Pro 3D Printers

Nikon SLM Solutions just began teasing a new metal 3D printer under the banner “Reach Mach speed,” which appears to be its first genuinely new production platform in years. It's aimed at the “middle range” where most actual manufacturing happens. Details are scarce beyond promises of throughput, reliability, and volume production, while the campaign URL’s “Mach X” offers one more breadcrumb for the speculation pile. The reveal is set for Nov. 17, opening day of Formnext 2026, so until then we’re apparently expected to make do with a countdown clock and our imaginations.

TPM3D used Formnext Asia Shenzhen to launch the CF250 and companion PPS250 powder-processing station, successors to the CF200 + PPS200 system we saw at Formnext Frankfurt in 2025. The CF250 is positioned as a compact alternative to systems like the Formlabs Fuse Fuse 1+ 30W. It now sports a larger chamber than before (250 × 250 × 320 mm) and raised productivity claims to 0.9–1.0 L/h. TPM3D has not announced pricing for the CF250 + PPS250.

EasyMFG, a Chinese binder-jetting specialist that still sells most of its systems domestically but has recently expanded availability into Europe and North America, just launched the M400Ultra at Formnext Asia, according to Chinese 3D printing outlet Nanjixiong. The company's previous M400Pro made metal binder jetting more affordable (roughly $100K at the time) and suitable for small-batch production, while the new M400Ultra aims to make that same platform consistent enough for true serial manufacturing with a new vibrating powder-spreading system.

iSun3D, the hardware sister company to filament maker eSun, just unveiled the Next series of three industrial-size FDM 3D printers at Formnext Asia, designed for both elastomers (TPU, TPE, PEBA) and engineering materials, with configurations reaching build volumes of up to 520 x 520 x 1,200 mm. The move suggests iSun3D is putting its experience in specialized production into a broader industrial FDM offering, pairing hardware with eSun’s extensive materials portfolio. There is currently no indication that Next will be marketed outside China, but the shift is one worth keeping on the radar.

Forget batteries and motors: researchers at the MicroBioRobotic Systems lab at France's EPFL 3D printed tiny robots that fly on sound. Each microflier contains tiny air-filled cavities that work a bit like a bottle when you blow across its opening: hit it with the right frequency the trapped air starts vibrating strongly enough to thrust the robots airborne and enable researchers to steer them remotely. The robots were resin 3D printed using two-photon polymerization tech on a Nanoscribe Photonic Professional GT+.

FDM’s dirty little secret is Z-strength: layers that cool too quickly before the next layer arrives making prints delaminate like a stale croissant. Researchers at Germany's OTH Regensburg want to fix that with a laser-enhanced FDM printhead that preheats the surface just before fresh filament lands. Laser-assisted FDM has been studied for years and shown to improve layer bonding, so why is it still mostly trapped in the lab? Cost, safety, and reliability may all be culprits. Still, if this approach works commercially, FDM’s Z-strength problem might finally meet its Bond villain.