If youve studied First Amendment law, its impossible not to experience dj vu while reading the briefs in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, a Supreme Court case the justices will hear on January 15 about online pornography. Thats because the Texas law at the heart of Free Speech Coalition is in all relevant respects identical to a federal law the Supreme Court blocked in Ashcroft v. ACLU (2004). (That federal law was meant to keep minors from being able to view pornography, and the Texas law attempts to do the same, albeit through a slightly different mechanism.) If the justices take seriously some of the more aggressive arguments Texas makes to defend its law, they could eliminate longstanding free speech protections for sexual content. Even the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which upheld the Texas law, conceded that the two laws are very similar though the Fifth Circuit did, in an unusual act of defiance by a lower court, conclude that it was not bound by the Supreme Court precedent established in Ashcroft and was free to uphold the Texas law anyway. Its tempting, in other words, to dismiss Free Speech Coalition as an insignificant case that should end in the justices rebuking their insubordinate colleagues on the Fifth Circuit. That court has a history of handing down poorly reasoned opinions supporting right-wing results. And the Supreme Court, even with its 6-3 Republican supermajority, frequently reverses the Fifth Circuits most disruptive decisions.And yet, despite the Fifth Circuits weak reasoning and a poorly argued brief by the state of Texas defending its law, the state does make one plausible argument that the Court should tweak First Amendment law to make it less friendly to pornography producers.Free Speech Coalition involves a 2023 Texas law that requires many but not all websites that distribute pornographic content to verify that their users are over the age of 18. The plaintiffs, a trade association for the pornography industry along with various members of that industry, argues that this law forces adult users to incur severe privacy and security risks.Many adults, in other words, dont want to submit a picture of their drivers license to a porn site which could be hacked or subpoenaed, revealing intimate information about its users sexual desires.In Ashcroft, the Supreme Court ruled against a largely identical federal law, which made it a crime for businesses to post material online that is harmful to minors, but which also allowed those businesses to escape conviction if they took certain steps to verify the age of their consumers. There are some distinctions between the law at issue in Ashcroft and the Texas law at issue in Free Speech Coalition most notably, the Texas law only imposes civil, as opposed to criminal, penalties on violators but even the Fifth Circuit conceded that these distinctions do not change how Free Speech Coalition should be analyzed under the First Amendment.RelatedThe Trumpiest court in AmericaIn Ashcroft, a majority of the justices concluded that the government should have used less restrictive methods of keeping children away from porn sites, such as promoting blocking and filtering software that allows parents and teachers to prevent a particular computer from loading pornographic websites.Ashcroft is one of a line of First Amendment decisions establishing that the government typically may not prevent adults from seeing sexual content, even if the goal is to also prevent children from seeing the same material. Under this line of cases, laws that burden an adults access to nearly all sexual material must be narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling goal, which is why Ashcroft required the government to use the least burdensome method to restrict speech. Laws that burden constitutional rights such as the right to free speech are often subject to this narrow tailoring requirement, which is known as strict scrutiny. A law can fail strict scrutiny if it sweeps too broadly, imposing severe burdens on a constitutional right in return for relatively small benefits to society. But laws can also fail strict scrutiny if they are underinclusive, on the theory that a law with too many exceptions and loopholes can still limit constitutional rights without actually achieving a goal that could justify such a limitation.Texass brief defending its 2023 law suggests that the Ashcroft line of cases should be overruled, and that strict scrutiny should no longer apply to laws that seek to prevent children from seeing pornography, but that also restrict the First Amendment rights of adults. If the justices agree, that would give the government far more power to limit adults access to sexual content. A key element of Texass argument seems to be that more oversight is necessary given the breadth of pornography available the states brief is full of lurid descriptions of things like bondage and tentacle porn. Texass lawyers appear to believe they can coax the justices into supporting their favored result by bombarding them with graphic descriptions of online pornography.That said, Texas does make one good argument for allowing some laws restricting young people from viewing pornography to stand. Ashcroft is a 20-year-old decision, and Texas claims that, in the last two decades, new technologies have emerged that make it possible to verify that an internet user is over 18 without threatening that persons privacy or revealing any other information about them. If Texas is correct that this technology does exist, and that it can be fairly easily be used, then at least some laws requiring porn sites to bar underage users are constitutional. Thats because the kind of age-gating software that Texas describes in its brief would achieve the governments goal of preventing children from seeing online porn more effectively than the content-filtering software endorsed by Ashcroft, and it would do so while imposing only a minimal burden on adults who have a right to see pornography. So a law that requires age-gating may survive strict scrutiny today, even if it didnt in 2004 when technology was less advanced.A decision holding that the law may require pornographers to use this kind of secure, privacy-protecting age-gating software would be consistent with Ashcroft, and wouldnt require the Supreme Court to toss out its previous decisions establishing that adults may view sexual content an approach that Texas advocates for in much of its brief. Ashcroft, after all, did not rule that age-gating software is forbidden by the Constitution. It merely looked at the state of technology in 2004 and determined that content filtering was the best available option at that time.For much of American history, the courts largely ignored the First Amendments language barring laws abridging the freedom of speech. The federal Comstock Act, which has never been formally repealed, made it a crime to mail every obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent, filthy or vile article, matter, thing, device, or substance, and many states had similar laws that extended beyond the mail. Artists, art dealers, booksellers, and others were arrested for producing or distributing sexual material that the government or even just a few particularly zealous government officials deemed too lascivious. In one 1883 case, an art gallery owner was convicted for selling reproductions of famous nude paintings, including Alexandre Cabanels masterpiece The Birth of Venus.Alexandre Cabernels The Birth of Venus. Public Domain via WikipediaBy the middle of the 20th century, however, the Supreme Court began to take the First Amendment seriously, handing down a series of decisions that gradually shrunk the definition of obscenity (a legal term that refers to sexual material that is not protected by the First Amendment) until virtually nothing qualified. Yet, while modern First Amendment law broadly permits artists, authors, and pornographers to provide sexual material of all kinds to adults, its also well established that the government may bar young people from accessing some content that adults have a right to see.Both Texas and the Fifth Circuit rely heavily on Ginsberg v. New York, a 1968 case holding that the government may restrict minors access to some sexual content. But the facts of this nearly 60-year-old case are very different from those in Free Speech Coalition or Ashcroft.Ginsberg upheld New Yorks prosecution of a lunch counter operator who sold two girlie magazines to a 16-year-old boy. This case, in other words, did not involve a law that prevented adults from seeing sexual material. Under the New York law at issue in that case, adults who wished to buy similar magazines could simply show their ID to prove they were of sufficient age, and they could do so without much worry that a hacker or government investigator would discover that they bought a magazine full of nude pictures.The Ashcroft line of cases, by contrast, all involve technologies that can widely broadcast sexual material in ways that make it difficult to check whether each consumer of that material is an adult. One 1989 case, for example, struck down a ban on dial-a-porn services, where callers could dial a phone number (and pay a fee) to hear a prerecorded, sexually explicit message.These decisions, moreover, established that laws which restrict adults access to sexual content generally must survive strict scrutiny, and they did so several years before Ashcroft applied this rule to the internet. In United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group (2000), for example, the Supreme Court struck down a federal law that effectively prohibited cable television stations from broadcasting pornography except between 10 pm and 6 am.Playboy could not possibly be clearer in holding that laws which prevent adults from seeing sexual material that they have a right to see must survive strict scrutiny even if those laws are intended to shield children from pornography. In the Courts words, even where speech is indecent and enters the home, the objective of shielding children does not suffice to support a blanket ban if the protection can be accomplished by a less restrictive alternative.Ashcroft, in other words, was hardly a groundbreaking decision. It simply took the rule which had already been established in cases like Playboy, and applied it to the new context of online pornography. And yet, despite this long line of cases that all point in exactly one direction, the Fifth Circuit concluded that it could defy all of these cases. It did so largely by implying that the George W. Bush-era Justice Department was staffed by rank incompetents.According to the Fifth Circuit, the Ashcroft opinion contains startling omissions. Though the opinion held that the federal law at issue in that case would fail strict scrutiny, Ashcroft did not actually explain why strict scrutiny should apply to a law restricting online porn. The Fifth Circuit claimed that omission occurred because the Justice Department lawyers who litigated Ashcroft failed to make the argument that strict scrutiny should not apply (instead, they claimed that the law at issue in Ashcroft survived strict scrutiny). According to the Fifth Circuit, because the DOJ never argued against strict scrutiny, Ashcroft never actually established a legal rule requiring courts to apply strict scrutiny in similar cases.Its hard to know where to even begin with this argument. Lower courts are bound by Supreme Court decisions, even if they disagree with those decisions. Judges cannot refuse to follow Supreme Court cases because they think the lawyers who argued those cases did a bad job.In Ashcroft, moreover, there was a pretty obvious reason why the Justice Department decided not to argue against strict scrutiny. Playboy was decided in 2000, four years before Ashcroft was argued before the justices. So it was already settled law in 2004 that strict scrutiny applies to cases like Ashcroft.And, while the DOJ may have decided not to press the case against strict scrutiny in its Ashcroft briefing and arguments, one of the justices did. Justice Antonin Scalia published a dissenting opinion in Ashcroft which argued that his eight colleagues erred in subjecting [the federal anti-porn law] to strict scrutiny. So the justices who decided Ashcroft were hardly unaware of the arguments against strict scrutiny. Eight of them were simply unpersuaded by those arguments.So how should the Supreme Court handle Free Speech Coalition?The First Amendment issues presented by Free Speech Coalition are serious. And the question of whether technology has advanced to the point where it is possible both to shield minors from online pornography and ensure that adults can access any material they have a right to see is a difficult one that deserves a serious look by the federal courts.So its a shame that both the Fifth Circuits opinion and Texass brief are so poorly argued. Proponents of age-gating on porn sites deserve better advocates. They also deserve a more competently drafted law than the one at issue in Free Speech Coalition.The Texas law at issue in Free Speech Coalition appears to have been drafted without any input from a First Amendment lawyer. If Texas is correct that software can verify which consumers of online porn are adults without threatening their privacy, then the Supreme Court should uphold a properly crafted law requiring porn sites to use those services. But it should not uphold this Texas law.Thats because Texass law is not structured to survive strict scrutiny. Recall that strict scrutiny requires the courts to strike down laws that arent narrowly tailored to advance a compelling interest, and that this narrow tailoring requirement bars laws that are so underinclusive that they dont actually do much to advance that interest.Texass law mocks this narrow tailoring requirement by applying its restrictions on online pornography to only a small subset of websites where pornography appears. Specifically, the law applies only to a business that knowingly and intentionally publishes or distributes material on an Internet website more than one-third of which is sexual material harmful to minors.For starters, its unclear how, exactly, the law measures how much of a website is devoted to sexual material. Is this determined by looking at how many bytes of data are devoted to pornography? How many minutes of video? How many inches of screen space? But, even setting this vagueness concern aside, one of the main purposes of strict scrutinys narrow tailoring requirement is to block laws that burden constitutional rights without actually doing much to achieve the governments goals. The Texas laws one-third requirement means it would not actually block minors access to pornography, thus failing to achieve the states objective. As the Free Speech Coalition plaintiffs explain in their brief, the trial court which heard this case found that social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook contain material which is sexually explicit for minors, and sites like Reddit maintain entire communities and forums devoted to posting online pornography. So Texass law wont actually stop anyone from seeing online porn, it will just shift their porn consumption from Pornhub to Reddit.And so, even if age verification apps work as Texas says they do, this particular law still violates the First Amendment and should be struck down for failing to satisfy strict scrutiny. Should the Court decide to follow this path, which is the only path consistent with existing law, it could also make clear that a better-drafted law might survive strict scrutiny again, assuming that it is actually possible to construct age gates around online pornography without threatening the privacy of adults.In any event, there is no need to overrule decisions like Ashcroft, or to pretend those decisions can be ignored like the Fifth Circuit did, in order to uphold age-restrictive laws. Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

Sigh"Make good games, dont make a contemporary political statement, says Helldivers 2 director, as players massacre infected citizens for leaders worried about "anti-democratic brainwashing"Oh, and Super Earth's just passed a "FREEDOM Act" that'll create a "security force dedicated to loyalty enforcement". No politics here.Image credit: Arrowhead News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on Jan. 3, 2025 Sigh. Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead's CCO and longtime figurehead Johan Pilestedt has tweeted that his philosophy is to "make good games, don't make a contemporary political statement". Which, you know, is a bit of a weird thing to say when a whole bunch of games - Helldivers 2 for example - clearly manage to easily be good and explore political themes by their very nature.This line from Pilestedt came amid a chat with fans about politics and "DEI" - the latter being the diversity and inclusion stuff that internet idiots who think Fight Club is just about a club for fights rather than having any kind of subtext believe is ruining everything nowadays - in games. As you can imagine, intelligent points were made. To see this content please enable targeting cookies. The thread started off ok, with Pilestedt simply ending 2024 by asking folks what their "expectations and desires" for Arrowhead's next game are. Naturally, because this is the site formerly known as Twitter dot com, one user replied: "Never add DEI to your games.""If it doesnt add to the game experience, it detracts. And games should be a pure pursuit of amazing moments," Pilestedt responded to this person. "How would DEI have benefitted Helldivers 2?" another user then asked the developer."I don't like labels. But mankind is united in its extreme xenophobia on Super Earth," reads Pilestedt's reply to that, "#Inclusion so, maybe that's DEI? I really don't care. Make good games, don't make a contemporary political statement." To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Got it. Just good games, and nothing that might resemble a contemporary political statement or point. Out of interest, let's have a look at the fresh Major Order Helldivers 2 players have just been given in their ongoing war against The Illuminate."The Illuminate have been forced to pay a heavy toll for their merciless campaign of terror," it reads, "The Helldivers killed vast swaths of the bloodthirsty alien species, sending a message of what is to come should they choose to continue their aggression."Yet the greatest casualty of the Illuminate campaign of terror has been our citizens' sense of safety. To restore our citizens' safety, the Super Earth Government has unanimously voted to enact the 'Freedom & Readiness to Enable Effective Defense & Obstruction of Mind-Influence' Act of 2184, or FREEDOM Act."The Helldivers are ordered to secure Mastia to facilitate the construction of the new Center. Only then will our citizens feel safe." To see this content please enable targeting cookies.What's that FREEDOM Act about, you ask? Well, it'll "create a new security force dedicated to loyalty enforcement, and empower them to find and indict Illuminate mind-influence, dissidence, and other serious crimes". Nope, nothing political here. Then again, there's nothing about treating minorities and people of different sexual identities like actual human beings - which is what actually bothers the anti-DEI lot.It's disappointing to see Pilestedt do some fence sitting here, even if his comments are interpreted as simply meaning that the game isn't going to drawn on any of today's important headlines and key issues for direct inspiration - which seems to be the most diplomatic way you could read them.Are you terrified one of your games might feature something vaguely diverse or inclusive? If so, please take a long, hard look in the mirror, and maybe consider how other people feel for once in your life.

"WE ARE PROFITABLE!".Developer Tony Grayson of Summitsphere has announced that the Wario Land-inspired platformer Antonblast has recouped all production expenses less than a month after its release.This means, of course, that the game is now turning a profit which, according to Grayson, means Summitsphere will now have the ability to produce "a lot more games for a lot longer".Read the full article on nintendolife.com

August 2024 brought continued developments in the AM sector, marked by high-profile lawsuits, a strategic relaunch, and breakthroughs in medical and defense applications.Legal disputes dominated the headlines, with Stratasys pursuing patent infringement claims and the City of Chicago suing Glock over 3D printed firearm modifications. Financial challenges persisted as Desktop Metal reported steep revenue declines, emphasizing the importance of its merger with Nano Dimension for survival.On a positive note, Shapeways reemerged as Manuevo BV, adopting a leaner structure and focusing on small to medium-sized 3D printing services, while innovations in medical implants and military-grade manufacturing showcased 3D printings transformative potential across industries.Read on for highlights in August 2024 from Stratasys, Bambu Lab, Desktop Metal, SPEE3D, Axtra3D, and more.Stratasys and Glock lawsuits take center stageAugust 2024 opened with lawsuits dominating the additive manufacturing sector, as Stratasys filed two patent infringement cases against Bambu Lab in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division. These lawsuits accused Bambu Labs 3D printers including the X1C, X1E, P1S, P1P, A1 and A1 mini of violating ten patents covering features like heated build platforms, network connectivity, purge towers, and tool head force detection.Stratasys claimed that these alleged violations had caused significant revenue losses and damage to its market position. It sought damages, an injunction to halt further infringements, and reimbursement for legal expenses. In response, Bambu Lab reaffirmed its respect for intellectual property and pledged to address the allegations through legal channels.These lawsuits emerged at a time when Bambu Lab was gaining rapid traction in the market, reporting a 3000% increase in shipments over the past year, offering affordable 3D printers with industrial-grade features.As the legal dispute unfolded, it sparked broader discussions about intellectual property (IP) enforcement and its potential impact on competition and innovation in the additive manufacturing industry.A Stratasys Fortus 450mc (left) and a Bambu Lab X1C (right). Image by 3D Printing industry.Meanwhile, the City of Chicagos lawsuit against gun manufacturer Glock brought the intersection of 3D printing and public safety into sharp focus.This lawsuit alleged that the gun manufacturer facilitated the conversion of its pistols into fully automatic weapons through 3D printed auto sears, commonly known as Glock switches. At the heart of the allegations was Glocks failure to implement design changes that could prevent such modifications, with the City accusing the company of prioritizing profit over public safety.Chicago police had confiscated over 1,100 modified Glocks between 2021 and 2023, with these weapons linked to various violent crimes.The rise of 3D printed auto sears significantly fueled machine gun conversions across the U.S., with incidents increasing by 570% between 2017 and 2021. Glock pistols were particularly susceptible to these modifications due to their ease of conversion compared to other brands, which require more intricate engineering.In the months that followed, critics questioned liability for third-party modifications, while federal initiatives like the Emerging Firearms Threats Task Force were introduced to combat the growing threat of untraceable weapons and their impact on public safety.Desktop Metals financial struggles and merger hopesThis month saw Desktop Metal release its Q2 2024 financial results, the companys first earnings report since Nano Dimensions merger plan announcement last month.During the earnings call, CEO Ric Fulop acknowledged the companys challenges and its reliance on the merger. Over the past two and a half years, Desktop Metal had explored mergers with ten companies, including an acquisition deal by Stratasys in 2023. That deal fell apart after 78.6% of Stratasys shareholders voted against the proposal. With no superior offers emerging, Desktop Metal sought alternatives to secure its future.In August 2024, the Q2 results underscored Desktop Metals precarious position. Revenue fell to $38.9 million, a 26.9% decline year-over-year, with losses growing 105.2% from -$49.4M in Q124. Despite a $50 million cost-reduction plan and a 20% workforce cut, slowing capital expenditures and rising interest rates continued to deter customers and stifle growth.Reflecting on these challenges, Fulop described the merger with Nano Dimension as the companys life-or-death decision. He argued that Nanos strong balance sheet would provide the scale and operational efficiencies needed to achieve profitability. The $183 million deal, valued at $5.50 per share, represented a 27.3% premium on Desktop Metals closing price and a 20.5% premium to its 30-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP) as of July 2, 2024.While Fulop expressed optimism about the merger, many Desktop Metal shareholders remained dissatisfied with the acquisition price and the companys weakening financials. Yet, the deal was eventually seen securing approval from Desktop Metals shareholders, with only regulatory approval pending.However, by the end of the year, the mergers future was clouded by a new lawsuit and leadership changes at Nano Dimension, raising questions about the outcome.Ric Fulop. CEO of Desktop Metal.Shapeways reborn as Manuevo in EuropeAfter filing for bankruptcy last month, Shapeways reemerged in Europe under a new identity, Manuevo BV.Led by its Eindhoven-based team and two co-founders, the company salvaged key assets, including its production facility, saving 30 of 53 jobs. In doing so, Manuevo positioned itself to serve customers across the US, UK, and EU without the burden of import duties.This rebranding followed Shapeways struggles with declining revenues and failed efforts like cutting costs and auctioning assets, including a rejected $5 million bid.Operating under a leaner structure, Manuevo initially focused on small to medium-sized 3D printing services in industries like aerospace, automotive, and medical technology. With tailored design, prototyping, and manufacturing services, the company aimed to rebuild its market presence in Europe and beyond.Later in the year, Manuevo was seen expanding its business by acquiring the Shapeways brand, website, and Eindhoven production facility, followed by the 3D file-sharing platform Thangs, reinforcing its focus on professional and industrial markets.3D printing advances in medical applicationsMedical developments this month included Austrian Kepler University Hospital successfully implanting the first 3D printed ceramic subperiosteal jaw implant, developed by Lithoz and Profactor GmbH under the EU-funded INKplant project.Targeting severe jaw atrophy, the biocompatible zirconia implant eliminated the need for invasive bone grafting, significantly reducing recovery time. Following observed clinical stability after 60 days, plans were announced for clinical trials to assess its potential as a standard treatment, with Agensmed GmbH preparing for patenting and mass production.On a similar note, resin 3D printer manufacturer Formlabs dental unit Formlabs Dental, received FDA 510(k) clearance for its Premium Teeth Resin, enabling US dental professionals to 3D print temporary crowns, inlays, onlays, veneers, and bridges of up to seven units.Already approved in the EU and other regions, the nano-ceramic-filled biocompatible resin offers high aesthetics and mechanical precision for customized patient-specific dental restorations. Compatible with Formlabs 3D printers, the material has been used in clinical settings for efficient, high-quality temporary restorations, exemplified by its use in a dental emergency to produce a robust restoration in just 16 minutes.Dental component 3D printed using Formlab Dentals Premium Teeth Resin. Photo via Formlabs.Stronger defense with additive manufacturingThroughout the year, armed forces globally were seen adopting AM to improve access to essential warfighting equipment.In line with this, Australian metal 3D printer manufacturer SPEE3D successfully participated in the RIMPAC 2024 maritime military exercise, deploying its Expeditionary Manufacturing Unit (EMU) at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.Utilizing cold spray additive manufacturing (CSAM) technology, SPEE3D 3D printed 11 cast-equivalent metal parts from aluminum and stainless steel, which were planned to undergo testing to evaluate their viability for maintaining defense equipment in contested environments.Combining the XSPEE3D printer and SPEE3Dcell post-processing unit, the EMU enabled rapid on-site production of critical spare parts, showcasing its potential to enhance military supply chains by reducing part delivery times from days to hours.Alongside SPEE3Ds efforts, the U.S. Navy employed other advanced 3D printing technologies, including Snowbird Technologies SAMM Tech hybrid system, as part of the largest distributed advanced manufacturing demonstration conducted by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).Axtra3D revolutionizes high-speed SLA 3D printingIn August 2024, Charlotte-based 3D printer manufacturer Axtra3D made significant enhancements in resin 3D printing with its Lumia X1 stereolithography (SLA) 3D printer.Leveraging proprietary Hi-Speed SLA technology, the Lumia X1 combines Hybrid PhotoSynthesis, TruLayer Separation, and TruLayer Adaption to deliver faster production speeds, exceptional precision, and glass-like surface finishes.Axtra3Ds Lumia X1 3D printer. Photo via Axtra3D.Designed for versatility, the Lumia X1 supports a wide range of materials, including high-strength polymers, biocompatible resins, and fire-retardant options, making it suitable for industries spanning healthcare and industrial manufacturing. Axtra3D also offers tailored business models, enabling both turnkey solutions and open-access flexibility to address diverse customer needs.Applications for the Lumia X1 range from prototyping and low-volume production to dental appliances and injection molding, where it demonstrates reduced lead times, cost efficiency, and superior accuracy. Axtra3Ds innovations highlight the growing potential of SLA printing in delivering high-performance solutions across sectors.3D Printing News Highlights from 2024: Innovations, Trends, and Analysis.What 3D printing trends do the industry leaders anticipate this year?What does the Future of 3D printing hold for the next 10 years?To stay up to date with the latest 3D printing news, dont forget to subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter or follow us on Twitter, or like our page on Facebook.While youre here, why not subscribe to our Youtube channel? Featuring discussion, debriefs, video shorts, and webinar replays.Featured image shows a Stratasys Fortus 450mc (left) and a Bambu Lab X1C (right). Image by 3D Printing industry.

This month was dominated by AM developments in aerospace, defense, sustainability, and new 3D printers.From the novel insights shared at our Additive Manufacturing Advantage: Aerospace, Space & Defense (AMAA) conference to significant shifts in the financial and operational landscapes of major 3D printing companies, July 2024 was a month of innovation and resilience in the AM industry.Key developments included the deployment of advanced 3D printing technologies in mission-critical scenarios, such as the U.S. Navys use of AM systems during RIMPAC 2024, and sustainability efforts from global brands like McDonalds. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) involving Nano Dimension, Desktop Metal, and Stratasys also picked up pace, signaling the evolving strategies shaping the AM market.Read on for key highlights in July 2024 from our Additive Manufacturing Advantage: Aerospace, Space & Defense event, McDonalds, Nano Dimension, U.S. Navy, and more.Experts highlight challenges in aerospace and defense additive manufacturingThis months highlight was the Additive Manufacturing Advantage: Aerospace, Space & Defense (AMAA). Held on July 16, the event provided a platform to explore the transformative applications of 3D printing in aerospace, space, and defense industries.The online conference brought together experts from organizations like NASA, Siemens, Stratasys, Materialise, and Nikon SLM Solutions to discuss topics such as additive friction stir deposition, satellite communications, and sustainable manufacturing.Key panels and presentations highlighted advancements in global standards, defense maintenance, and supply chain resilience, as attendees explored 3D printings growing influence in specialized industries.Ahead of the event, 3D Printing Industry interviewed experts to gain insights on AM developments in aerospace and defense, including the technologys use in SATCOM antennas, and new rocket technology, among others.SWISSto12s RF Feed Chains. Image via SWISSto12.One of the insights featured panel experts from the earlier 2024 AMUG Conference highlighting critical AM challenges in the aerospace sector as we continued to publish articles from Marchs event, linked to the months theme of Aerospace, Space and Defense.This panel featured industry experts namely Dan Braley (Boeing Global Services), Laura Macht (U.S. Army DEVCOM Aviation and Missile Center), Carl Dekker (Met-L-Flo), Paul Bates (ASTM International), and Scott Rose (Boeing Research and Technology).The experts identified how geopolitical tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic have extended material lead times, diminishing AMs speed advantage and increasing supply chain challenges. Additionally, maintaining decades-old military equipment was highlighted as a major obstacle, particularly when reproducing parts from non-digital designs with no current suppliers.Proposed solutions focused on collaboration and standardization. Industry-wide efforts to address material shortages were emphasized by Dekker, meanwhile Bates called for streamlined qualification processes and better-aligned standards to accelerate AM adoption. Regulatory hurdles, such as navigating outdated aviation specifications and rising compliance costs, were also cited as barriers requiring coordinated action.Concluding the discussion, the panel explored intellectual property (IP) challenges, with Macht acknowledging IPs role as a double-edged sword. Moreover, Dekker outlined the legal intricacies, and Bates closed with a call for collaboration to unlock AMs transformative potential.Additionally, an exclusive interview with Ashok Varma, Senior Advisor for Metal AM at Indias Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), revealed Indias progress and challenges in AM adoption in the defense sector.Despite a $74 billion defense budget, only $5 million is allocated annually to AM, far below the U.S. Department of Defenses (DoD) $500 million. As a result, Varma stressed the need for a fully funded AM strategy to boost global competitiveness.In addition, he emphasized AMs potential to cut supply chain lead times by 80%, halve costs for critical components, and accelerate repairs and design innovation while reducing import reliance. However, patent protection gaps and bureaucratic inertia persist as barriers.Varma advocated for privatizing AM within the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) to improve procurement and transparency, alongside public-private partnerships and global collaborations. He called for $100-$200 million in annual investments to advance indigenous manufacturing and meet global benchmarks.Taken together, these insights highlighted an industry at a critical juncture. While AM holds the promise to revolutionize aerospace, space, and defense sectors, its full realization would require overcoming systemic and strategic barriers.A large propellant tank assembly. Photo via Ashok Varma.3D printing companies face insolvencyJuly 2024 month saw some companies struggle, with 3D printing service provider Shapeways filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy following prolonged financial struggles and an inability to secure additional liquidity or strategic resolutions, but this was not to be the end of the story.Despite efforts to cut costs, auction assets, and explore rescue options including a $5 million bid being rejected, the company faced operational challenges post-SPAC merger. Initial growth projections of $250 million in 2024 revenues sharply contrasted with the revised estimate of $34.3 million to $35 million for FY 2023, alongside a Q3 2023 net loss of $19.4 million.Following its bankruptcy, Shapeways was re-launched in Europe later in the year through an asset acquisition by members of the founding team, charting a new course for its own acquisition path late in December 2024.Another company that faced financial challenges was Forward AM Technologies, formerly BASFs additive manufacturing division, which transitioned into an independent entity through a management buyout led by CEO Martin Back.Supported by BASF, this move retained the companys intellectual property, supply chain, and advanced 3D printing technologies while securing employee roles. Despite achieving consistent 30% annual growth since 2022, innovations like the Ultrafuse 17-4 PH metal filament and collaborations on 3D printed lattice structures, Forward AM filed for insolvency in Germany due to financial instability. This move was understood to be strategic and to allow restructuring with a view to continuing the business.Despite several high profile challenges, many other companies continue to thrive. Although these events made headlines and for dramatic social media posts, broader and more measured indicators suggest a better picture.Advanced 3D printers reshape the industryIn July 2024, new 3D printers also dominated the headlines. 3D Printing Industrys engineering team reviewed Bambu Lab X1E, a desktop 3D printer that gained attention for its high-speed printing capabilities, versatile material compatibility, and superior build quality, making it a strong contender in the market.Equipped with features such as a 320C hotend, an actively heated build chamber, and micro-lidar AI for failure detection, this 3D printer consistently delivers precise and reliable results. Its exceptional 95.85/100 benchmarking score underscored its ability to produce high-quality parts for the automotive and biomedical sectors.The Bambu Lab X1E 3D printer. Photo by 3D Printing Industry.In other news, metal AM company Rosotics unveiled the Halo supercreator, a large-format metal 3D printer designed for aerospace, naval, and defense applications, employing a novel multi-phase electromagnetic process instead of conventional lasers.Priced at $950,000, the Halo features three Mjolnir electromagnetic printheads for high-speed, precise material fusion and integrated post-processing within a 6-meter build envelope. It supports aerospace-grade metals like aluminum and titanium, offering reduced infrastructure needs, enhanced safety, and a smaller carbon footprint than WAAM 3D printing.Alongside this announcement, Rosotics also partnered with Siemens to create a next-generation, super-heavyweight manufacturing platform for naval applications. Leveraging Siemens Sinumerik One digital twin technology, the collaboration aims to automate and scale production processes for complex, large-scale structures.M&A activities resurfaceThe M&A saga continued this month with Nano Dimension announcing plans to acquire Desktop Metal in an all-cash transaction valued at $183 million, or $5.50 per share. The deal was anticipated to close in Q4 2024, but things didnt go as planned.Nanos bid for Desktop Metal was part of a broader M&A spree aimed at positioning the Israeli firm as a leader in the AM sector. This spree began in July 2022, when Nano Dimension acquired a 12.12% stake in Stratasys, followed by multiple bids to acquire Stratasys, all of which were ultimately unsuccessful.However, the substantial cash reserves that fueled Nano Dimensions M&A activities attracted scrutiny from the companys largest shareholder Murchinson. The activist shareholder claimed that poor capital allocation and acquisitions under CEO Yoav Stern were eroding shareholder value. Consequently, Murchinsons campaign to overhaul Nanos Board of Directors heightened tensions, advocating for governance improvements and a shift in strategic direction.Nano Dimension offices in Munich. Photo by Michael Petch.Nanos new offer for Desktop Metal, highlighted during the companys July 2024 investor call, revived interest in Desktop Metals trajectory, especially following its attempted merger with Stratasys in 2023, which failed with 78.6% of shareholders voting against the proposal.In contrast, Nano Dimensions offer gained board approval from both companies. The firms expected the new transaction to result in a post-merger cash position of up to $680 million, enabling future growth initiatives.Despite this progress, shareholder concerns quickly emerged. Certain Desktop Metal investors voiced unease over the agreements terms, particularly given Desktop Metals significant valuation decline over recent years.Having previously traded above $20 per share, Desktop Metals stock fell to record lows, hovering just above $4.30 per share by mid-2024. This steep decline raised doubts about the fairness of the acquisition price and the risks of consolidation in the AM industry.Nevertheless, the merger plan faced an unexpected twist, leaving questions about its long-term viability.U.S. Navy leverages 3D printing for rapid part production at RIMPAC 2024During the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024 exercise in Hawaii, the U.S. Navy deployed advanced 3D printing systems to address supply chain challenges and enhance operational readiness.The XSPEE3D cold spray 3D printer from Australian manufacturer SPEE3D and Snowbird Technologies SAMM Tech hybrid DED manufacturing system enabled rapid production of essential metal components, reducing lead times from days to mere hours.Including capabilities such as onsite fabrication and hybrid manufacturing aboard ships, these systems offered a practical solution to delays of up to 200 days in conventional supply chains. Overseen by the Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, the initiative demonstrated the potential of 3D printing to improve self-sufficiency in maritime and aviation operations, transforming logistics in critical scenarios.At the Marine Corps Base in Hawaii, FLEETWERX contractor Patrick Tucker noted, I dont think theres been something like this done yet within the U.S. DoD.The USS Somerset. Photo via the US Navy.McDonalds goes green with 3D printingWith a focus on sustainability, fast food giant McDonalds partnered with Philips MyCreation to introduce custom 3D printed light fixtures across its 38,000 global locations.These unique pendant lights feature embossed designs crafted from at least 55% recycled or bio-circular plastics, aligning with McDonalds sustainability goals, including a 60% carbon footprint reduction by 2030.After initially facing mold production challenges, McDonalds discovered Philips MyCreations capabilities and validated their designs through two rounds of 3D printed samples within three months. Local production of the fixtures minimizes transport emissions and waste, while on-demand manufacturing eliminates the need for large inventories.This partnership scaled globally, bringing eco-friendly lighting solutions to over 100 countries, including Argentina, Japan, Alaska, and Australia, as part of McDonalds efforts to modernize its restaurants worldwide.3D Printing News Highlights from 2024: Innovations, Trends, and AnalysisWhat 3D printing trends do the industry leaders anticipate this year?What does the Future of 3D printing hold for the next 10 years?To stay up to date with the latest 3D printing news, dont forget to subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter or follow us on Twitter, or like our page on Facebook.While youre here, why not subscribe to our Youtube channel? Featuring discussion, debriefs, video shorts, and webinar replays.Featured image shows the USS Somerset. Photo via the US Navy.

Unlike Siri, OpenAI Advanced Voice uses your phone's camera to understand your surroundings. If you have one of these iPhone models, here's how to get started.

Checkout.com founder Guillaume Pousaz built his London-based startup to a $40 billion valuation thanks to deals with crypto exchanges like Binance.Getty ImagesPayments startup Checkout.com was once the most valuable startup in Europe, garnering a $40 billion valuation thanks to deals with Binance and other crypto exchanges. But after the London-based fintech cut its contract with Binance over money laundering concerns, its revenues have slumped, dropping by 16% to $212 million, according to new corporate filings for Checkouts U.K arm.Checkout blamed the drop in revenue primarily by the termination of a large merchant initiated by the company in the filing with the U.K.s Companies House registry. That entity was not named in the filings but Forbes first reported in 2023 that Checkout warned Binance it would stop processing credit card payments for the crypto exchange because of regulatory scrutiny.Checkouts Chief Marketing Officer Rory O'Neill said that the company did not comment on business relationships with any of its merchants, and e-commerce and fintech clients rather than crypto were now its primary focus.The crypto exchange was once Checkouts largest customer. It processed around $2 billion in Binance transactions during a single month in 2021, according to a person with direct knowledge. That set up Checkout to raise a $1 billion round in January 2022, making its founder Guillaume Pousaz, one of Europes richest men.Binance threatened legal action against Checkout in the wake of the split but months later its founder Changpeng Zhao pled guilty to money laundering offenses and resigned as CEO in November 2023. Binance paid a $4.3 billion fine to the U.S.s Department of Justice while Zhao paid a $50 million fine and was sentenced to four months in jail.One of Checkouts largest investors, mutual fund giant Franklin Templeton, has since slashed its valuation of the company to just $11.6 billion, according to SEC filings. Checkouts corporate structure makes discerning its financial health difficult: The startup is owned by a holding company in the British-controlled tax haven of Jersey, and earns revenue through around 30 associated companies around the world. Blurring the picture further, it transferred some of its assets and "intellectual property to a new U.K.-based sister company Checkout Technology Limited last year.These U.K. arms are only part of the larger Checkout group, but their filings show that combined losses mounted to $258 million from $176.6 million in 2022. Checkout Technology also took out a $200 million loan secured by shares in its Jersey parent company to shore up its balance sheet.As a privately held company, we choose not to publish our global results, this is common practice, said Checkout spokesperson O'Neill. We can confirm that the UK is only a fraction of our global business and that in 2024, the group continued to grow globally by 40% year over year.One of the largest line items on Checkouts balance sheet is its wage bill. Even after several rounds of layoffs and executive departures, its two U.K. arms still have over 1,100 employees and a $159.1 million wage bill, down around 25% from 2022. Checkout said it now had over 1,700 staff globally despite axing several of its international offices last year.Company updates and corporate filings indicate that most of Checkouts leadership has left the company in the last 18 months. Wolfgang Bardorf resigned as treasurer in September 2023, followed by chief compliance officer Michael Weigand, CTO Ott Kaukver and chief people officer Kerry Van Voris in December 2023. Checkouts COO Cline Duftel departed in June 2024, according to The Financial Times, while CFO Nirupam Sinha left the company last month, according to a company blog post.Corporate filings for the business also show that Checkouts Swiss billionaire founder Pousaz relocated back to the U.K. from the United Arab Emirates in 2023. Forbes previously reported that Pousaz established a charitable foundation also in the tax haven of Jersey in 2023, and set up a family office Zinal Growth in 2021. According to the filings, he continues to be considered the ultimate controlling party of Checkout.

Email hacking warning for 2025 just got seriousgettyForget everything you thought you knew about staying safe online. No more telltale signs, no more derisory pretense, no more laughable promises. Imagine if the next email thats clearly from your friend, family member or colleague is actually fakebut its so good you simply cannot tell.This is the stuff of security nightmares and its already coming trueit will shape the new threat landscape. AI is giving cybercriminals the ability to easily create more personalized and convincing emails and messages that look like theyre from trusted sources, McAfee warned ahead of 2025, these types of attacks are expected to grow in sophistication and frequency. And for Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail and other leading platforms, the defenses are not yet in place to stop this.And so with 2025 barely a few days old, heres the first news story of the year reporting exactly that. As per The Financial Times, an influx of hyper-personalized phishing scams generated by artificial intelligence bots is on the rise. These attacks are already a security nightmare and will only get worse. The newspaper says major companies including eBay now warn of the rise of fraudulent emails containing personal details probably obtained through AI analysis of online profiles.Check Point warned this would happen in 2025: Cyber criminals are expected to leverage artificial intelligence to craft highly targeted phishing campaigns and adapt malware in real-time to evade traditional detection mechanisms. Security teams will rely on AI-powered tools... but adversaries will respond with increasingly sophisticated, AI-driven phishing and deepfake campaigns.MORE FOR YOUAI bots can quickly ingest large quantities of data about the tone and style of a company or individual and replicate these features to craft a convincing scam, says The FT of these latest attacks. They can also scrape a victims online presence and social media activity to determine what topics they may be most likely to respond tohelping hackers generate bespoke phishing scams at scale.McAfees warning highlights enhanced phishing, with the lures the same albeit the presentation much improved. As such, when you receive an email that looks identical to one from your bank, asking you to verify your account details is to ensure you have the usual security hygiene factors in place2FA, strong and unique passwords or better yet passkeys, never clicking links.But new phishing luresespecially in the corporate worldmight just be seeking information, trusted access elsewhere within the enterprise, or to kickstart a larger, more complex fraud to divert funds or trick an exec into giving their finance team the nod to okay a transaction. Check Point says the rapid advanced in AI now give attackers the ability to write a perfect phishing email.eBays cyber crime security researcher Nadezda Demidova told The FT that the availability of generative AI tools lowers the entry threshold for advanced cyber crime... Weve witnessed a growth in the volume of all kinds of cyber attacks, describing the latest scams as polished and closely targeted.ESETs Jake Moore agrees. Social engineering, he says, has an impressive hold over people due to human interaction but now as AI can apply the same tactics from a technological perspective, it is becoming harder to mitigate unless people really start to think about reducing what they post online.Such is the fear of such attacks that the FBI issued a specific advisory last month: Generative AI takes what it has learned from examples input by a user and synthesizes something entirely new based on that information. These tools assist with content creation and can correct for human errors that might otherwise serve as warning signs of fraud... Synthetic content is not inherently illegal; however, synthetic content can be used to facilitate crimes, such as fraud and extortion.Ultimately, Moore told me, whether AI has enhanced an attack or not, we need to remind people about these increasingly more sophisticated attacks and how to think twice before transferring money or divulging personal information when requested - however believable the request may seem.Phishing scams generated using AI may also be more likely to bypass companies email filters and cyber security training, The FT says. And with human mistakes still the key to all compromises, such a convincing lure at stage one is a security nightmare. From then on, other emails are likely real and its unlikely anyone will check back to the original source. The circle of trust has been broken.AI is transforming how the Gmail team protects billions of inboxes, Google says, with new ground-breaking AI models that significantly strengthened Gmail cyber-defenses [to] spot patterns and respond rapidly. But AI can break such patterns, making every email unique and specifically avoiding the step and repeat telltales of the pastat least for the most sophisticated campaigns.And this will only get worse. AI has increased the power and simplicity for cybercriminals to scale up their attacks, Moore warns. Present phishing emails are fed into algorithms and analyzed but when such emails sound and feel genuine, they go under both the human and technological radars.

In a nutshell: December's Steam survey results have arrived. The last month of the year is always an interesting one as it indicates popular Christmas gifts while also setting the stage for what's ahead. The most obvious takeaway from December? 2024 really was AMD's year at least when it came to CPUs. Starting with the processors category, December saw AMD reach another record-high share among participants of Valve's survey. Team Red users were up 3.02% last month, taking its total to 38.7% as Intel fell slightly to 63.4%.The fact almost 40% of participants (on Windows) now use an AMD CPU is as much a testament to the company's success as it is to Intel's failures. It wasn't that long ago when AMD seemed destined never to grow its user share above 30%.Zen 5 wasn't exactly earth-shattering on its arrival, but still better received than Intel's Arrow Lake Core Ultra Series 2 desktop CPUs. Then the Ryzen 7 9800X3D chip arrived, earning the title of "The New Gaming CPU King" in our review and proving so popular it sold out everywhere. The instability issues in Intel's 13th- and 14th-generation processors have also impacted its sales of the older chips.Moving to the GPU section, the biggest gains of the month were mostly shared between the RTX 40 series and 30 series xx60 and xx70 cards, with the RTX 4060 leading the pack. Somewhat surprisingly, the ancient GTX 1650 saw the fourth-highest gains.Best-performing GPUs among Steam survey participants during DecemberAMD's best-performing desktop card of the month was the Radeon RX 6600 in 27th place.The RTX 3060 continues to be the most popular card among participants. Mid-range Ampere and Lovelace GPUs make up almost all of the top 11 spots, the only exceptions being the GTX 1650 in fourth and the GTX 2060 in tenth. // Related StoriesMost popular GPUs among Steam survey participants during DecemberElsewhere, Windows 11 is now comfortably the most popular OS in the survey. It pulled ahead another 2% to an almost 55% share in December as Windows 10 dropped to 42.3%.With the older Windows version's end-of-support date ten months away, expect this trend to continue. However, it's a different story when looking at global users: Windows 10's share has increased two months in a row to 62.7% while Windows 11 has declined to 34.1%.Rounding up the rest of the survey, 16GB of RAM remains the most popular amount of system RAM but it's lead is declining as second-place 32GB grows; a trend that is mirrored in the VRAM category.Despite 1080p now mostly being limited to budget models or eSports monitors with blistering refresh rates, more than half (56.1%) the participants use this resolution. 1440p is the second most popular at 19.5%.English saw a huge 9% jump in the languages category in December, cementing its position at the top with a 42.1% share as second-place Chinese fell slightly to 29.9%. Finally, most people still have more than 1TB of drive space, but only 100GB to 249GB free.

Each year, about half a million Americans are diagnosed with Clostridioides difficile, a common bacterial infection of the large intestine. Only some patients respond to antibiotics. Infection recurs in about 20% of patients and proves fatal in about 30,000 cases annually. But there is a highly effective, albeit unconventional, treatment: fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), which involves transplanting healthy stool into a patients gut. Although FMT is approved in many countries, access is still limited. In Europe, for example, only one in 10 patients with recurrent C. difficile is able to get FMT treatment. Access for children is especially challenging. Most banks collect samples only from adults, and transplanting them into children may cause unwanted side effects. Nikhil Pai, a pediatric gastroenterologist at McMaster Childrens Hospital and associate professor at McMaster University, is helping to change things. In 2022, he set up the first pediatric stool bank in Canada. Since then, the bank has stored more than 150 samples and completed five FMT procedures in children. Pai is collaborating with other researchers on designing oral crapsules to make treatment easier. Managing a stool bank: Pai and his colleagues take on multiple roles to keep the bank running. They recruit and screen donors, catalogue the samples, store them in a freezer at 80 C,and fundraise to keep the effort going. The bank also provides stool to researchers testing FMT as a treatment for other diseases. Theres a lot of different roles that weve taken on to be able to do this, Pai says. From donation to treatment: The bank recruits donors throughout the hospital. The healthy siblings of patients or children of hospital staff are eager to help. There is a very strong sense of citizenship that leads children to want to volunteer, he says. To ensure that their stool is healthy, donors are screened via a questionnaire and a blood test. Their stool is also tested for infectious diseases like HIV, SARS-CoV-2, and hepatitis. The bank matches each new patient with healthy stool from a donor of the same age and sex. The treatment is delivered via enema. Pai says theres an 80% success rate after one treatment and more than 90% after a second. Easing access: Pai says its crucial to fund stool banks so patients dont need to travel far for treatment. And hes hopeful that oral crapsules will make life easier for patients. Rather than needing to travel to a hospital with specialized personnel for an enema or endoscopy, they could take these like any other pill. One day, the treatment could extend to a range of other drug-resistant infections and gut diseases. Simon Spichak is a freelance science, health, and tech journalist based in Toronto.