Chinese Scientists Achieve Breakthrough 3D Printing in Under One Second

Researchers at Tsinghua University have developed a holographic 3D printing technique that creates solid structures in 0.6 seconds, potentially revolutionizing medical and aerospace manufacturing.

Staff Reporter

Feb 26, 2026, 05:46 AM1 min read

Chinese Scientists Achieve Breakthrough 3D Printing in Under One Second

3d printing / Collected

In a development that could redefine rapid manufacturing, a team of researchers in China has unveiled a 3D printing technique capable of creating solid objects in less than a second, a speed previously thought unattainable in additive manufacturing.

According to SCMP, the researchers from Tsinghua University in Beijing have developed a novel method that bypasses traditional “layer-by-layer” printing and instead uses a holographic projected light field to transform liquid materials directly into three-dimensional structures almost instantaneously.

Conventional 3D printing systems, whether for plastics, metals, or biomedical materials, typically rely on mechanical scanning and slow build times, often taking minutes or even hours for complex components. The new approach places a photosensitive resin inside a transparent chamber and then projects a precisely shaped light pattern to cure the material all at once. Within about 0.6 seconds, millimeter-scale parts become fully formed.

Academy of Arts and design at Tsinghua University

Experts say this breakthrough could have broad applications across industries. Rapid fabrication at such speeds might accelerate prototyping for electronics, produce customized biomedical implants more efficiently, and even enhance manufacturing flexibility in aerospace and automotive sectors.

The research team’s findings, reported by SCMP, mark a significant step toward what some have described as truly “instant” 3D printing, a capability that, if scaled up, may transform both small-batch and mass production processes.

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