Planets scaled to sit on your desk, hold in your hand or collect in jar, these micro-wonders let you collect constellations, moons, even entire solar systems.

Made by the Little Planet Factory in London, these 3D-printed models come with various degrees of detail, from real (raised ridges for Earthen land forms) to speculative (terraformed versions of Mars).

Collectors can choose entire sets and series that work in tandem, illustrating just how big Jupiter is and how small our own Terra can be, or pick individual bodies, like a larger-sized version of the moon.

Their creations get particularly inventive when they enter Russian doll territory, allowing you to select versions inside other versions, like Venus with and without its surrounding gas clouds (open the shell to get the latter).

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A team of biologists and engineers have evolved their micro-scale 3D printing technology to add a fourth dimension: time. Inspired by natural structures like plants, which shift shape in response to environmental stimuli, the Harvard University team has unveiled 4D-printed hydrogel composite structures that change in the presence of water.

The orchid-shaped structure is printed with a hydrogel composite ink containing aligned cellulose fibrils, which enable anisotropic swelling. A mathematical model predicts the precise shape transformations in advance.

“This work represents an elegant advance in programmable materials assembly, made possible by a multidisciplinary approach,” said Jennifer Lewis, senior author on the new study. “We have now gone beyond integrating form and function to create transformable architectures.”

In nature, the tissue composition and microstructures of flowers and plants allow environmental changes, like tendrils, leaves and flowers folding and unfolding in response to wind, light and sun. These 4D-printed forms use similar processes, aligning elements during printing to facilitate stiffness and flexibility.

The new method opens up new potential applications for 4D printing technology, including smart textiles, soft electronics, biomedical devices, and tissue engineering.

“Using one composite ink printed in a single step, we can achieve shape-changing hydrogel geometries containing more complexity than any other technique, and we can do so simply by modifying the print path,” said Gladman. “What’s more, we can interchange different materials to tune for properties such as conductivity or biocompatibility.”

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For the COP21 conference in Paris, Adidas decided to rethink oceanic garbage, turning it into raw material for new 3D-printed footwear, with textures and colors hinting at its unusual origins.

The shoe consists of an upper made with ocean-harvested plastic and a 3D-printed midsole made from recycled polyester and gill nets, part of a larger exploration process the company is pursuing for reused materials.

The company says there is no reason to stand on the sidelines, even if political action is taking place internationally, and that business leaders need to step up and lead environmental efforts as well, in and beyond the footwear industry. One could argue that this is still a small step, or a greenwashing effort, but it at least shows the potential for new technologies to transform old manufacturing habits.

From Adidas’ project partners, Parley: “2015 is our year, the year of the oceans: the ocean movement successfully brought the cause onto the COP21 agenda in paris. Protecting life underwater became the 14th development goal of the united nations. With a framework of political goodwill in place, it is the right moment to transform words into action.”

“Therefore, Parley in Paris is all about updating knowledge, sharing visions, fine-tuning strategies, creating concepts and forging collaborations in order to kickstart change. W are really excited to have Adidas supporting us in this journey and showing how you can take concrete steps in the right direction.”

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Aiming to make 3D printing a truly affordable, simple, accessible and dependable staple of everyday homes, this unit has already raised more than 15 times its crowdfunding goal with over 2 weeks left in its campaign.

Three sets of arms together move the printer head for precise control and consistent layering – it can print as fine as 50 microns.  Strong but light, the solid external housing also means that gusts of wind won’t impact the printing process, and if you remove the top it automatically stops printing. The machine takes all kinds of filaments, not just ones sold by the manufacturer, and works wirelessly with your devices.

“Tiko’s slender unibody frame, delta mechanism, and ultra-compact liquefier/end-effector enable it to print objects far larger than any similarly sized 3D printer. Like most delta printers, we started with a circular print volume. But we wanted more than that, so we expanded Tiko’s print volume into the corners for those extra-long prints, maximizing space efficiency.”

The pitch: “As inventors, we use 3D printers all the time. We love 3D printing and all the doors it opens, but we don’t like our printers. It seems like every day something jams, breaks, shifts, or fails. Even when our printers do work, they need fine-tuning to print well. All in all, we probably spend more time working on our printers than on our inventions.”

A solid-body solution without all of the messy moving parts, this new 3D printer promises to become a household item right alongside your vacuum, fridge, microwave and other appliances. Indeed, the unibody idea is what got this idea going: “In most 3D printers, the most expensive (by far) item is the frame. That’s because most 3D printers have a frame built from multiple beams that are fastened together. In delta printers, this frame is often made from three vertical extruded-aluminum beams. We had a simple thought… what if we extruded all three rails together?”

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Printed instead of planted, this strange concoction combines elements of gardening, gourmet dining and 3D printing technologies in a fresh new way.

Created by food designer Chloé Rutzerveld, Edible Growth involves an exterior casing of edible soil (growth medium) laced with mushroom seeds.

Once printed, the consumer waits while the seeds start to grow up and out through holes around load-bearing supports printed into the structure of the case. The finished food is ready to eat a few days later.

While many food printing experiments and ideas revolve around the concept of creating a finished product on the spot, this one is a unique sort of hybrid – it still requires patience, like (but less than) planted edibles would.

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