Factory Signal Briefing — April 29, 2026
Advanced Manufacturing · 3D Printing · CNC · Robotics · AI Vision
News
Xenia launches bio-based PPA carbon-fiber filament for high-stress 3D printing applications
Italian reinforced thermoplastic composites manufacturer Xenia Materials has released XECARB PPA-CF, a fused filament fabrication (FFF)/fused deposition modeling (FDM) filament built on a…
Researchers Boost SLA Resin Conductivity With PEDOT:PSS
A research team designed a photopolymer resin loaded with PEDOT:PSS and nano-graphite to achieve 3D printable electrical conductivity. The post Researchers Boost SLA Resin Conductivity With…
Project CETI deploys autonomous underwater gliders to better observe sperm whales
Project CETI has deployed a new underwater glider that can monitor whales for longer than the organization's previous methods. The post Project CETI deploys autonomous underwater gliders to…
GFT Technologies AI-powered robots move from inspection to action for automakers
GFT Technologies has built on its work with Google Cloud to deploy robots on automotive factory floors to find and remove defective parts. The post GFT Technologies AI-powered robots move…
Ultralightweight sonar plus AI lets tiny drones navigate like bats
This small drone is using sonar, similar to bats’ echolocation, to navigate through a grove of trees. Image credit: Nitin Sanket. By Nitin Sanket, Worcester Polytechnic Institute To help…
Blog Review: Apr. 29
Interface IP in 3D; SOCAMM in data centers; edge intelligence implementations; deposition, etch for 3D; interconnect telemetry; design–manufacturing collaboration. The post Blog Review: Apr…
With Nemotron 3 Nano Omni, Nvidia reveals what really goes into a modern multimodal model
Nvidia releases Nemotron 3 Nano Omni, an open multimodal model for text, image, video and audio. Not only the performance is exciting, but also a look at the training data: it comes from…
Is AI video just a prequel? Runway’s CEO thinks world models are next
AI-generated video has gone from novelty to creative tool almost overnight, and Runway has a front row seat to the shift. The New York-based company has raised close to $860 million at a…
Live updates from Elon Musk and Sam Altman’s court battle over the future of OpenAI
Sam Altman and Elon Musk are facing off in a high-stakes trial that could alter the future of OpenAI and its most well-known product, ChatGPT. In 2024, Musk filed a lawsuit accusing OpenAI…
Power Buffer Protects Grid From Data Centers’ Wild Load Swings
As more AI data centers come on line, concerns are rising about their effects on the grid, and it’s not just the amount of power they consume. They tend to have huge swings in power use…
USB colors explained: why White, Black, Blue, or Red ports often cause confusion
Samir Bashir on igor’sLAB writes about an issue we all run into: USB port colors. USB ports are one of those wonderfully everyday details that almost everyone sees but hardly anyone…
Physical AI: From ST Sensors to a Robotics Platform, How Innovation Can Only Happen Through Collaboration
This blog post was originally published at STMicroelectronics’s website. It is reprinted here with the permission of STMicroelectronics. As technology aims to enable Physical AI, ST is…
Blendercam/fabex cnc, explain it to me like im 5
Score 2 · 2 comments
There are some good tutorials but they're overly comprehensive, they all tend to focus on the 20 million options blender provides so much so that the basics get lost... They all meander…
Apartment-built tourbillon... my desktop cnc and i feel personally attacked
Score 3 · 1 comments
Just saw Shin Ohno’s winning clock for the FP Journe competition. The fact that he’s doing this level of micro-machining on a desktop mill in his apartment is actually insane. I’m over here…
Haas DS30Y
Score 2 · 9 comments
Hello everyone i was wondering whats the wasiest way is to disengage the C-Axis on my lathe. I am an apprantice and people at my workplace dont really operate lathes. I kind of am the only…
Mitsubishi M70: Can USB Memory be added to Program Call screen?
Score 3 · 1 comments
Hi everyone, We recently bought a used CNC vertical machining center with a Mitsubishi M70 control. The USB port itself seems to work. In Edit → I/O, I can select USB Memory and the control…
Buying my first mill and could desperately use advice. Is the Sherline 2000 any good or am I headed in the wrong direction?
Score 1 · 5 comments
Right now I am looking at a Sherline 2000 14" CNC ready mill and kit with the stepper motors and driver #(8770) I already have the software and a compatible computer so what else would I…
Advice Needed 3d Printers And Career: Establishing Additive Manufacturing in 3rd World Country
Score 6 · 4 comments
Hello fellow makers, I am someone that has been fascinated with 3D printing and all forms of manufacturing since 2014. Currently as a 20 year old, I was able to make my first 3D printer at…
Found a clogged Prusa MK3S+ with a lack encloser for $150!!
Score 44 · 10 comments
I have recently started a little business selling things I make on ebay and etsy. Im still using my prusa MK3 about 5 hours a day for the past year and a half. I decided it was time to get a…
Looking to replace my Bridgeport
Score 15 · 38 comments
I'm in the middle of moving my engineering business and am anticipating another move in 12 months, so I can't justify the costs of riggers and electricians to move my Bridgeport + Anilam CNC…
How to build a face recognition and unique visitor count system
Score 2 · 2 comments
As a project, I’m looking to build a face recognition system that counts the number of unique visitors who pass in front of a camera. The camera could be any type, such as a CCTV camera or…
All3 raises $25M seed to scale AI‑powered construction robotics
Score 3 · 0 comments
How fast can humanoid robitics and world models get up to speed on construction sites - chaotic, variable, risk, full of people and hazards --- its a big step up even from the production…