This week, the 3D printing world brings us a story with real heart: Bambu Lab turns filament sales into earthquake relief for Venezuela. Plus: researchers take the heat out of volumetric resin printing, Games Workshop launches 40K 11th Edition with the Orks Codex, SUNLU releases a filament dryer you can use while printing, and a holographic printer from Utah produces parts in just 20 seconds. Let's go. 🔥
🔥 Featured
🇻🇪 Bambu Lab turns filament sales into earthquake relief for Venezuela
On June 24th, two earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude struck Venezuela — the strongest to hit the country in over a century, according to the USGS. In response to the disaster, the maker community has rallied, and Bambu Lab has launched an initiative that genuinely deserves recognition.
From July 13–15, Bambu Lab is running a 48-hour charity drive: anyone who purchases PLA Basic Refill spools in the colors of the Venezuelan flag — yellow, blue, and red — using the code 4Venezuela triggers a full product-value donation from the company to UN Crisis Relief. In other words, you get the filament and Bambu donates an equivalent amount toward humanitarian aid. This adds to the $50,000 already contributed by Bambu Lab LATAM, and the 160 kg of filament donated by local distributor LayerLab, which has redirected its production to print splints and oxygen connectors for hospitals in the affected area.
And this is where it hits close to home as makers: distributed 3D printing becomes a real disaster relief tool. Locally printed medical parts, no waiting on supply chains, right where they're needed. It's the same technology we use for minis and prototypes, put to work for something far bigger. It connects with what we saw with the modular prosthetic from the University of Alicante: when 3D printing stops being a hobby and starts changing lives. Hats off to the community. Read the full coverage on 3D Printing Industry →
🧪 Materials
🧪 Researchers take the heat out of volumetric resin printing
A solid resin story — right up Mr Resin's alley. Researchers from the University of Nottingham and UC Berkeley have solved one of the biggest challenges in volumetric printing — the technique that cures an entire object at once inside a rotating vat of resin, rather than layer by layer. The problem: the process generates so much heat that parts overcure, warp, and fuse together. Fine details ended up as a melted mess.
The solution, published in Nature Communications on July 9th, is chemical: they added a RAFT polymerization agent to the resin to control the reaction. The results? With just 0.1% of the additive, the temperature spike dropped from over 60°C to just 27°C; at 0.3%, it fell to a mere 3.5°C. In one test, three spheres of different sizes that would fuse into a single blob with standard resin came out perfectly separated, with 150-micron resolution between features.
Why does this matter? Volumetric printing is one of the most promising frontiers in resin technology — offering parts in seconds, with no visible layers and no support marks. Controlling heat brings it one step closer to real-world practicality. Best of all, Berkeley Lab's OpenCAL platform is fully open source. This builds on the holographic volumetric printing research from EPFL that we covered in issue #011. The future of resin is being shaped in these labs. Read the full coverage on VoxelMatters →
🎲 Miniatures
🎲 Codex Orks kicks off Warhammer 40,000 11th Edition
Games Workshop has confirmed that the Codex Orks will be the first codex of Warhammer 40,000 11th Edition: a 178-page tome featuring 15 detachments at launch, a revamped Waaagh! rule, and new kits (a resculpted Trukk, a Mek, and a Warboss with 16 head options). The greenskins are leading the charge into the new edition.
On Saturday, July 11th, pre-orders opened for the Starter Sets we previewed in issue #015, with pricing now confirmed: the Introductory Set ($77, featuring 12 brand-new sculpts), two Getting Started sets ($170 each), and the full Starter Set with two Combat Patrols ($250). All sets hit shelves on July 25th.
The most interesting business news, though, is the format shift: GW confirmed that new softcover codexes will cost roughly a third less than current hardbacks (with a separate collector's hardcover edition), and that rules updates will move to a monthly app-based system starting July 22nd. For anyone printing terrain, proxies, and bits, a new edition always means peak season — stock up on detail resin, paint, and brushes for the occasion. See the full details on Warhammer Community →
🔧 Hardware
🔧 SUNLU AMS Lite Heater: dry your filament while you print
A small accessory that solves a big headache. SUNLU has unveiled the AMS Lite Heater, a $129.99 kit designed for the Bambu Lab AMS Lite that integrates filament drying directly into your print workflow — so you no longer have to dry spools separately before every print run.
It heats up to 70°C and supports PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, nylon (PA), and polycarbonate (PC)—exactly the materials most vulnerable to moisture damage. If you've ever pulled a print covered in surface bubbles or heard that telltale crackling because your filament had absorbed moisture, you know exactly what we're talking about. Having drying built right into the AMS is one of those quality-of-life upgrades that, once you try it, you won't want to live without. It launches July 20th, coinciding with SUNLU's 13th anniversary. One honest caveat: this is a newly announced product with no independent reviews yet to confirm real-world performance. Read the full details at 3Dnatives →
🤖 WTF Science
🤖 A holographic printer builds parts in 20 seconds
A breakthrough from the University of Utah has been making the rounds in tech media this week. Engineers Rajesh Menon and Dajun Lin have created microstructures using a single holographic exposure in about 20 seconds—with none of the weak layer lines left behind by traditional layer-by-layer methods.
The trick: they use a nanostructured mask to channel laser light inside a photopolymer (SU-8), sculpting the entire part at once using a 3D light pattern. They achieved microtubes just 6 microns wide with aspect ratios of 120:1—extremely long, ultra-thin structures that would simply collapse if you tried to build them layer by layer. Worth clarifying so there's no confusion: this is precision microfabrication (microscopic parts for chips, sensors, or microfluidics), not a desktop resin printer for your miniatures. And for now it's "extended 2D," not full volumetric yet.
But the core idea—sculpting with holographic light in seconds, without layers—is the same frontier that volumetric printing is chasing. Two different teams, attacking the same dream from different angles. Layerless printing is getting closer. Read the coverage at Interesting Engineering →
💬 Our take of the week
A week with two bright sides. On one hand, the human side: Bambu Lab and the maker community proving that distributed 3D printing can be a real tool for disaster relief. On the other, the science side: two teams (Nottingham/Berkeley and Utah) pushing the boundary of layerless printing—the kind that promises parts in seconds with no support marks. And in between, the things we always love: a new Warhammer edition dropping and a practical upgrade to help your prints come out better.
If there's one thread running through this whole issue, it's that 3D printing keeps getting more useful, more precise, and more human. Not bad for a Monday in July. As for us, we'll be here in the trenches: resin, filament, paint, free tools, and this newsletter every Monday. 💪
❓ Weekly Frequently Asked Questions
How can I help Venezuela through Bambu Lab's initiative?
From July 13–15, 2026, when you purchase Bambu Lab PLA Basic Refill spools in yellow, blue, or red (the colors of the Venezuelan flag) using the code 4Venezuela, Bambu Lab donates an amount equivalent to the product's value to UN Crisis Relief. You get the filament, and a donation is generated for humanitarian aid. It's a 48-hour drive, so act fast.
What is volumetric printing and why does it matter?
Volumetric printing (also known as VAM/CAL) cures an entire object at once by projecting light from multiple angles onto a rotating resin vat, rather than building it layer by layer. The advantages are huge: parts in seconds instead of hours, no visible layer lines, and no support marks. Its biggest challenge — overheating that caused part deformation — has just been significantly reduced by a University of Nottingham and UC Berkeley study using RAFT chemistry.
When does the Orks Codex and the 40K 11th Edition Starter Sets release?
The Starter Sets opened for pre-order on July 11, 2026, and hit stores on July 25. There are three tiers: the Introductory Set ($77, with 12 new miniatures), Getting Started ($170), and the full Starter Set with two Combat Patrols ($250). The Orks Codex is the first codex of the new edition, featuring 178 pages and 15 detachments.
Is it worth drying filament before printing?
Yes, especially with hygroscopic materials like nylon (PA), polycarbonate (PC), PETG, or TPU, which absorb moisture from the air. Wet filament causes bubbling, popping, poor layer adhesion, and a rougher surface finish. Drying it before printing — or on the fly with accessories like the new SUNLU AMS Lite Heater — noticeably improves print quality and reliability.