#3D Printing Plastics Industry

[industrynewsupdates]

Challenges Facing the 3D Printing Plastics Market: An In-Depth Analysis

The global 3D printing plastics market was valued at approximately USD 1.20 billion in 2024 and is anticipated to grow at a remarkable compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.2% from 2025 to 2030. This growth is primarily driven by the increasing demand for customized and personalized products, which is fostering innovation within the 3D printing sector and subsequently heightening the need for various types of 3D printing plastics.

A significant trend observed in the market is the strong shift toward sustainable and eco-friendly materials. As industries adopt more responsible manufacturing practices, there is a notable rise in the popularity of bioplastics and recycled materials for use in 3D printing applications. This movement is propelled by stringent environmental regulations and an increasing consumer preference for sustainable products. Companies are actively investing in research and development to create innovative biodegradable plastics that can match the performance characteristics of traditional materials while minimizing environmental impact. This transition not only supports sustainability objectives but also opens new avenues for growth in sectors such as healthcare and consumer goods.

Gather more insights about the market drivers, restrains and growth of the 3d Printing Plastics Market

Type Insights

When examining the market by type, the photopolymers segment emerged as the leader, accounting for a substantial revenue share of 58.4% in 2024. This dominance can be attributed to the rising demand for high-precision manufacturing across various industries, including dental, jewelry, and electronics. Photopolymer resins, which solidify when exposed to light, are prized for their exceptional accuracy and ability to produce intricate details, making them particularly suitable for creating complex designs.

In the dental sector, for example, photopolymer 3D printing technology is utilized to manufacture highly customized crowns, bridges, and dental implants with remarkable precision. Similarly, in the electronics industry, this technology is applied to create micro-scale components that would be challenging to fabricate using traditional manufacturing methods. The growing inclination toward customized and miniaturized products, along with advancements in photopolymer formulations that enhance strength and durability, is propelling the growth of this market segment.

On the other hand, the polyamide/nylon segment is projected to experience rapid growth throughout the forecast period. Nylon is well-regarded for its outstanding mechanical properties, including high tensile strength, flexibility, and durability. These attributes make it particularly suitable for producing functional prototypes and end-use parts across various industries, including automotive, aerospace, and consumer goods. In the automotive and aerospace sectors, manufacturers are increasingly adopting Nylon 3D printing to create lightweight components that help reduce the overall weight of vehicles without compromising performance. This shift is further reinforced by the material's resistance to heat and chemicals, which is essential for applications in demanding environments.

Global 3D printing plastics market is on an upward trajectory, driven by the need for customization and sustainability. As companies continue to innovate and adapt to market demands, particularly through the use of photopolymers and polyamides, the industry is well-positioned for significant growth in the coming years. This evolving landscape reflects broader trends in manufacturing and consumer preferences, emphasizing the importance of both performance and environmental responsibility in product development.

Order a free sample PDF of the 3d Printing Plastics Market Intelligence Study, published by Grand View Research.

[neha24blog]

3D Printing Plastics Market Focusing On The Basis Of Type, Form, End-Use, Region And Forecast 2028: Grand View Research Inc.

San Francisco, 20 Nov 2023: The Report 3D Printing Plastics Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Type (Photopolymers, ABS & ASA, Polyamide/Nylon, PLA), By Form (Filament, Ink, Powder), By End-use, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2023 – 2030 The global 3D printing plastics market size is expected to reach USD 5.4 billion by 2030, according to a new study by Grand View Research, Inc.…

[cyrusmehdipour]

Controlling Plastic Injection Machine Nozzle Movement with a Digital Las...

[me-amaraja]

[plastic4trade]

Fakuma 2024 Global Event for Plastics Industry at Frickenhausen The FAKUMA 2024 trade show is considered the prime global event dedicated to the industrial plastic processing sector. This event is scheduled to take place from 15th to 19th October 2024, in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Fakuma international trade fair for plastics processing has become a prominent meeting place for the industry, with international charisma. It holds second place in the overall ranking of international trade fairs for plastics. However, because of the organization cycle, it is the principal event for the Plastic industry.

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND EXHIBITION?

Fakuma 2024 is one of the most important events in the plastics processing industry, attracting experts, manufacturer, supplier, Managing Director, Board member, Supervisor, Group leader, engineer. This exhibition offers numerous opportunities to learn, innovate, and connect with the global plastics community. The Exhibition also welcomes regulatory representatives, higher education institutions, and R&D institutes. This broad attendance underscores Fakuma 2024's importance as a global meeting point for the plastic Industry.

Exhibition Highlight

Exhibition Date –  15th to 19th October 2024

Time – Thursday to Friday: 9.00 am to 5.00 pm and Saturday 9.00 am to 3.00 pm

Expo Location Address – P. E. Schall GmbH & Co. KG Gustav-Werner- Strasse 6 D Frickenhausen, Germany.

Entry Fees – Free Ticket for Industry Professionals on advance booking. + Admission for one person on one day of the fair: €30

Estimated Visitors – 1636 from 40 Countries

Estimated Exhibitors – 39,343 visitors from 89 Countries

Hall No.: A1 to A7 and B1 to B5

Estimate area: 85,000 square meters

WHO SHOULD EXHIBIT?

Fakuma stands as a premier global event for industry professionals, offering unmatched opportunities for networking, innovation, and business growth. Renowned for its international reach, Fakuma provides a platform to showcase advancements, engage with thought leaders, and explore cutting-edge technologies. The exhibition will showcase the latest advancements in Injection moulding machine, extrusion, thermoforming, and 3D printing machine. It serves as a catalyst for innovation and a hub for professional connections, making it an essential event in the plastics processing.

Organizer Information: 

Organizer Name: P. E. Schall GmbH & Co.KG

Organizer Address: Gustav-Werner-Strasse 6, D Frickenhausen, Germany

Organizer Phone No.: 49-7025-9206-650

Organizer Email Id: schur@schall-messen.de

Website: www.schall-messen.de

Registration Link: https://obs.schall-messen.de/Members/Login.aspx

Fakuma 2024 underscored the industry's commitment to innovation in sustainable plastics, showcasing a range of new materials, advanced manufacturing techniques, and comprehensive services aimed at reducing the environmental footprint of plastic Industry.

[unidentifiedfuckingthing]

im so pumped that home scale manufacturing is becoming feasible now. like i dont think its a new mode of production and i think people who say that having 3d printers means everyone can suddenly be completely free of predatory supply chains are full of shit and are basically walking marketing gimmicks but the genuine new creative avenues that open up with access to 3d printers or tiny injection molders are huge. like that used to be just stuff you couldnt do. and now you can. like plastic sucks but its such a unique material that the difference between having access to plastic fabrication and Not is significant

[medicaldevicesindustrynews]

What are the Advancements in 3D Printing High-Performance Plastics?

3D printing tech has gone from strength to strength at a rapid rate, altering more than a few industries. Amongst the several 3D printing applications, plastic 3D printing is really a game changer, offering adaptability, cost-efficiency, and innovation. The utmost new progressions in plastic 3D printing have pushed the limits of what was formerly thought conceivable. This blog will help you…

[reasonsforhope]

"At the University of Maine, one of the world’s largest 3D printers is using sawdust from the state’s lumber industry to 3D print cozy wooden cabins.

It’s part of a move towards making 3D printing faster and more sustainable in a state where the housing shortage that has metastasized in most states around the country is dire.

It’s thought that 80,000 new homes will be needed over the next 5 years to keep pace with demand, and though it takes years for building codes to be changed, the technicians at the Advanced Structures & Composites Center (ASCC) at the Univ. of Maine hope their new toy can help address this need.

Guinness World Records certified the machine at ASCC as the world’s largest prototype polymer 3D printer, capable of creating a 600 square foot house 96 feet in length, 36 feet in width, and 18 feet tall entirely out of bio-based material at a rate of 500 pounds per hour.

In 2022, it could print the walls, floors, and roof of the house in just 96 hours, but the ACSS has been refining the design with the hope of doubling the printing speed and getting it down to a 48-hour timeline.

“When they���re doing concrete, they’re only printing the walls,” Habib Dagher, the executive director of ACSS told CNN. “The approach we’ve taken is quite different from what you’ve seen, and you’ve been reading about for years.”

Indeed, GNN has reported on a fair number of 3D printing projects, but most if not all involve printing only the walls. One fantastical exception is an Italian firm that is 3D-printing domed, beehive-like, modular concept homes inspired by the Great Enclosure in Zimbabwe.

STAND-OUT 3D-PRINTING PROJECTS: 

First 2-Story Home to be 3D Printed in the U.S. Reaches for the Sky in Texas 

The World’s Largest 3D Printed Building is a Horse Barn That Can Endure Florida Hurricanes

This 23-Year-Old Founder is 3D Printing Schools in Madagascar Aiming to be a ‘Stepping Stone’ for the Community

A Startup Is Using Recycled Plastic to 3D Print Tiny $25,000 Prefabricated Homes in LA

The ASCC is calling the house design the BioHome3D, and says it’s rare people who tour the concept version don’t ask when they “can have one up?”

The interior gives the feel of a modern Scandinavian wooden cabin, making it fit well with the Maine aesthetic. The ASCC is now doing work on how to incorporate conduits for wiring and plumbing “exactly where an architect would want them,” says Dagher.

WATCH a time-lapse video of the printer doing the job…

-via Good News Network, August 16, 2024. Video via The University of Maine, March 3, 2023.

[trillscienceofficer]

I've just been thinking a lot about how people like B'Elanna, who have been born into an era (and an area of space) of everyday replicator use, would think about the way we generally manufacture things now especially in a mechanical engineering context, ie mostly via machining it. Making a part with a lathe or a mill, or even something almost magical like electrical discharge machining (EDM), means you have to start with a bigger chunk of material and then work to cut and carve it until you get the part you need. More often than not the largest part of that initial material has been lost in order to get the final result, and it's not easy to get there at all within often very strict tolerances. While a lot of the operations are now done via CNC it still takes a long time, plus studying manuals and accumulating a lot of experience, to become a skilled lathe/mill/EDM technician, not to mention designs that can't be achieved at all through machining and therefore have to be excluded well before a project gets near a lathe. And it is still the most common way we manufacture so many things. Even injection molding for plastic means that you have to have a metal mold to inject your plastic into, and those molds are machined.

And of course the replicators don't work at all like that! They build something by, roughly, adding up building blocks on building blocks, which means very little waste of material in comparison, but most importantly a completely different philosophy of manufacturing and therefore also designing. I started thinking about 3D printers because it's the example of additive manufacturing (versus subtractive manufacturing, like machining) I know best, and one of the things you learn is that you can 3D print things that you would never be able to machine or injection-mold. I'm fascinated by the idea that this is the norm in Star Trek, because I imagine that the replicator, other than making food on demand, would completely revolutionize the industrial manufacturing process.

So I'm wondering how Trek engineers would look at our contemporary machine shops. Quaint, archaic? Like how we watch blacksmiths making Renaissance longswords on youtube? A workflow that would be completely incomprehensible when in your department you don't have to consider the property of every metal alloy not just because of the functionality you want your final part to have, but also how easily (or not) it will machine? Wondering how much time, energy and materials were lost whenever you needed to make even simple nuts and bolts?

I don't know, I just find it interesting to think about.

[materialsscienceandengineering]

New research on 3D-printed materials toward future generations of stronger, lighter plastics

A new analysis of the deformation mechanisms which cause 3D-printed materials to fail under strain could help create future generations of stronger, lighter plastics, unlocking transformative benefits for industry. Engineers in the UK and Italy are behind the research, which provides unprecedented insight into the delicate balance of structural factors at play in the design and construction of lattice materials—honeycomb-like cellular structures which combine light weight with impressive strength and energy absorption abilities. The team developed a design parameter called the "enhancement factor," which provides a reliable way to predict how new lattice designs can be fine-tuned to minimize structural defects and maximize performance.

Read more.

[solarpunkbusiness]

Role models: circular economy examples in manufacturing

Circular manufacturing or circular economy is a means of production, distribution, and consumption where producers bring materials from end-of-life goods back into the economy through reuse, recycling, and recovery instead of disposing of them as waste. 

1. Stora Enso Sunila Mill: a pulp-based refinery plant

Stora Enso Sunila Mill in Finland was the first in the world to extract lignin in a pulp-based refinery plant. The pulp and paper industry is one of the largest manufacturing sectors in the world. It uses 12-15 percent of the wood from forests, which could double by 2050, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

To make the most of the wood they use, Stora Enso Sunila Mill, which owns one of the most extensive private forests in the world, has adopted the circular economy by reusing, recycling, and recovering materials at the mill.

The business sources pulp from their sustainably managed private forests to make paper and packaging to replace plastic. They also produce circular industrial products that are alternatives to fossil fuel-based non-renewable products

2. ReSolved Technologies: Closed-loop plastic recycling

A Dutch startup, ReSolved Technologies, has developed a closed-loop recycling solution for engineering plastics in electronic devices and automobiles. 

Engineering plastics are complex and contain additives that make recycling difficult. 95 per cent of these plastics are downcycled, incinerated, or landfilled.

ReSolved Technologies’ solvent-based recycling technique removes additives like fillers, flame retardants, and colourants, and separates different types of plastics. The recycled plastics are good quality and they can be used to make engineering plastics again. This technology can be used to complement existing mechanical recycling facilities for plastics.

ReSolved Technologies closes the materials loop by turning electronic waste into new electronic devices. Their plastic recycling technology prevents the extraction of fossil fuels for new production and reduces plastic waste and pollution problems.

3. Batch.Works: Smart and circular manufacturing

Another Dutch startup, Batch.Works, offers 3D printing for “Circular Manufacturing as a Service (CmaaS)” using AI-driven factories.

The company uses circular materials like recycled plastics or agricultural waste from traceable sources to make new parts for the manufacturing industry. They offer smart 3D printing to meet on-demand digital production for just-in-time manufacturing, thus reducing overproduction and waste.

The company has a take-back policy for its products to recycle materials and leverages digital warehousing services from third parties for flexibility and scaling. Its novel manufacturing model creates short supply chains to reduce transportation costs and increase agility. 

The short supply chain and digital warehousing cut transport pollution and emissions, and small-batch production makes manufacturing sustainable and cost-effective for client firms.

And many more examples in the link:

[girlactionfigure]

You're right. Other than modern drip irrigation, water saving innovations, geothermal power, solar powered windows, cherry tomatoes, monitors for sudden infant death syndrome, MobileEye, Waze, silent wind turbines, the 8088 Intel chip which paved the way for modern computers, USB flash drive, harmful microorganism counters for food and beverage industry, using the ocean to produce solar energy, optical heart beat monitoring, increasing plastic recycling efficiency by 50%, portable sleep apnea monitors, the world's smallest camera for medical procedures, water utility leak detection technology, HP digital printing press, remote heart and vitals monitoring for medical staff, contributions to developing a COVID vaccine, R&D that led to the first cell phone, a phone that can detect diseases including cancer, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's with 93% accuracy, an exoskeleton that helps paraplegic people walk again, a digestible medical camera in the form of a pill, a flexible heart stent that saved millions of lives of people suffering from coronary heart disease, computer firewalls, antivirus software, ICQ, the iron Dome missile defense system, glasses that read text to visually impaired people, leading breakthrough medical technologies like the ability to 3d print a functioning human heart and nanotechnology that detects and attacks cancer cells, home kits for analysing guy bacteria, desalination tech and a machine that can literally make safe drinking water out of air... WHAT HAS ISRAEL ACTUALLY DONE FOR YOU.

The Mossad: Satirical, Yet Awesome

@TheMossadIL

[prismaticraccoon]

Just got back from a family trip to Chicago, and had an awesome time! One of our stops was the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, inside which were these cool machines called Mold-A-Rama that fabricated plastic models using injection molds right in front of you.

My brother opted to get the Willis Tower model, but it unfortunately didn't survive the trip home. So, given his recently-upgraded 3D-printing setup, I figured I'd help him replace what was lost! 🦝

[mariacallous]

On the top floor of a building somewhere in Ukraine is a drone workshop.

Inside is a chaotic workbench covered in logic boards, antennas, batteries, augmented reality headsets, and rotor blades. On one end of the room is a makeshift photo studio—a jet-black quadcopter drone sits on a long white sheet, waiting for its close-up.

This particular workshop’s Geppetto is Yvan. He grins as he shows off his creations, flittering around with a lit cigarette in his mouth, dangling ash, grabbing different models. (Yvan is a pseudonym; WIRED granted some of the people in this story anonymity due to the security risk.)

Yvan holds up a mid-size drone: This model successfully hit a target from 11 kilometers away, he says, but it should be capable of traveling at least 20. He’s trying different batteries and controllers to try to extend the range. He screws on a stabilizer tailpiece to a hard plastic shell—Yvan 3D-prints these himself—and holds up the assembled bomb. It’s capable of carrying a 3.5-kilogram explosive payload, enough to take out a Russian tank.

He uses his index finger and thumb to pick up a nondescript beige chip: This, he says, is what he’s really proud of.

One big problem with these drones—which are based on commercially available first-person-view (FPV) or photography drones—is that their explosive payload is jimmy-rigged on. It requires the drone to crash in order to close the circuit and trigger the explosion.

This chip, Yvan says, allows for remote detonation from a significant distance, meaning the operator can park their drone and lay in wait for hours, even days, before it goes off. He expects this technology could, eventually, be connected to AI—exploding only if it registers a nearby tank, for example. He has created a long-range smart land mine, I note. After the idea is passed through our translator, he nods enthusiastically.

There are many of these FPV drone workshops around Ukraine—Kyiv estimates there are about 200 Ukrainian companies producing aerial drones, with others producing land- and sea-based uncrewed vehicles. But Yvan, grinning proudly, insists that the manufacturer which he represents, VERBA, is the best.

Ukraine is facing increasingly tough odds in its defensive war against a better-resourced, better-equipped enemy. Thanks to delayed aid from Washington and shortages in other NATO warehouses, Ukraine has lacked artillery shells, long-range missiles, and even air defense munitions.

These drones, however, represent a bright spot for the Ukrainians. Entrepreneurship and innovation is scaling up a sizable drone industry in the country, and it’s making new technological leaps that would make the Pentagon envious.

The age of drone warfare is here, and Ukraine wants to be a superpower.

After Yvan showed off his workshop, we loaded into the car to visit one of his factories.

Behind a steel door is a room filled with racks, where 30 3D printers are working simultaneously, printing various drone components in unison. The twentysomething employees seem accustomed to the screeching alarm—some are soldering the drones together, others are tinkering with designs in AutoCAD, one is lounging on a sofa.

Strung across one shelf of 3D printers is a black flag, a take on Blackbeard’s (apocryphal) pirate flag. It shows a horned skeleton wearing an AR headset and holding a controller, thrusting his spear toward a bleeding heart as a quadcopter flies above.

In the first year of the war, when FPV drones were providing extraordinary footage of the front lines and viral video of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) dropping grenades on Russian tanks captivated the world, Ukraine was snatching up every consumer drone it could find. Chinese technology giant DJI became a household name in Ukraine, thanks to its drones’ ubiquity on the front lines. Ukraine’s early advantage was quickly lost, however, as Russia scrambled to snatch up these Chinese-made UAVs.

“When Russia sees, from Instagram, my product, Russia starts buying all these components in China,” a VERBA executive says. The new demand from Moscow can often cause either shortages or inflation, squeezing out the Ukrainian companies. So entrepreneurs like Yvan began building their own.

When Yvan began his operation in the early months of the war following Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion, he was creating a handful of frankendrones to send to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Now, Yvan says, his operation is producing 5,000 FPV drones per month. He offers a range of systems, from a mammoth 12-inch model to a 4-inch prototype.

At first, these entrepreneurs were pursuing this project on their own—scrambling, like most of the country, to be useful in helping Ukraine defend itself. Kyiv was initially cool to the idea that a domestic drone industry was worth the money and attention, especially given the demand for more conventional arms. Some in the military, one executive says, dismissed the utility of these innovative weapons and surveillance platforms as merely “wedding photography drones.” (One executive said Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s new commander in chief, had been an early adopter inside the military, directly contracting 10 firms in early 2023 to begin assembling new technology for his forces.)

That attitude changed in 2023, when Ukraine set up Brave1, a government-run technology agency and incubator that helps connect private enterprise to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Since its creation, Brave1 has worked to streamline design, development, and procurement of new defense technology, while helping companies navigate government and military bureaucracy. Brave1 has already awarded more than $3 million in research and development grants and connected more than 750 companies to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

When United24, the Ukrainian government’s in-house crowdfunding platform, first pitched an “army of drones” to its donors in 2022, it aimed to buy just 200 units. Today, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky projected late last year that his country would produce over 1 million drones in 2024.

“I would say that we can even double this number,” Natalia Kushnerska, head of Brave1’s defense technology cluster, tells WIRED.

“We have the responsibility and the motivation to do it today and to do it very fast,” she says. “Because we don't have any other choice.”

This is a war, one executive told me, “where the economy matters.”

Even hampered by sanctions, Russia has a $2 trillion economy—about 6 percent of that is geared toward its wartime production. Ukraine’s entire GDP, by contrast, is less than $200 billion.

While Kyiv has received substantial support from its NATO partners, it faces constant pressure to find efficiencies. The economics of these drones are looking better and better.

Yvan’s drones are, compared to conventional munitions, cheap. His most expensive unit runs about $2,500, but the cheapest is only $400.

Early in the war, the Ukrainians could reasonably expect—depending on weather, the mission, and Russian jamming efforts—that about 30 percent of their drones would connect with the target. Today, good Ukrainian-made systems are approaching a 70 percent success rate.

It can often take four or five artillery shells to successfully destroy a medium-range target, such as a tank. At $8,000 per shell—which are in short supply and high demand—that is an expensive proposition. Even if it takes two of Yvan’s most expensive drones to achieve the same objective, that’s thousands of dollars in savings. The proliferation of these drones reduces the “cost-per-kill,” as one executive phrased it, and reduces the strain on those dwindling ammunition stockpiles.

Even if Yvan and other producers are making more and more of their systems in Ukraine, they still rely on Chinese suppliers for critical onboard components. That comes with a trade-off—Chinese suppliers are cheaper, but they tend to be of lower quality and are happy to do business with Russia as well. Other options, such as companies in Taiwan, the United States, Canada, or Europe, are better quality but can be several times more expensive.

These supply chains, Yvan says, are “complicated.” Drone manufacturers who spoke to WIRED say anywhere between 40 percent and 80 percent of their drone components are made in Ukraine. Asked how long it would take before Ukraine manufactures nearly everything in these drones, from the rotor blades to the onboard components, Yvan provides a bullish estimate: “six months.”

It’s not an entirely unrealistic dream. Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and also minister responsible for digital transformation, said late last year that Kyiv hopes to break ground on a semiconductor factory, capable of producing 50,000 chips a year, by 2025. Ukraine produces about half the world’s supply of neon, necessary for the lasers used to make the chips.

There are already companies in Ukraine that have developed electronic design automation software—a necessary tool for producing chips—and that do electronic assembly inside the country itself. An industry source tells WIRED that a working group was formed in late 2023 to chart out how Ukraine could be a player in the semiconductor industry.

Another defense technology executive, Igor, manufactures considerably more-sensitive drones. “We definitely don’t buy anything from China,” he says. His products are more expensive, he says, “but we are looking for something that would differentiate us from the Russians.” At the moment, he says, “Russia is ahead.” He’s hoping to close that gap.

For any of this to work, however, there needs to be demand for these drones. The more they can sell, the more they can invest. “The things that they need,” Kushnerska says: “contracts and money.” Demand has certainly grown—fundraising platform United24 helped finance a fleet of naval drones and raised funds to purchase 5,000 surveillance UAVs. Other organizations have led similar purchases. The drone-makers, however, say it’s just not enough.

In early 2023, Ukraine’s parliament passed new laws to regulate how drone manufacturers can contract with the state; while profiteering is generally discouraged in the wartime economy, the law specifically allows the companies to charge up to 25 percent profit.

Yvan says he charges just a 10 percent premium for his drones and reinvests all that profit back into his operation. Representatives from other drone companies who spoke to WIRED say they operate on a similar basis.

More orders will mean more investment. Thus far, NATO countries have preferred to purchase locally-made equipment and ship it to Ukraine. That may be changing.

Bill Blair, Canada’s minister of defense, visited Kyiv shortly before I was there. While there, he announced that Ottawa would donate 800 Canadian-made drones to Ukraine. While the donation was lauded, a senior official asked the minister, “Why didn't you buy our drones?” After being briefed on the various innovations taking place in the Ukrainian drone industry, Blair was convinced. “We're also going to find ways to invest in Ukrainian industry,” he tells WIRED. “The point of the [Ukraine Defense Contact Group drone coalition] is to create capability, not only in the countries that are in the coalition but also capability in Ukraine.”

Even still, bureaucracy moves slowly. What’s more, startups—some of which are helmed by technologists or special effects gurus with no experience in procurement, let alone war—are often learning as they go. One executive, covering his eyes with his hand, says: “It’s like going completely blind.”

Not every company has been able to hack it. One executive says he’s aware of five defense technology startups that have shut down since the war began.

Much attention has been paid to FPV drones. They reinforce the idea that Ukraine’s defense is a scrappy, homespun effort. But even as the country has professionalized production of these light, agile drones, it has rapidly spun up production of other, more complicated systems.

One of Ukraine’s biggest disadvantages, from the start of the war, has been its difficulty in hitting targets inside Russia. Because Moscow has so effectively dominated the skies, Ukraine has been left playing defense.

That equation has changed substantially in recent weeks. Ukraine has had enormous success in attacking Russian oil refineries—knocking out as much as 15 percent of the country’s total refining capacity—and bombing Russian air bases. This has all been made possible by Ukrainian-made long-range attack drones.

Igor, who represents a company responsible for producing those long-range bombers, says they have developed a unit capable of flying 1,000 kilometers and carrying a 25-kilogram payload and has produced “several hundred” units for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. And they are actively working on a new model, capable of flying up to 2,500 kilometers. (It will pack a smaller punch, he said: “The longer you go, the lighter the payload.”)

These systems are more expensive: from $35,000 to $100,000. But if they can destroy millions of dollars worth of Russian equipment, that’s a bargain.

“These are no simple drones,” Igor says. “We don’t have the luxury, like the Western guys, to spend years in development.”

They’re not stopping with drones, either. They’re using the same technology to develop Ukrainian-made missiles, capable of flying farther and doing more damage to Russian military infrastructure, tucked well behind the front lines, which is regularly used to attack Ukrainian cities.

Igor’s goal is to “bring the war to Russia.” FPV drones have broadcast the realities of the front lines in high definition—long-range bombers could successfully make it feel real, he says. “They don’t suffer like we suffer.”

The effort to bring the war to Russia is advancing on multiple fronts. One of the most famous uncrewed systems of the war has been Kyiv’s Sea Baby drones. Videos have gone viral of these sleek ships clipping along the waters of the Black Sea.

According to Kyiv, they can carry 850 kilograms of explosives, go 90 kilometers per hour, travel some 1,000 kilometers—and they are invisible to radar. This is the kind of capability that the Pentagon, and other defense departments, has spent years trying to develop. “We like to joke that everything we do now, in Ukraine, takes three days—globally, it takes three years,” Brave1’s Kushnerska says.

Ask around Kyiv about these drones, however, and everyone is mum. Even otherwise talkative defense sources go quiet when asked about the Sea Babys. Asked about the vehicles, one defense executive smiled and said simply, “That’s classified.”

Kushnerska is equally evasive: “We need to keep silent about new solutions and new surprises that we are preparing for the enemy.”

The skullduggery is understandable. These uncrewed vehicles have been responsible for doing massive damage to Russia’s prized Black Sea fleet and spearheading the first major attack on the Kerch Bridge, in Crimea, in 2022.

Developing naval drones, however, is relatively easy compared to uncrewed land systems.

Over tea with Stepan, another defense entrepreneur, he lists the litany of difficulties of trying to build uncrewed land systems: They don’t travel well over tough terrain, they don’t operate well in inclement weather, and they don’t tend to go very far.

And yet, Stepan says, his company has overcome all those obstacles—which the Pentagon is still wrestling with—and has put these land systems in the field. Plus, Stepan says he’s “pleasantly surprised by how they’re being used.” He says their smallest unit, which has generally been used to deliver food and equipment, recently rescued and evacuated a wounded soldier from the front line.

Ukraine is not the only side deploying these land systems, however. In late March, pro-Kremlin channels celebrated what they said was the successful deployment of Russian-made uncrewed land systems, outfitted with an AGS-17 grenade launcher.

Ukraine believes its advantage will come from how it dispatches these systems. “You need a mesh system,” Stepan says. And that’s one of the single hardest things to do. Ukraine has started dispatching repeater UAVs, which are used to extend the base station signal, allowing the drones to fly farther and defend better against Russian jamming.

One ground drone, basically a mobile machine-gun turret, boasts an 800-meter range. What’s more impressive, however, is what happens when the land system is paired with a surveillance drone. Rather than them firing directly ahead, Stepan’s team has been training Ukrainian soldiers how to raise the weapon's trajectory, firing in a parabolic pattern and using the drone’s camera to adjust its aim. This tactic, he says, extends the drone’s firing range to 2.4 kilometers.

Doing combined operations with a couple of drones is hard enough. If Ukraine wants to really take advantage of these autonomous systems, it will need to figure out how to command multiple systems across land and air—and that’s where artificial intelligence comes in.

Stepan walks through the four levels of how AI can augment warfare: One is reconnaissance, where machine learning can be used to collate large volumes of footage and satellite imagery. Two is “copiloting,” as he calls it, where AI can analyze that intelligence and help draw insights. Third is planning, where AI can help develop “interlinked, complex orders” for multiple systems across land and air; he likens that to having AI develop football plays. Finally, step four is full autonomy, where AI collects intelligence, analyzes it, develops orders based on the intelligence, and dispatches and commands autonomous units based on that information—although humans review and approve each step of the process.

There are steps beyond this, Stepan notes, that remove human involvement entirely, but he isn’t interested in going there. Another executive recounted a story of how one company designed an autonomous machine gun, capable of conducting object detection and opening fire on its own—that was a “big, big problem,” he says, after the weapon’s radio signals were jammed and it began firing wildly. “I think we can do this slowly,” he adds.

Stepan’s systems are capable of operating at step four, he says. It means his systems have the “ability to take in variables” in real time—it allows his drones to change tactics depending on the environment. He provides examples: “What if our team is close? What if there is [electronic warfare]? What if one system loses connection?”

Kushnerska says Ukraine, alive to the concerns about and risks of AI on the battlefield, is mostly interested in using artificial intelligence only in the “last mile.”

It’s not enough to build drones. Ukrainians also have to know how to pilot them.

The last stop on Yvan’s tour is at a strip mall some distance away. Outside, a group of fresh-faced young men smoke cigarettes and enthusiastically greet him as he walks past.

Inside is a sterile classroom, with a dozen desks laid out—each featuring a tablet, a workstation, and an array of tools. In the back corner are pallets of FPV drones waiting to be unloaded.

This is Yvan’s drone school. Here, students learn not just the ins and outs of piloting these quadcopters but also how the machines work and how to repair them. Down the hallway is a large conference room where the students first test their skills—flags and checkpoints are propped up on cardboard boxes taped together into platforms of different levels. Once students can successfully navigate this makeshift course, they graduate to piloting the drones outside.

Yvan’s drones are normally painted jet black, designed to look as nondescript as possible. One drone, sitting on a desk in the training school, is spray-painted a bright orange. Yvan grins: “We’re sick of losing them in the grass.”

As Kyiv mobilized tens of thousands of ordinary Ukrainian men to fight, training has been a critical necessity. Particularly as ammunition supplies have dwindled, virtual training has been especially attractive. High-tech combat simulators have allowed Ukrainian troops to simulate real combat scenarios with rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, even anti-tank missiles. Ukrainian entrepreneurs are hoping to have dozens of these simulators online in the near future, with the goal of training 100,000 troops.

An industry source tells WIRED that a drone combat simulator went online last month, allowing trainees to simulate the entire process of launching a long-range drone strike. Version 2.0 is being rolled out now, they say, adding that it is likely the first immersive offensive drone simulator in operation. The simulator is also intended to help Ukrainian pilots practice integrating their drones with land systems, which is notoriously difficult for even experienced soldiers.

While Yvan’s drone school offers hands-on experience for users of the FPV drones, this new drone simulator allows pilots to practice long-range targeting, flying in adverse weather conditions, and countering electronic warfare.

All of this—the FPV drones, the long-range bombers, the flight simulators—is Ukrainian innovation at work. And it is moving remarkably fast. Some day, after the war is over, Yvan may well be on the front lines of a Ukrainian technology renaissance, fulfilling orders for the Pentagon. First, both he—and Ukraine—need to survive.

In recent weeks, Russian forces have made modest but steady advances along the front lines. Defense executives, meanwhile, see sabotage and industrial espionage as constant problems. Even more acute is the threat of Russian air strikes. One executive recently recounted how one of his company’s main facilities was nearly hit by two Russian cruise missiles. The risk is very real.

Leaving the school, Yvan opens up the back of his car. He rummages around and hands me two patches: One features a cartoonish and scantily clad woman wearing an FPV headset with the Ukrainian flag on the side, piloting one of Yvan’s rotocopters. The other, an army-green Canadian flag, carries the words “ALWAYS BE READY.”

[chingleung]

Zhejiang Chingleung New Material Technology Co.,Ltd.

About us

Jingliang Technology was established in 1995. The group includes Jingliang Technology (Suzhou Co., Ltd. and Zhejiang Jingliang New Materials Technology Co., Ltd.) and 23 branches at home and abroad. The Suzhou factory is located in the industrial park adjacent to the brilliant Jinji Lake and Dushu Lake, with masterbatch new materials as its main business; the Zhejiang factory is located in Yonghe Industrial Zone, Shangyu, Shaoxing, adjacent to the beautiful Siming Lake, with a forest oxygen bar and extremely convenient transportation. In recent years, with the further regulation and advocacy of environmentally friendly materials by the state, people's lives are increasingly closely linked to green products. Zhejiang Jingliang has specially established an environmentally friendly biodegradable material and product research and development expert team, focusing on the research and development, production and sales of biodegradable materials, biodegradable masterbatches and a series of biodegradable products such as 3D printing wires, straws, cups, tableware, shopping bags, packaging bags, garbage bags, express bags, films and sheets, etc. The group has internationally advanced color matching systems, high-end extrusion production lines, high-grade dust-free clean workspaces, the latest 3D Printing wire, film, sheet, straw, cup, bag, tableware and other manufacturing equipment and many complete testing equipment have created green products with both scientific and practical features. In order to bring better products and services to customers, the group passed the S9001.2000 international quality certification in 2000; UL safety certification; QS certification; the products have also been tested by the SGS authoritative testing agency and UL safety agency, and all meet environmental protection standards; and passed the tests required for domestic and foreign market access GB/T19277.1-2011, GB/T 18006.3-2020, GB/T 38727-2020, GB/T3 8082-2019, etc., in line with the testing of ASTMD, EN13432 and certification DIN Certco, BPI, OK biobased, OK compostable, USDA, etc., providing complete environmentally friendly plastic packaging solutions for large domestic and foreign companies.

[shortiecos]

Eco friendly cosplay (Save the environment and your wallet)

Before I begin this post, I want to aknowledge that yes, changes made by individual people  won't do much to save the planet in the long run, and yes we should really hold those big corporations that singlehandedly cause 70% of emission accountable. However, that doesn't mean that we can just go around using products that harm the environment all willy-nilly, and we should do our best to keep our impact to a minimum. The same goes for us cosplayers. I know cosplay is a fun hobby. Some of us use it to escape reality, other to find gender euphoria in it, some people just like to act and this is their way of showing that talent.  But we can't deny that our hobby causes a lot of environmental stress, and we routinely use materials from highly environmentally damaging industries. Let's have a look Fabric we use is often synthetic. It's  made from petrochemicals. EVA foam and thermoplastics are oil byproducts as well. And after that intense, environment-damaging process, most of us only wear the cosplay a few times, before we move on to the next big thing.. How can we change things, while keeping the hobby fun and affordable?

 Shop in your own closet first. Many character actually just wear casual clothes that any random person can own. Check to see if you maybe already do. 

You don't? Oh well. I assume you got a family and/or friends. Check their closet! After that? Thrift thrift thrift! There are so many hidden gems in thriftstores. Altering clothes is also a great way to start your sewing journey. And even if you don't find the clothing item or prop you're looking for, maybe you'll find something else that's useful. Like a leather jacket that yo can use to make those leather accesoires! 

Don't make a new costume for every event. Make a handful that you love, aand wear those to the ground. It'll save you in money and materials, and you will also experience less stress, concrucnhing to try and finish your cosplay in time. I'm not saying you can never make a new cosplay, just do it less impulsively.

 See which parts of your cosplay you can recycle. Maybe you can modefy that one skirt, or paint over the gun you made? See if you can make it work for your next character.

Does everything NEED to be perfect? I know you want to be as accurate as possible. But do you have to reprint that 3D printed sword twice just because it was slightly off? Or do you need to recast that gem in resin 20 times just to get it perfect?  No you don't Do you NEED to make a mock-up dress? I know the materials are expensive, and you don't want to waste any, but what are you doing with the mock-up materials after? 

Continuing from #3, take a look at your fabrics. The entire textile industry is a mess. It's polluting, and often poorly regulated. And not just the synthethic  ones. Even natural fabrics can be bad.  Leather tanneries are awful, and cotton is one of the most chemically intensive crops in the world (still both better than synthetic counterparts) Try hemp, linen, or wool instead of cotton.

Find alternatives for your props. They don't have to be EVA foam and plastic. There are many substitutes. Cardboard, paper mache, recycled wood. Hell, even hotglue instead of resin. Or use things  you already own. Old water bottles can be a great base for sci-fi gubs for example. Be creative! 

Make things work for multiple costumes. An old example that I once used on my instagram: @pretzlcosplay took her Gnar dress and corset, made some new accesories, and poof!: a Cubone cosplay!

Don';t buy a wig for every new cosplay. Ok so this one is common sense I think, and I don't think anyone does this but I had to put it here anyway. That one black wig you own? It;s Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Kirito, Kageyama, Levi Ackerman,  Rin Okumura, and on you go. The same goes for most unnaturally colored wigs. Just look up a few youtube tutorials on wigstyling, and that one wig can be a hundred different characters.

 Buy secondhand cosplays. Loads of cosplayer sell their old cosplays, sometimes even including the wig. You can look on instagram, usually people have story highlights for things they're selling, but facebook is a great way to start too. They got loads of swap/sell groups for cosplayers. Sometimes there are even event son cosn where you can swap cosplays.

If you're a frequent crafter (whatever the reason) try to buy things in bulk. Not only will this reduce your cost over time and decrease packaging waste, but if you often order materials online, this will also reduce your environmental impact as you'll contribute to fewer emissions that come with shipping. 

 Buy samples Buying samples is a great way to know for certain whether the material is the right colour, has the right feel, the right texture, etc.  without having to do a full buy of the material. Same goes for wigs. Most wigsites have colour rings you can order, giving you a small sample of each available colour.

Keep your scraps Maybe you'll find use for them in a future project. Or maybe you can trade with friends. Save your scraps if you're a big DIYer

14. If you have the money, buy the eco friendly version. Technology has come a long way, and we have great substitues for most things. However, these are often more costly then the old (plastic) version. If you have the extra money to spare, please do buy the eco friendly alternative, like the eco friendly fillament for your 3D printer.