We’re kicking off today’s 3D Printing News Briefs with some exciting news, as the winners of this year’s TCT Awards have been announced! Then it’s on to business, with Shapeways expanding in Europe and Meltio collaborating with Phillips Corporation for defense applications.Finally, Yale University debuted a new ceremonial mace 3D printed out of aluminum, and a new 3D printed sneaker resembles a skeletal foot! TCT Awards 2025 Honor 13, Plus 4 New Hall of Fame Inductees On the evening of June 4th, some of the AM industry’s most innovative minds attended the 2025 TCT Awards to celebrate “a night of additive excellence.” Hosted by comedian Mark Watson, the awards feature eleven categories across industry verticals and technical innovation.Additionally, the Women in 3D Printing Innovator Award was given to Jonné Messer, the global additive manufacturing lead at Ford Motor Company, and the Sanjay Mortimer Foundation Rising Star Award, which recognizes an up-and-coming young neurodivergent person with the potential to contribute greatly towards the engineering industry, was awarded to Abigail Duckworth, who pioneered research as an undergrad at Lougborough University into 3D printing lattice structures directly onto physio tape to support people with arthritis.
Plus, the prestigious TCT Hall of Fame welcomed four new inductees: AM consultant, writer, and speaker Todd Grimm; Neil Hopkinson, the inventor of high speed sintering; AM researcher and technical advisor Sheku Kamara; and Wilhelm Meiners, who invented the PBF-LB/M process.The winners of the 2025 TCT Awards are: TCT Aerospace & Defence Application Award: Mako Missile by Lockheed Martin TCT Automotive & Rail Application Award: WAAM Suspension Strut Tower by BMW Group TCT Consumer Product Application Award: Kibu Headphones by Kibu TCT Creative Application Award: Simulation Book For The Blind by Yuan Bin’s Scientific Research Team TCT Hardware, Non-Polymer Systems Award: hybrd.AM for Cutting Tools by additiveStream4D TCT Hardware, Polymer Systems Award: Zeus Hybrid Robotic Cell by Rapid Fusion TCT Healthcare Application Award: Ceramic Jaw Implant by Lithoz TCT Industrial Product Application Award: Bespoke Porosity Ceramic Membranes by Lithoz TCT Materials Award: Lignin-based Carbon and Graphite by Carbon Forest Products TCT Post-Processing Award: DLyte TurboFlow by GPAINNOVA TCT Software Award: Fringe Qualification by Phase 3D Shapeways Signs Lease for New Facility in Historic Eindhoven Building On-demand manufacturer Shapeways, which offers 12 additive manufacturing technologies and a large suite of materials and finishes, announced a big step in its continued investment into European operations.The company has signed a long-term lease for a new production and office facility in Hal 4 of Eindhoven’s historic TX building at Strijp-T, which is currently undergoing a major transformation.
The former Philips factory, originally built in 1957 to produce precision machinery, features a vibration-free floor and a foundation system designed for micro-precision work.The building itself is adding three office towers, a central courtyard, several basement studios, and a bicycle parking facility, along with making its nearly 300-meter-long industrial hall and basement more sustainable.Shapeways will be the third company to move into the TX building next year, and will start customizing the space during Q4 2025 – Q1 2026.
The facility will support increased production capacity for Shapeways, which will allow the company to expand its technologies and services, and also features south-facing solar panels for sustainable energy.It should be an inspiring, modern environment for both employees and customers of Shapeways.“Any relocation brings the past and the future into focus, reflecting on what has been achieved in one place while being excited by the possibilities in the next,” said Marleen Vogelaar, Shapeways’ CEO.
“Since the new management team took over Shapeways we have always been looking forwards, seeing the opportunities and potential within the team.The Strijp-T development has a storied past for Philips and we are thrilled to be taking over the mantle of innovation that this site represents.The new facility will be truly fit for purpose and will provide the perfect base to scale our customer solutions and continue our growth.” Meltio & Phillips Advance Defense Manufacturing with CNC Integration Meltio and Phillips Corporation have announced a collaboration that could lead to a major advancement in defense manufacturing.
Meltio’s laser metal deposition process is build around safe and affordable wire feedstock, and the Meltio Engine Blue integration kit for robotic arms and vertical machining centers helps defense and industrial manufacturers elevate their CNC machining capabilities by integrating metal AM.Now, manufacturing technology partner Phillips Corporation is the first Meltio partner to successfully integrate the Meltio Engine Blue into a Haas CNC machine.It was specifically integrated into a Haas TM-1r platform, known for its precision and reliability, and the hybrid configuration will enable defense manufacturers to produce complex metal parts with less material waste, shorter lead times, and more precision; this is necessary in logistics, sustainment, and rapid deployment environments.
This milestone, which builds upon previous collaborations between the two, denotes a major evolution in hybrid manufacturing for defense.“The demand for manufacturing increasingly complex 3D printed parts with Meltio’s DED metal technology using a CNC machine is increasing in different industries in the United States.As our long-standing partnership with Phillips Corporation in the United States demonstrates, the integration of Meltio into Haas CNC certifies that we continue to keep pace with this growing industrial demand for DED metal parts,” said Gabriel Ortiz, Meltio Channel Manager in the United States.
“Meltio’s laser-wire metal 3D printing solutions offer all types of industries in North America the ability to manage the entire manufacturing process using Hybrid solutions like those offered by Phillips Corporation It is extremely rewarding to help a large range of industries, from automotive to aerospace, as they aim to print and repair reliable metal parts with our reliable laser-wire DED solutions.” Yale University Architecture Faculty Used 3D Printing to Design New Mace A 3D printed aluminum model of Paul Rudolph Hall sits atop the mace.A new ceremonial mace was debuted at Yale University’s 324th commencement last month.The new mace, replacing one made of lathed wood and marble that’s been used since the 1970s, combines historical symbolism with cutting-edge technology.
Timothy Newton and Nathan Burnell, the fabrication faculty at the Yale School of Architecture, created the mace in the department’s Fabrication Labs, which feature a metal shop, industrial laser cutters, a wood shop, water-jet cutters, 3D printers, and more.They believe we should renew our attention on the art of making things, and offer a proposal-based class on making called Small Objects, in which students design and create everything from jewelry to musical and scientific instruments using the equipment in the Fabrication Labs.The staff of the mace is fluted ebonized ash wood, carved using a rotary-axis CNC mill “to recall the corrugated concrete walls” of the brutalist Paul Randolph Hall, which houses the school.
On top is a 3D printed aluminum model of Paul Rudolph, which was created with the help of an intricate digital model of the building.Several other nods to the school’s history can be found on the mace.“Making helps us understand the intimacy of scale, the material implications of design, how things get manufactured, how the characteristics of certain materials need to be worked with in certain ways.
There is a legion of people who work through making; it, too, is a form of expression,” said Newton.“Yale has always been about making.Learning how to bring your ideas into reality is liberating.” Mahdi Naim’s 3D Printed Skeletal-Style EXOSKYN Sneaker for KORUX In order to stand out in an already crowded market, designers are making much bolder choices when it comes to sneakers.
3D printing can be a big help, as many designs are getting less traditional and more adventurous designers move away from standard materials and silhouettes.A perfect example is the EXOSKYN, an experimental 3D printed sneaker from emerging brand KORUX that’s part of its limited edition Print Step collection.The series doesn’t follow traditional sneaker conventions, but instead deconstructs them, using digital craftsmanship to explore new ways to form and fabricate shoes.
With an emphasis on individuality, each pair is made to order, and doesn’t feature any logos or branding.Each EXOSKYN pair is 3D printed as a single piece, with no seams—which reduces waste—out of a durable, flexible material.Most striking, of course, is the fact that the organic-looking sneaker was directly inspired by the skeletal structure of a human foot, with a lattice-like architecture that brings to mind bones and connective tissue.
The sculptural, bio-inspired sneaker was designed by Mahdi Naim, a Lyon-based multidisciplinary designer who’s previously used 3D printing in his work.According to Naim’s Instagram, the EXOSKYN was generated using algorithmic design, and because it was printed in one piece, no sewing or assembly is required, so the shoes can be made on-demand.He writes that the 3D printed sneaker was “Conceived as an interface between body, code, and material,” and that it “opens an alternative path in sneaker design, between experimentation and targeted industrialization.” In my opinion, while some may think a skeletal shoe is strange, I actually find it kind of beautiful, and it appears exceedingly comfortable.
It’s definitely an avant-garde look, but the EXOSKYN is not so far from the norm as to be unrecognizable as functional footwear.Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.Print Services Upload your 3D Models and get them printed quickly and efficiently.
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