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Using recycled plastics in 3D printing reduces waste and carbon footprint, offering sustainable solutions such as filaments made from pre-and post-consumer recycled materials.

Alice Fergerson, along with Emily Davidson’s team at Princeton University, has developed a breakthrough material: a 3D-printable thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) that combines localized flexibility with controlled rigidity.

The SPE Foundation needs help to equip students with this valuable hands-on experience in engineering and design, empowering our future plastics workforce to tackle real-world problems. You can still contribute to the Giving Tuesday “Print the Future” campaign at give.4spe.org. 

Thermotropic Liquid Crystal Polymers (LCPs) have emerged as a high-performance engineering polymer, comparable to PEEK and PEI, for 3D printing in space environments.

How new technologies are shaping mass production? Emerging technologies, such as 3D printing, reverse engineering, and 3D scanning, have revolutionized product design and development. 

Polyurethane (PU) is a highly adaptable polymer recognized in the biomedical field. Its ability to be tailored by adjusting its soft and hard segments grants it superior mechanical strength and biocompatibility.

In this webinar, titled “Revolutionizing Thermoforming: Unleashing Efficiency to Drastically Reduce Mold Production Time & Costs“, you will learn how to achieve rapid validation by testing shapes and delivering first parts up to 65% faster with 3D printed molds.

Cornell engineers, in collaboration with students and cutting-edge technology, have developed creative solutions to address maintenance challenges. Rapid prototyping and 3D printing have enabled the fabrication of customized components for underwater applications.

While 3D printing with polymers and metals has dominated discussions, composites have quietly emerged as a significant player in additive manufacturing (AM). Combining the strength of metals with the lightness of polymers, composite materials are reshaping the landscape of 3D printing, particularly in fused filament fabrication (FFF) technology.

The University of Maine has unveiled a polymer 3D printer four times larger than the world’s biggest –– which is also on its campus. UMaine researchers foresee using it to print houses, boats, and infrastructure and to develop military vehicles.