8
votes
3D Metal Printing
Printing metal (directly) is done in mainly two types:
Laser Sintering (LS), where a metal compound or alloy is sintered into form. For example, Tungsten Carbide is Laser Sintered. Common shorthands ...
- 22.5k
7
votes
3D Metal Printing
Anzalone and friends published A Low-Cost Open-Source Metal 3-D Printer in IEEE Access:
This paper reports on the development of a open-source metal 3-D printer. The metal 3-D printer is controlled ...
- 936
7
votes
The weirdest DIY 3D metal printing
I think this is just an overcomplicated lost-PLA (investment) casting.
What you're asking for is to create an object, create a mold around it, and then burn out the object and replace it with metal. ...
- 328
5
votes
Accepted
Additional mods for printing metal filled filament with Ender 3 V2?
There is a lot of misinformation in the 3D printing world about "all-metal hotends" being an upgrade. Some of them, especially clones, are not even all-metal but just poor lookalikes that ...
5
votes
3D Metal Printing
FFF/FDM
You can create a metal object via metal casting or using a special filament containing metal parts.
Metal filament
You print with a special filament that contains from mixture of metal and ...
- 1,941
4
votes
FDM metal printing - is it possible?
Yes, it is possible and it's done all the time. It's more commonly known as welding.
We did TIG welding on our Hyrel printers back in 2017.
Note: I work for Hyrel.
- 2,440
4
votes
Can 3D printers print details in the 1/10 of the micrometer for metals?
You can get the 0.1 micron (100 nm) resolution with a 2-photon 3D printer, but only in a polymer resin. Nanoscribe, in Germany, pioneered this technology, see Mechanical Microstructures.
Their ...
- 180
3
votes
Accepted
Sunlight powered metal 3D printer
Let's start with the obvious: this printer would need to be really big. Not because of a large print volume, but because it needs to collect a lot of sunlight or needs a really big focussing array. ...
- 22.5k
3
votes
Metal sintering layer-by-layer with DLP
SLS uses a high powered laser to smelt the binder of a ceramic or the metal itself. We are talking about at least a 40 W laser which focuses its power on a circle of about 50 µm. How much power are we ...
- 22.5k
3
votes
Can 3D printers print details in the 1/10 of the micrometer for metals?
There's atom-based-printing 3D printers that only some universities have.
There aren't other 3D printers that can get even 0.001 mm precision, you want 0.0001 mm, that's pretty dicey. Just ...
2
votes
Can 3D printers print details in the 1/10 of the micrometer for metals?
There are no 3D printers (that I'm aware of) that can do 0.0001 millimeters, hobbyist or industrial, plastic or metal. For that matter I think you'll be hard pressed to find a CNC mill with that type ...
- 1,915
2
votes
Accepted
3D printing and coating of heat-resistant objects, such as a turbine blisks or blades
You ask some very interesting questions! Firstly, when researching topics such as this, you will have far more luck using 'additive manufacturing' as a search term rather than '3D printing'. In the ...
- 36
2
votes
3D printing and coating of heat-resistant objects, such as a turbine blisks or blades
I would think it's definitely possible, steel 3D printers are most likely capable of printing with the kind of precision you need (I've had experience designing and printing barrels for handguns as ...
- 146
2
votes
3D printing and coating of heat-resistant objects, such as a turbine blisks or blades
This depends primarily on economics and on desired lifetime. Rather obviously you need a material whose strengths and melting points exceed the operational specs. Determining the various break ...
- 3,051
2
votes
Accepted
How to build a metal-based 3D printer?
I think this depends on what you are trying to accomplish with the 3D printer.
I have seen people online build metal 3D printers from a robot arm and a welder this would probably be the simplest ...
- 666
2
votes
3D Metal Printing
You can do lost-PLA investment casting, the actual gear to do it is kind of pricey unless you're willing to create your own DIY forge for melting aluminum.
Check it out though, you don't need a ...
- 83
1
vote
FDM metal printing - is it possible?
First of all, it is possible in multiple ways:
Computer-controlled-Welding
The most akin to FDM is using an automated MIG-welder, building up weld beads upon weld beads using an arc to melt the metal ...
- 22.5k
1
vote
Metal watches 3D printing
I would imagine that the main reason that "major watch brands" don't offer free models is so that they don't put themselves out of business. The same goes for car brands and most, if not all,...
- 6,688
1
vote
Metal watches 3D printing
The way you manufacture a part has enormous effects on how the mechanism around it is designed. In a complex enough mechanism you can't just replace any milled part with a 3D printed one.
Furthermore, ...
- 21
1
vote
Can you recommend professional 3D metal printing books?
This is a free ebook that I have perused briefly which it looks interesting, and it is free (did I say that already?)
3D Printing of metals
Manoj Gupta
ISBN 978-3-03842-591-5 (Pbk);
ISBN 978-3-...
- 6,688
1
vote
On a LENS printer, does the head move, or is it table that moves when printing?
Whilst this is not a definitive answer, if you watch the video on their website, LENS 450 Systems, it is the bed that moves in the X and Y axes - the head remains static. The bed also appears to move ...
- 6,688
1
vote
3D printing and coating of heat-resistant objects, such as a turbine blisks or blades
Some companies are already on the move with this idea. I think I remember hearing that Pratt and Whitney and Boeing are 3D printing some of the smaller air foils.
The advantages being that they can ...
- 6,334
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible