12 3D Printing Innovations at FORMNEXT 2024
Every year in November, Formnext, the biggest 3D printing expo in the world, takes place in Frankfurt, Germany. I attended again this year, and despite spending too much time chatting with other visitors, I still want to share some of the cool things I saw. So, let’s dive into Prusa’s CORE One, a self-refilling filament shelf, a printhead that can integrate wires into your parts, a 5-axis Prusa, and a company that finally implemented a process to inject plastic into your infill to get almost injection molding strength 3D printed parts. Guten Tag, everybody! I’m Stefan, and welcome to CNC Kitchen. Before we jump in, a big thanks to Würth for making my trip to Formnext possible. Würth is
the global leader in the development, production, and sale of fastening and assembly materials—our new studio is practically held together by Würth screws! But Würth is also very active in 3D printing. They’ve been using additive manufacturing in their product development and have a clear vision: to bring 3D printing into the world of craftsmanship and unlocking new possibilities for small and medium-sized businesses. Together with their partners—and even us, with our heat-set inserts—Würth has created an extensive catalog covering every step in the 3D printing process chain. Check them out using the link in the description.
Plus, we’ll explore their self-refilling material storage system later in the video! Let’s start with one of the big announcements from Formnext: Prusa’s CORE One printer. I hadn’t heard about this machine beforehand and missed the morning press event due to traffic, so I waited in front of the covered printers until Jo Prusa unveiled them. The Core One is an enclosed CoreXY printer with a similar bed size to the MK4 but with increased print height—270 mm compared to 220 mm. Priced at €1,349, it’s clearly positioned as a competitor to the Bambulabs X1 Carbon. And this is also something that you can read clearly between the lines of the blog post, because Prusa tries to put a clear emphasis on data security and repairability, topics often controversially discussed with Chinese 3D printers. The print head on the Core One features the Nextruder and custom nozzle system we’ve seen on the XL and MK4. The enclosure, or "exoskeleton," is made
of bent sheet metal, giving it a rigid, industrial look, similar to Prusa’s enclosures. They really put some thought into it and some standout or rather stand-in features of this new enclosure include side pockets for loading filament, making it easier to switch spools. The other side can be used as storage for print sheets or other tools. These pockets also reduce the machine’s internal volume, helping it heat up faster. While there’s no active heating, the Core One does feature active temperature control, which probably means adjusting exhaust fans based on the target chamber temperature. So they will be on full blast when printing PLA or PETG and slow down when you print higher technical materials. It's not groundbreaking, but it's a nice feature,
in my opinion, I haven’t seen somewhere else. Multi-color printing will be possible, but Prusa will use their MMU for the Core One instead of developing a compact AMS-like unit. The CORE one will be available as a kit with a 300€ discount, and if you already have a MK4, you can upgrade your bedslinger with a 500€ conversion kit. I’m not sure if this is just a gimmick or if people would really do that. If you have thoughts, let me know in the comments. Overall, I think the Core One is overdue and Prusa should have released it already a year ago, especially with Bambu Labs next generation of printers right around the corner — enclosed CoreXY printers are what people want right now, and it’s about time Prusa caters to this market. The print results looked great, and with its sturdier frame and high-flow nozzle, it will outperform Prusa’s other printer models.
They reduced the price of the MK4S, but I think it will become a hard sell once they can ship the new CORE One in numbers, because it’s simply the better offer! Shipping begins in January, I can’t wait to test it out and I have barely any doubt that this will be a reliable workhorse in the form factor everyone wanted! A link to the blog post is in the description, by the way. Finally, they have introduced a print camera to their ecosystem as part of the new Buddy3D brand, available for an additional 40€ with their printers. Prusa will begin releasing materials and other products under this brand, which will be manufactured externally but under their supervision. This approach will enable them to expand production capacity more easily and still
offer high-quality filaments and accessories at competitive prices. Another interesting and maybe also funny thing to see at the Prusa booth was their CORE One design concept, where they enclosed their new CoreXY printer in a Bambu enclosure because it’s one of the most sustainable materials you can get while still retaining a lot of strength. This could not only be a new way of enclosing printers, but it might also make a nice design piece in your office, getting away from the very industrial look of their other machines. Oh, and did you know that if you ever plant bambu in your garden you will never get rid of it anymore? Hmmm… okay, off to the next booth. Because Prusa machines meet many of the requirements businesses have for 3D printers, they’re part of Würth’s portfolio for business customers. Würth,
who kindly sponsored my trip to Formnext, showcased their expertise at a shared booth alongside material partner ForwardAM. Their goal is to help businesses efficiently adopt and benefit from 3D printing. One neat solution at their booth was the ORSY-MAT Vending System—a practically self-refilling 3D printing supply cabinet. Having managed a print
shop myslef, I know the frustration of running out of filament or spare nozzles. The ORSY-MAT solves this with dedicated compartments for materials, cleaning supplies, or even our heat-set inserts. After authorization, users can withdraw items as needed. Load cells under each compartment track the weight changes to calculate how much was withdrawn, and when supplies run low, the system automatically reorders through an integrated communication module. This ensures an uninterrupted workflow for you and your printers. Naturally, I had to try it myself! So I opened the cabinet and randomly picked a handful of their giveaways they stored in one of the compartments. After I closed the door, the system measured the weight change and told me that I had taken five parts. So let’s count them to see if that’s right! Solutions like this are
game-changers for businesses, streamlining operations and unlocking the potential of 3D printing. While 3D printing is already established in the industrial sector, Würth is working to make this transformative technology also accessible to craftsmen, with products covering every step of the 3D printing process chain. Würth would love to hear your thoughts on what’s needed to further bring 3D printing to craftsmanship and small businesses. So leave your ideas in the comments or contact them directly at 3dp@wuerth.com. Thanks again to Würth for sponsoring my trip to Formnext and let’s check out the next booth! It’s a bit sad to see that barely any European and US manufacturers of consumer 3D printers are left on the market because it’s simply very hard for them to compete in price with the Chinese competition. But for this reason I was really happy to see Ratrig with a big booth at Formnext this year. They’ve been engineering and supplying high-performance 3D printer kits made in Portugal for several years now. They showed their V-Core 4 in IDEX configuration
at the event, but probably the reason why they were really at the show was that they launched a new serious and business-focused brand called Disrupt Engineering. In a way, these new printers look very similar to the Ratrig models, yet without the green accent colors and with higher-quality components. Their focus is high print volume and high performance at a reasonable price. Their Hybrid V0, for example, features dual motors for the CoreXY kinematics to make sure the machine can keep up with high acceleration in a 24/7 print scenario. I highly appreciate seeing them make this step because they know what they are doing in that space, and I want to have more good machines for businesses made in the European Union. After building a new studio for the last three months I can say with confidence that comfortable safety shoes are essential if you wear them all day, but since every foot is unique, finding the perfect fit can be a challenge, but 3D printing might be the answer. That’s why I ended
up at the Siemens booth, where Schubert Additive and their PartBox 3D printer showed a solution to this. They provide the software and workflow to create custom insoles tailored to your feet. Using an iPhone’s FaceID camera, your foot is 3D scanned, and after selecting your preferred shoe type and comfort level, a print file is generated. This file can be printed directly in-store, giving you custom-fitted insoles in just an hour. It’s a great example of how 3D printing makes personalization effortless while enabling local, on-demand manufacturing. Oh, and I must say—I really dig the design of the PartBox 3D printer enclosure! Or what are your thoughts? On my way to the Bambu Lab booth, I quickly stopped at my friends at Fiberthree, who are also partnered with Würth and specialize in providing technical materials for FDM printing. I’ve previously featured their carbon fiber nylon on the channel, and it was great
to see our heat-set inserts used in some of their beautifully printed parts. This year, I was particularly intrigued by their advancements in conductive materials—ranging from ESD filaments to standard low-conductivity options and even a groundbreaking superconductive material that I only just got permission to discuss yesterday. ESD or electrostatic discharge materials are crucial when working with electronics or in environments where sparks can’t occur. Historically, achieving consistent conductivity between layers has been a challenge in FDM printing— even if conductivity in the XY plane is decent, the Z-axis often suffered due to insufficient layer bonding.
Fiberthree’s ESD filament solves this with uniform conductivity across all directions, making additive manufacturing a viable option for more demanding applications. For those wanting to print real electrical traces, existing conductive filaments are usually insufficient—barely able to power an LED and usually only used for sensors. However, Fiberthree teased a new material that uses a special way to integrate silver particles into the polymer matrix, achieving resistances close to metals. While this filament might cost several thousand euros per kilogram
due to the precious metal content, it could finally enable functional integrated circuits in FDM-printed parts. As someone passionate about material advancements, I’m thrilled to see innovations like this and can’t wait to see how companies apply them to solve real problems. If a silver-loaded filament is out of your budget, researchers at the Fraunhofer IWU, a German research institute, might have a more cost-effective solution. Two years ago, I already visited them when they demonstrated a modified E3D Toolchanger equipped with a printhead capable of embedding wires, fibers, tubes, or even cables directly into 3D prints. This specialized tool
head features a wire nozzle that feeds the wire or fiber directly to the printer nozzle, allowing the molten filament to completely embed and bond it. Since this is a directional process—requiring the wire to feed in the same direction as the print—the entire printhead and spool assembly are rotatable. This enables the integration of electronics into parts for connections, heating, or sensing, as well as the addition of fibers for structural reinforcement. Mounted on a
toolchanger, this wire-dispensing head can also be used for tasks like winding coils, allowing you, for example, to 3D print fully functional speakers in a single process. Pretty impressive! They also showcased a more commercial application of this concept—manufacturing and attaching wiring harnesses to components like car door frames. The toolshead lays down the wire and then glues it to the frame in regular intervals. In this scenario, the nozzle is spring-loaded to accommodate variations in part dimensions, while an additional tool head can pick up the loose wire ends to crimp on connectors to complete the assembly. I’m always excited to see innovations like these, where concepts are tested and refined on maker-grade equipment before being scaled into full-fledged commercial solutions. Collaborations with major companies often helps streamline these projects, turning prototypes into real-world applications. Many of the engineers and researchers at these
institutes are makers themselves, just like us. Often, their experience with community projects honed their skills, enabling them to bring such cool ideas to life! Next to the Fraunhofer IWU booth, the Center of Additive Manufacturing in Aachen showcased a 5-axis Prusa Mk3. Instead of the standard print bed, they equipped the printer with a tiltable and rotatable table, allowing parts to be positioned in any orientation. This
approach significantly reduces the effective print volume but opens up exciting new possibilities for non-planar printing. The printhead was also slightly modified, with a longer nozzle designed for these unique geometries. This setup closely resembles the Open5X, an open-source 5-axis printing platform developed by Freddy Hong. However, the key difference here isn’t the hardware but the software. While the Open5X uses Grasshopper and Rhino to generate toolpaths
which can be limiting, the ACAM team uses the 5-axis toolpath generator within Autodesk Fusion —originally intended for Direct Energy Deposition (DED) on high-end, industrial-grade machines. By adapting the G-code for filament-based 3D printing, they can experiment with these complex multi-axis strategies on more affordable and less complex machines, enabling faster iterations to fine-tune the process. This 5-axis, non-planar printing approach offers several advantages. It can print onto existing geometries and handle overhangs that would otherwise require a ton of support structures, and it can improve part strength by eliminating the weakness associated with flat-layer planes. Additionally, the process can get rid of the “stair-stepping”
effect on sloped surfaces, resulting in a smoother finish. Historically, the hardware for this type of printing hasn’t been the primary challenge; instead, it’s slicing and the creation of the complex toolpaths. This clever approach could make 5-axis printing more accessible to a broader audience. I mean, the DED module in Fusion is not free, but still more affordable than most other tools on the market. And if this is a way to show and prove how non-planar printing can be done right, this might motivate other to implement similar strategies in free slicers as well. In the case of this research project, once the process is optimized with filament-based machines, transferring it to more advanced and expensive systems becomes significantly easier.
This was yet another example of how consumer-grade hardware can empower creativity and innovation. And I think additive manufacturing is especially one of these technologies that help creative minds bring their ideas from a concept to a real physical product or project. At Formnext, it felt like Bambu Lab was trying to show how especially they try to empower that. While their core business is selling printers and materials, their booth highlighted what’s possible with 3D printing rather than focusing solely on their products. Interestingly, Bambulab didn’t showcase anything new—even though, their last machine launch was almost a year ago. Instead, they invited some talented makers to demonstrate real-world applications of their technology. For instance, Jonathan from KeepMaking
displayed an enormous Multiboard and likely gave hundreds of visitors a detailed rundown of his storage and organization system. Personally, I was most thrilled to meet Christopher Helmke, creator of the screw-counting machine that many of you have probably seen on YouTube. I must admit, I was a bit envious because we still count and pack screws manually for our online shop! Sadly, Christopher wouldn’t let me take his machine home but maybe there is a chance for collaboration in the future. The rest of the booth showcased a range of 3D-printed toys and projects that can be created using Bambulab’s Maker Hardware kits. They placed particular emphasis on their soon-to-be-released RC kit, which lets makers build pre-designed cars and machines or use it as a platform for their custom projects. As for future Bambulab releases, I couldn’t get
any official details about upcoming machines, but I was assured the wait and delays would be worth it. It seems they’ve learned their lesson from their A1 recall due to faulty bed cables. Still, tons of rumors were floating around and some of which were confirmed by the recent leak. We’ve currently just seen signs of a bigger machine some might crave. For my part, I think and hope we’ll also see a refresh of the smaller X and P series with updated features. So I’m really excited to see what the next months bring and if they are going to disrupt the market a second time. I mean, it took other companies like Creality, who had their booth just next to Bambus, over two years to catch up with the multi-material system, which shows the amount of engineering that went into this development! However, my focus when visiting Creality’s booth wasn’t on their printers—it was on their 3D scanners. If you’ve seen one of my previous videos,
you’ll know that I recently fell back in love with consumer and prosumer 3D scanning, thanks to the rise of reasonably priced laser line 3D scanners. Not long after I tested their Raptor, Creality announced the RaptorX, which features a cross-laser arrangement to capture even more data points in a single pass. While this is an exciting improvement, the price tag is three times higher than the regular Raptor. I’m a bit torn if this shows again how quickly they are abandoning existing products or if this is just another option for someone who requires the benefits of the new laser arrangement. That said, the scanning process on the RaptorX looked flawless, and it’s clear Creality has been working on improving their software—something that was a notable weak point when I tested their earlier models. Since all of Creality’s newer
scanners share the same software platform, these updates should also benefit existing customers with a Raptor or Otter. In fact, when I checked my Creality Scan software recently, I was prompted to install an update that added features like global markers which I’ve first seen at the show. This gives me confidence that Creality is committed to supporting and refining their scanner lineup, making them even better in the coming months. But Creality is no longer alone in the market for more affordable laser line scanners. Revopoint, a well-known name in consumer 3D scanning, recently launched their MetroX scanner on Kickstarter and showcased it at Formnext. Unlike Creality’s RaptorX, the MetroX uses fewer cross-laser lines,
but it comes at a significantly lower price point—currently around €1,100. While I haven’t worked a lot with Revopoint’s scanners in the past, I’ve always assumed they had a solid software foundation. However, during the scanning demo at Formnext, the MetroX seemed less smooth compared to what I’ve seen from Creality. That said, since the MetroX is still in pre-sale, there’s hope that the team will refine the experience before it reaches buyers. I’m excited to get my hands on a unit to see how it stacks up against competitors like Creality and whether it delivers good value for its price. It’s thrilling to see laser line scanning technology becoming more accessible. Traditional structured light scanners often gave me trouble when capturing
technical parts, but laser line scanners have consistently provided excellent results. These devices are now within reach of more users, which is a huge win for the maker community. Let’s wrap up with something really exciting from AIM3D—but with a bittersweet twist. Over
the years, I’ve explored several techniques to make 3D prints stronger. Back in 2019, I stumbled across a paper titled “Z-Pinning approach for 3D printing mechanically isotropic materials”, which described injecting plastic into the infill to create reinforcement anchors in the z-direction, improving part strength. I even tried replicating the process myself but struggled due to the high viscosity of molten PLA. Despite buying airbrush nozzles to experiment further, I never revisited the topic. That’s why I was thrilled to see AIM3D integrate this technique into their VOXELFILL software. Using their professional pellet extruder, they showed a dedicated nozzle injecting
plastic into infill voids, producing beautifully reinforced multicolor parts. According to AIM3D, this method can achieve near-injection molding strength with consistent mechanical properties, regardless of the print orientation! Even more exciting, they showed this working on a conventional consumer printer: the Bambu Lab A1 paused periodically at infill holes to inject the reinforcement material. But here’s the catch: AIM3D filed patents for this method in 2021 and 2022, with the European patent already granted. While they seem open to licensing the patent, it’s a bit disheartening considering how closely their claims align with the 2019 research paper, but consider I’m not a patent lawyer. If you have thoughts on this leave a comment below
and if AIM3D wants to discuss this, my email inbox is always open. Still, seeing their implementation working has reignited my motivation to revisit this technique and explore how much we can improve part strength and maybe even finding a way to make this concept more widely accessible. Finally, that’s just a tiny glimpse into Formnext 2024! I only managed to explore about a quarter of the show. If you’re passionate about additive manufacturing,
I highly recommend visiting Frankfurt for this event—but plan for at least two days. What started as a fully B2B event has evolved to include plenty of consumer-focused equipment, making it even more exciting for makers and enthusiasts. I hope you enjoyed this video, and maybe we even got the chance to shake hands at the event! Again, a big thanks goes to Würth for sponsoring this trip.
2024-12-23 13:34
