The colorful, fruit-themed (berry-themed?) slicer is dropping to holiday pricing. Until the end of play today, January 29, you can get 20% off 1-year and 6-month subscriptions to Lychee Slicer Plus (the ad-free, all-features-unlocked version) and Lychee Library, which gives access to verified ready-to-print models alongside the unlocked slicer.

Use the codes "flashyear20" and "flashmonth20" at the Lychee Slicer website for a discount on a year or 6-month subscription, respectively.

From generative AI modeling to color-changing shoes, professor Stefanie Mueller will blow your mind with what she's working on at MIT using 3D printing and all types of computer-driven fabrication technologies. In the MIT podcast "Curiosity Unbounded, The future of customizable 3D printing," Mueller covers personalized 3D printing, what it could mean to manufacturing and sustainability, and how it can become accessible to everyone.

The US President said he's planning the tariff "in an effort to get the producers to make them in the United States" on Monday, Reuters reports, following plans for a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico on Feb 1, and other threats directed at imports from the EU and China.

The US produces just 12% of the world's semiconductors, according to a 2020 report by the Semiconductor Industry Association report. Despite that, the US market is responsible for 50.2% of global sales revenue.

Custom metal 3D printing from China's acclaimed Mandrill Garage turns this Ducati Diavel into something more like a DeLorean. The folks over at the cycle blog Pipeburn heaped praise on the designers who have frequently turned to 3D printing to achieve incredible bodywork lines that can't be made with any other technology. Mandrill Garage stripped the Ducati to the bones, 3D scanned it, and then, using CAD software, reinvented it.

Daimler, part of the Mercedes-Benz Group, announced a plan with printer maker 3D Systems where repair partners can order 3D printed spare parts locally for various underhood and cabin interior applications. The program combines 3D Systems printers and materials with software by Oqton and IP management by Wibu-Systems. Taken as a whole, Daimler predicts repair parts can be in the hands of maintenance providers 75% faster. 3D Systems' stock price jumped 24% after the news.

SoftFever, the creator of OrcaSlicer, has confirmed in a thread on GitHub that, for the foreseeable future, the popular slicer will not be working with Bambu Lab's Bambu Connect software. Posted on a pull request to support the new system, the note expresses that Bambu Connect "would not provide meaningful value for OrcaSlicer users."

We reported on the company's new firmware indirectly restricting third-party control of its printers and asked how many of you use third-party slicers like OrcaSlicer. A whopping 1,366 of you responded.

I'll admit it wasn't the most scientific polling – if you care enough to read about the company restricting access, chances are it's because you use that access – but still, 70% responded in the affirmative on regular and intermittent use, with 26% negative. Here's how Bambu Lab responded to the pushback.