e.g., nylon), is preferred.

Additive manufacturing consists of seven different process categories

Although 3D printing has become synonymous with the term, objects can be fabricated without filaments of hot plastic or light-sensitive powders. For example, during sheet lamination, ultrasonic waves—high-frequency vibrations—can join metal sheets by creating molecular bonds through friction.

Microgravity environments improve the success of 3D bioprinting

Gravity can cause gaps, such as those in the chambers of a 3D-printed heart, to collapse before stem cells, hydrogels, and biochemicals bind together during the bioprinting process. Rather than Earth's surface, some bioprinting is done on the International Space Station, where defective organs are also printed to test treatment methods.

Watch the iterative process of successfully printing a slice of vegan cheesecake

3D printing food requires integrating ingredients with a variety of properties, which may not all resist the physical stress of stacking. This means successful 3D printing of food may require rethinking how ingredients are layered and modifying ratios of each, potentially sacrificing taste for structural integrity.

Software subscriptions, licenses, and climate control systems add to 3D printing costs

Although the sharing of designs and reduced manual labor suggested the fabrication of prosthetics would be facilitated by 3D printing, particularly in developing regions, software and hardware requirements have posed hurdles to achieving this goal. While some insurance companies have refused to cover 3D-printed limbs, they are covered by Medicare.

The benefits of 3D printing batteries, from safety to sustainability

Rather than using the liquid electrolyte commonly found in lithium-ion batteries, 3D-printed batteries would use a solid layer, which can be custom-built into different shapes, deliver higher energy density by building thinner layers, and be fabricated with fewer raw materials compared to injection molding.

As of 2025, the Factory of the Future 1.0 is the world's largest 3D printer

Housed at the University of Maine, the machine incorporates AI and can utilize bio-based materials to construct homes exceeding 3,000 square feet in size. Homes made from these materials are fully recyclable, as their components can be deconstructed, ground up, and reused as raw materials for printing.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

Washing clothes is a significant source of global microfiber pollution

Synthetic fabrics shed millions of plastic microfibers during washing, which pass through wastewater treatment and end up in oceans, soil, and food chains. A single wash load can release several million microfibers, but washing with cold water can reduce this.

Mosquito necroprinting uses an insect's mouthpart as the printer nozzle

Mosquitoes are abundant, and their nozzles are 32-100 times cheaper to harvest than to create from scratch out of metal or glass. By coating the organic nozzle to increase its strength, researchers are employing necroprinting to create tiny structures at better resolutions than commercial alternatives.

How plastic manufacturing could be sustainable again

From polymers to nurdles, learn how plastic is created and what we can do to slow the lasting repercussions this material will have on both our planet and our lives.

Objects can be 3D printed with light by projecting 2D computerized tomography (CT) scans onto rotating cylinders of resin, which solidify upon exposure.

Components of the 'ghost gun' allegedly used by Luigi Mangione were 3D printed

Although some "ghost guns" are firearms whose serial numbers have been removed, many others are built from pieces that can be printed using readily available online data files. Federal laws and some states do not prohibit the construction of these DIY firearms for personal use.

Watch Apple Watch cases be 3D printed from titanium powder

Apple Watch Ultra 3 cases are 3D printed entirely from recycled, aerospace-grade titanium powder using lasers to fuse particles. Over 400 metric tons of raw titanium were saved in 2025, with two watches fabricated from the same amount of raw material that would have previously been used to make one.

Glass can be endlessly recycled without losing quality

Sand from specialized mines is thoroughly cleaned and melted at more than 1,600 degrees Celsius before being poured onto liquid tin and evenly spread out to form glass sheets. Some factories are designed to reprocess 100% of glass scraps created when cutting glass with diamond-tipped blades or lasers.

Removal of different color tattoo inks may require multiple lasers

Light needs to be absorbed by ink particles to break them down into small enough pieces for the immune system to eliminate. Color ink reflects, rather than absorbs, lasers of the same color, while black ink absorbs all colored lasers.

Watch a time-lapse of 3D printing a Groot figurine

The total printing time on the Prusa i3 MK2 printer was 12 hours and 32 minutes, with the head alone taking nearly 5 hours to print from layering plastic filament.

Integrated circuits are made with light and require significant purified water and chemicals

The nonstop operation of fabrication plants, which takes months to manufacture a wafer of hundreds of integrated circuits, strains local resources and generates significant chemical waste. Much of the electricity consumed is used to maintain clean room conditions within plants.

3-parent IVF removes most—but not all—faulty mitochondria

The process scoops out about 99% of the mother's mitochondrial DNA—replacing it with that of a donor woman—but because that roughly 1% is still in the system there is still a small chance of disease for the resulting child or future generations. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

String theory replaces black hole singularities with fuzzballs of tangled strings

Black holes contain singularities where information about the material that fell in is lost, violating quantum mechanics. Instead, modeled as a bundle of strings, information is stored and slowly released as the black hole evaporates.

What the people on the front lines think about America's recycling crisis

America produces more waste per capita than any other country in the world. And recycling, which was once considered the solution to that problem, isn’t really working anymore.

When experiencing turbulence, fluid elements undergo stretching and folding

Simulations show patches of fluid particles, such as splashes of milk, bend under turbulent flow, creating curvature that grows linearly then exponentially. This accelerated deformation enhances folding and mixing faster than other methods, such as stirring or beating.

While the Fed is involved in issuing new generations of cash, the way it adds to the money supply does not involve printers

The majority of money in circulation is credit, not cash. This credit, which acts similarly to direct deposit from employers, is added to bank accounts by the Federal Reserve. The Fed also employs tools like the federal funds rate and open market operations to expand or contract credit.

How fusion—which releases energy when two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom—differs from fission

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

DNA may serve as a flame retardant by self-extinguishing some burning materials

When DNA burns, phosphate groups release phosphoric acid, and nitrogenous bases release ammonia. These molecules, along with the sugar in DNA's backbone, shift the combustion reaction toward the formation of intumescent char. This puffy, carbon-rich layer protects open flames from burning the material beneath.

Andy Warhol’s famous works employed a 'machine-like' technique

Warhol’s silk-screen printing style—rough, noticeably imperfect, and painterly—was the result of a refined technique in service of a grainy tabloid aesthetic.

Color originates from the brain processing light of varying wavelengths

Various geometric models, including Newton's color circle of hue and saturation and the horseshoe-shaped XYZ space for mixing colors via vector mathematics, have been proposed to describe colors accurately. However, these models do not encapsulate the variety of psychological effects that cause perceived colors to differ from mathematical representations.

Most Mardi Gras floats are constructed from foam and papier-mache

The moving sets were originally drawn by mules and made of wood. Now, they're motorized and intricately crafted from foam and papier-mache. This virtual tour of Mardi Gras World—a New Orleans warehouse responsible for floats for various krewes, as well as for Disney and Six Flags—showcases their vibrant designs.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Radioactive elements can introduce software errors because the ionizing radiation they produce can detach electrons from atoms, and computer code relies on the distribution of electrons.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

Volcanoes 'die' when their supply of magma runs out, if they are shifted away from their underlying magma reservoir, or if they get clogged by collapsing or their magma cooling back into rock.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

In 1945, Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí and legendary animator Walt Disney began collaborating on a short film that was not completed until 2003, years after both men had died.

Ebola is a filovirus, meaning it resembles a thread under a microscope, though it sometimes twists and can resemble a bowl of spaghetti.

Explore chaos in this simulation of two double pendulums, where small differences in the release angles produce wildly different outcomes.

The USPS spent $3.97B in 2024, accounting for .058% of the federal budget.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

Recent research found that the brain doesn't seem to massively rewire following amputation—upending earlier beliefs about the cause of phantom limb pain.

Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.