This week in 3DExpress, 3D printing is making strides in medicine, aerospace, consumer goods, and materials science. CurifyLabs introduced a 3D printed compounding system that produces pet-friendly medications, offering a faster, more consistent alternative to manual preparation. In aerospace, Saab unveiled a five-metre AI-designed fuselage printed almost entirely in metal, demonstrating how software-like iteration could transform aircraft production. Researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China achieved high-precision 3D printing of high entropy ceramic nanolattices, creating ultralight, ultra-strong structures with features as small as 150 nanometres. Meanwhile, additive manufacturing continues to influence culture and design, from sneakers to toys, showing the technology’s reach across industries and applications.
Bieber Brings 3D Printing to Sneaker Culture
Additive manufacturing had its full pop-star moment this week as Justin Bieber debuted his first 3D-printed sneaker, the Earth Bender, created with Zellerfeld and launched at SKYLRK’s first-ever pop-up in Tokyo. The sculptural slip-on design features soccer-cleat-inspired forms and a mix of textures, including mesh-like side panels, all produced as one continuous 3D-printed piece. Zellerfeld will already be familiar to many readers as a footwear-focused 3D printing manufacturer and digital platform, helping designers transform experimental ideas into finished shoes, from independent studios to global brands like Nike and Havaianas. The Earth Bender is the latest project to emerge from that ecosystem, following Bieber’s launch of Skylrk with designer Neima Khaila earlier this year, putting additive manufacturing right at the heart of today’s sneaker culture.
(Photo Credit: (Right) Instagram via @lilbieber and (Left) Skylrk
LEGO Group to Deliver Keynote at AMUG 2026
You’ve likely seen the recent headlines about LEGO releasing its first retail set featuring a 3D printed part: a festive Christmas train. The timing is fitting, as the Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) has announced that Ronen Hadar, Senior Director and Head of Additive Design & Manufacturing at The LEGO Group, will be one of the keynote speakers at its 2026 conference.
The event will take place in Reno, Nevada, from March 15–19, with Hadar scheduled to speak on Thursday, the 19th. His keynote, “Additive Manufacturing at Scale in Consumer Goods: The Case of The LEGO Group,” will examine how the company is integrating 3D printing into an industry defined by high-volume, low-cost production. Hadar has spent more than 15 years shaping how one of the world’s most iconic toy brands uses additive manufacturing. His insights will offer attendees a detailed look at LEGO’s approach to innovation through AM. For more details on AMUG 2026, click here.
(Photo Credit: AMUG / Lego)
Saab Reveals World-First AI-Designed, Fully 3D-Printed Aircraft Fuselage
Saab has taken additive manufacturing to a new milestone with the reveal of a five-metre aircraft fuselage that is both fully 3D-printed and designed by AI, created in partnership with Divergent Technologies. The experimental structure, produced using Divergent’s advanced additive production system, marks the first time an airframer has attempted to build a large, flight-ready fuselage without traditional tooling, with Saab aiming for a first test flight in 2026. The project builds on Saab’s digital engineering work from the Gripen E fighter programme, where model-based design and rapid software updates reshaped development cycles. Now, that same philosophy is being applied to physical hardware through what Saab calls Software-Defined Hardware Manufacturing, using optimisation algorithms to generate organic load-bearing forms that humans could not draw. The result is a highly integrated structure made from just 26 printed metal parts, replacing hundreds of components and eliminating thousands of fasteners. Saab sees the demonstrator as an early signal of a future in which aircraft can be redesigned, printed and assembled with software-like speed—potentially transforming upgrade cycles, enabling mission-specific variants and reshaping how next-generation crewed and uncrewed aircraft are built.
CurifyLabs Launches First 3D Printed Compounded Drugs for Pets
CurifyLabs has introduced a new 3D printing technology designed to bring personalized compounded medications into the veterinary space. The system centers on Curablend Vet, an excipient blend created specifically for printing pet-friendly doses, and works with the company’s automated Compounding System Solution, which produces soft, chewable gel pills in minutes. Because many drugs are not available in pet-specific strengths, pharmacists often rely on manual compounding steps that can be slow and inconsistent. CurifyLabs says its automated workflow replaces much of that variability by generating digitally documented, standardized 3D printed formulations tailored to each animal. The result is medication that is easier for pets to take, potentially improving compliance for owners. CurifyLabs CEO Charlotta Topelius calls the launch a first of its kind move for veterinary care, expanding a platform previously used only in human hospitals and pharmacies across Europe and the United States. Founded in 2021, the company says Curablend Vet marks a significant step toward modernizing compounding and bringing reliable, customized 3D printed medicine to the veterinary world.
(Photo Credit: Adobe Stock)
USTC Develops First High-Precision 3D Printed High-Entropy Ceramic Nanostructures
Researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China have developed a new micro and nanoscale 3D printing method that enables high entropy ceramics to be formed into complex structures with unprecedented precision. The team created a highly transparent, high-loading photosensitive resin and combined it with femtosecond laser two-photon printing and sintering to produce fully dense ceramic architectures with feature sizes as small as 150 nanometers. Because high entropy ceramics typically excel in extreme environments but are difficult to shape at tiny scales, most applications have been limited to powders and bulk materials. The new approach addresses that limitation by providing a repeatable, high-fidelity printing process that yields ultralight, ultrastrong nanolattices with exceptional specific strength and energy absorption. The researchers say the work marks an important step forward for microstructured ceramics and could expand their use in emerging areas such as MEMS, microphotonics, and advanced aerospace components. The achievement also extends the group’s ongoing progress in micro 3D printing of glass, ceramics, and metals, further positioning the technology as a next generation platform for high-performance microdevices.
Their proposed method for fabricating high-entropy ceramic micro three-dimensional structures. (Credit: University of Science and Technology of China)
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*Cover Photo Credit: Skylrk