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By utilizing Markforged additive technology, companies are moving bits, not atoms. Instead of shipping a physical piece of steel across the continent, they are sending a secure digital file to a printer located right on the shop floor or inside a mobile maintenance container.
Engineering teams tasked with creating new and innovative amusement park rides often face a difficult challenge: how can we make the ride faster, lighter, and safer while minimizing costs and improving sustainability? That’s exactly what Extreme Manufacturing Engineering (EME) set out to achieve through its groundbreaking collaboration with Bright Laser Technologies (BLT). Using additive manufacturing, they were able to design and produce a roller coaster bogie unlike anything ever seen before.
In September 2025, BYD’s Yangwang U9X supercar shattered expectations, setting a world top-speed record for production vehicles at 308.33 mph and clocking a blistering 6:59.157 lap time at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. It’s an incredible feat of electric propulsion, but the unsung hero of this achievement isn’t just the motor; it’s the frame holding it all together. The U9X’s success was built on a foundation of metal additive manufacturing provided by Bright Laser Technologies (BLT), proving that 3D printing is no longer just for prototyping; it is a production-grade powerhouse.
When people think of 3D printing, they often imagine prototypes and concept parts, not finished components in smartphones, aircraft, and rockets. But Bright Laser Technologies (BLT) has quietly become a manufacturing backbone for some of the world’s most forward-thinking companies, powering everything from aerospace breakthroughs to consumer tech.
In its infancy, 3D printing was primarily used for prototypes and passion projects. If the end result looked good and held together for a few hours, it passed the test. But times have changed. Engineers now expect printed parts to survive stress, heat, and real-world use. That shift, from hobby to heavy duty, hinges on one factor: better materials.
Antero 840CN03 is an engineered thermoplastic specifically designed for Stratasys F900 and Fortus 450mc FDM 3D printers. Antero 800NA is Stratasys' trade name for PEKK (of the same chemical family as PEEK), a robust thermoplastic known for its exceptional heat resistance, chemical resistance, and strength properties.
The DyeMansion Powershot C is an automated depowdering solution for parts 3D printed on the Stratasys H350 or another laser sintering printer. Though much of the unused Nylon powder can be recirculated into the printer, there will always be some residual powder that has adhered to the surface of parts coming out of the machine. Removing that powder is either a tedious, manual process or requires post-processing equipment. It can be daunting to add a new piece of unfamiliar equipment to your workflow, with its own operation and consumable nuances. The Powershot C uses an automated tumbling and blasting process in conjunction with its proprietary PolyShot PC4 media.
Stratasys’ Separator Digital Material (Separator DM) is a novel 3D printing material blend designed to simplify the production of acrylic orthodontic appliances. In essence, it acts as a built-in separating medium that is printed as a thin coating into the outer surface of dental models to allow acrylic devices (like Hawley retainers) to release cleanly from the model.
One of my favorite aspects of the Formlabs Fuse 1+ 30W SLS 3D printer is the design freedom that comes from using loose powder as a natural support structure. But once I’ve excavated my parts from a finished build, I’m left with a crucial question: what do I do with all the unsintered powder? Formlabs has designed the Fuse 1+ 30W to work with a mixture of fresh and reclaimed powder.