The 3D Printing Industry Review of the Year continues with the biggest stories from February.Following news of cost-cutting and streamlining initiatives last month, February saw companies face financial challenges. Shapeways and Uniformity Labs auctioned off assets, while Desktop Metal fundraising efforts continued with a mixed-shelf offering. On a more positive note, Core Industrial Partners raised substantial capital investments to expand its additive manufacturing portfolio.In other news, companies launched 3D printed consumer products to address end-market needs. Wilsons 3D printed basketballs hit the shelves, while additive manufacturing featured prominently within the bike market. Also in February, 3D Printing Industry reported how Oracle Red Bull Racing uses additive manufacturing to boost performance on the track. Elsewhere, a SpaceX rival successfully launched a 3D printed rocket, while researchers achieved breakthroughs for 3D printing brain tissue and multi-color additive manufacturing.Read on for February announcements from AddUp, Airbus, Bright Laser Technologies, LandSpace, EOS, DyeMansion, the European Space Agency, and more.3D printed Wilson Airless Gen1 basketballs. Image via Wilson.Fundraising efforts and financial challengesFollowing last months Arevo 3D printing hardware auction, February saw more additive manufacturing assets put up for sale. After experiencing worsening financial results since its 2021 $605 milion SPAC deal, Shapeways announced a range of cost-cutting actions, including a 15% workforce reduction.February saw the company auction $5 million of its Desktop Metal 3D printers, including P1 Production Systems, binder jet Shop Systems, and BMD 3D printers. This was the firms second hardware auction, having previously listed $4 million worth of Desktop Metal 3D printing technology in October 2023.This reflected Shapeways worsening financial position since the SPAC merger. In 2021, the firm initially projected 95% annual growth between FY 2021 and FY 2022, followed by anticipated 2024 revenues of $250 million. However, by Q3 2023, Shapeways posted total revenue of just $8.4 million, $3.4 million in gross profit, and a net loss of -$19.4 million. On 2 February 2024, the companys share price was just $1.94, down from $83.60 per share on 11 January 2021.Updates on Shapeways financial position stayed in the headlines throughout 2024. Although the outlook looked gloomy at the start of the year, later months would chart a surprising change in fortunes.Shapeways went public on September 30 2021, in a deal that saw it raise $90 million in funding. Photo via Shapeways. One company with a less optimistic future was Uniformity Labs. Questions were raised about the engineering materials specialists survival after $10 million worth of its metal 3D printing assets were put up for sale in February. This hardware included an ALD Vacuum Technologies Viga 35 Vacuum Gas Atomizer system priced at $3.5 million, SLM Solutions 280HL Dual 700W laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) 3D printer, SLM 125M 3D printer, EOS M290 LPBF system, and a Desktop Metal P1 Production System. Despite raising $38.35 million in Series B funding in 2021 and launching a new UniFuse IN625 Nickel Alloy at RAPID + TCT 2023, Uniformity Labs ceased trading soon after the auction.Also in the news was Desktop Metal. Following last months decision to initiate a $50 million cost reduction, the company filed a $250 million mixed-shelf offering. This included preferred stock, debt securities, warrants, units, and up to $75 million of class A common stock.Shelf offerings allow companies to raise capital by issuing new securities without needing to immediately sell them. The securities are stored on the shelf, and can be issued when business conditions are favorable. Desktop Metals class A common stock offering had an aggregate price of $75 million.While some companies faced financial struggles at the start of 2024, it wasnt all doom and gloom. Last month, the 3D Printing Industry Executive Survey highlighted an optimistic outlook for the future of 3D printing, with industry experts anticipating a healthy business environment.One company to capitalize on this optimism was CORE Industrial Partners, which successfully raised $887 million in capital commitments in February. This funding continued COREs strategy of investing capital in industrial manufacturing. Over the past five years, the company has raised over $1.58 billion in limited partner commitments for this strategy. Ultimately, CORE is working to build one of the largest global additive manufacturing companies by acquiring 3D printing bureaus and machine shops.Desktop Metal 3D printers. Photo via Desktop Metal.3D printing Consumer productsFebruary witnessed a keen focus on 3D printed consumer products. This was driven by US sports equipment manufacturer Wilson Sporting Goods Co. which commercialized its 3D printed airless basketball. First unveiled as a prototype last year, the Wilson Airless Gen1 hit the shelves for $2,500 in a limited release.The 3D printed basketball was co-developed by 3D design specialists General Lattice, 3D printer manufacturer EOS, and post-processing company DyeMansion. California-based SNL Creative was the primary manufacturing hub for the launch. Notably, the 3D printed lattice structure features eight panel-like lobes which remove the need for inflation. Wilson claims the ball is fully functional and meets NBA regulations for weight, size, and bounce.Wilson Airless Gen1 basketball in off-white natural color. Image via Wilson.3D printed bikes also made headlines this month. Materials specialist Lehvoss Group partnered with E-bike manufacturers Buddy Bike and Isoco Bikes to develop the Isoco X1 e-bike. Designed with sustainability in mind, this consumer product features a 100% recyclable thermoplastic frame and a 68% smaller carbon footprint than its aluminum counterparts. Thomas Collet, Lehvoss Customized Polymer Materials Director of Marketing, told 3D Printing Industry that additive manufacturing was used to develop and prototype some of the ISOCO X1s parts.In other news, 3D printing materials developer Elementum 3D partnered with German machine tool manufacturer TRUMPF to upgrade INTENSE Cycles M1 downhill race bike. INTENSE leveraged TRUMPFs capabilities to 3D print the bikes backbone as a single piece. Elementums A6061-RAM2 aluminum alloy was 3D printed using TRUMPFs TruTops Print build processor, which reduced overhang support material requirements.The Isoco X1 bike, developed in collaboration with Lehvoss and Buddy Bikes. Photo via Isoco Bikes.3D printing at Red Bull RacingIan Handscombe, Red Bull Racings Head of Quality Engineering, explained how the team uses 3D printing in Formula One. He emphasized how advanced manufacturing gives Red Bull the winning edge, stating I dont think we will continue to be on track unless we embrace [3D printing]. Handscombe, who has three decades of experience in the automotive industry, called additive manufacturing the fastest growing technology within F1.During the discussion, Handscombe highlighted the importance of technical partnerships, particularly with companies like Hexagon. Through these collaborations, Red Bull has integrated advanced technologies into their operations, pushing performance limits while ensuring race-car safety and reliability.According to Handscombe, Hexagon plays a critical role in identifying and delivering critical equipment, while assisting in development and training. Hexagon has been with us every step of the way, added Handscombe.He added that the team leverages additive manufacturing an awful lot. It is evaluating how to scale its use from 3D printed models for wind tunnel testing to having more and more 3D printed components on the race car. The automotive expert believes 3D printing will start to replace mechanical parts on the car soon.Crew poses for a photo during Red Bull Racing 2023 Pitch Black Pit Stop in Milton Keynes, England. Photo via Magenta Stills / Red Bull Content.Additive manufacturing supports space flightFebruarys 3D printing news witnessed significant announcements within the space sector. A European Space Agency (ESA) contract saw AddUp and Airbus Defence & Space collaborate to develop a system to enable 3D printing in space.The companies developed two systems to evaluate additive manufacturing capabilities and performance in microgravity conditions. The flight model 3D printer was launched to the International Space Station through the ESAs Metal3D project. It underwent testing on the Space Stations Columbus module, with operational 3D printing beginning by early March.Meanwhile, an engineering model remained on Earth. Astronauts will 3D print four samples in space, which will be returned to Earth and analyzed alongside the terrestrial 3D printed parts. Mechanical strength, bending tests, and microstructural analysis will be conducted to evaluate the effects of microgravity on 3D printing.First of the four metal 3D specimens to be printed on board the ISS. Photo via Airbus.In other space news, Private Chinese company LandSpace completed the first successful test launch of its reusable Zhuque-3 VTVL-1 3D printed rocket. This hop test mission validated the vertical takeoff and landing (VTVL) Liquid Oxygen-Methane rockets first stage. It reached an altitude of around 350 meters in 60 seconds, before setting down on a designated landing area.Bright Laser Technologies metal 3D printing capabilities played a key role in producing the rocket. The Zhuque-3 featured a slew of 3D printed components, including joint elements, igniter mounts, and its intricate free-body section. The latter required a complex internal cooling structure.Bright Laser Technologies stated that conventional manufacturing processes failed to meet the quality requirements of the free-body section. The companys BLT-S310 and BLT-S400 Metal 3D printers successfully addressed these demands. LandSpace added that additive manufacturing expedited deliveries, reduced production time, and unlocked rapid development iterations.VTVL-1 Ignition Takeoff. Photo via LandSpace.Researchers achieve 3D printing breakthroughsAcademic research projects continued to push the boundaries of additive manufacturing in February. One team from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology developed a new method for multi-color 3D printing.Conventional multi-color 3D printing approaches require the use of multiple materials. However, the researchers novel process only requires a single ink, improving sustainability and efficiency. They drew inspiration from color-changing chameleons to create a UV-assisted-ink-writing approach that allows structural colors to be changed on the fly during 3D printing.By changing the strength of UV light, the researchers successfully achieved a wide range of colors. This was demonstrated through 3D printed art pieces, including a chameleon image and a recreation of Vincent Van Goghs Starry Night painting. Both showcased the broad spectrum of yellows, greens, and blues possible with a single ink.Elsewhere, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison developed a new approach for 3D printing human brain tissue. The novel process can create active neural networks in and between tissues.Existing methods often create an uneven distribution of neural cells. The new approach overcomes this by 3D printing the brain tissue horizontally. Thrombin was added as a crosslinking agent after the tissue was deposited to prevent the 3D printed cell bands from mixing.The team believes the 3D printed brain tissue can serve as a valuable tool for modeling brain activity under physiological and pathological conditions. The tissue was also touted as an effective drug-testing platform.Multi-colored 3D printed chameleon. Image via University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.3D Printing News Highlights from 2024: Innovations, Trends, and AnalysisSubscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter to keep up with the latest 3D printing news.You can also follow us on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry Youtube channel to access more exclusive content.Featured image shows 3D printed Wilson Airless Gen1 basketballs. Image via Wilson.