Low cost 3-D metal printer

[briarcreekguy]

According to the article, they are working on a low cost 3-D printer based on metal deposition using common welding technology. This should give the Liberals nightmares.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/si...metal-printer-2013-12-23?reflink=MW_news_stmp

 

[ChuckC]

That would be pretty cool. Wonder what they consider " low cost" .

 

[aviator41]

I think low cost is based on a commercial model, not consumer. The article says they hope to produce near net products that "only" require 3 or 5 axis machining to achieve final form.

While this is a great breakthrough for the commercial industry, allowing for quick one-off or custom parts, the technology to produce useable parts or items with a comparable tensile and compressive strengths to current production is still a long way off.

 

[71buickfreak]

I think low cost is based on a commercial model, not consumer. The article says they hope to produce near net products that "only" require 3 or 5 axis machining to achieve final form.

While this is a great breakthrough for the commercial industry, allowing for quick one-off or custom parts, the technology to produce useable parts or items with a comparable tensile and compressive strengths to current production is still a long way off.

That is not exactly accurate. GM and Ford have machines that are capable of producing useable parts now. in metal. A couple hundred K gets you some really cool stuff.

 

[aviator41]

Yes, actually it is accurate. Even GM and Ford state the their 3D metal parts are only good enough for testing and evaluation. They use the technology for prototyping and custom one-off parts, but are generally considered not suitable for use in production of end product.

They do have 3D printers for casting parts, but they are not directly generated using the printers. the printers are used to create parts using a process similar to lost wax casting.

What makes the process in the article different is the method by which the metal is fused together, making parts that have properties closer to a forged part, not cast.

 

[71buickfreak]

I'm just saying that there are machines that can print usable metal parts. I didn't say they were production.

 

[Defnestor]

The ultimate goal being the "replicators" from Star Trek. Considering the advances in nanotechnology, whaddya say? Fifty years?

 

[NightShade]

Already one you can build at home. . . posted in another thread earlier today.

http://www.appropedia.org/Open-source_metal_3-D_printer

 

[doctorjj]

Yes, actually it is accurate. Even GM and Ford state the their 3D metal parts are only good enough for testing and evaluation. They use the technology for prototyping and custom one-off parts, but are generally considered not suitable for use in production of end product.

They do have 3D printers for casting parts, but they are not directly generated using the printers. the printers are used to create parts using a process similar to lost wax casting.

What makes the process in the article different is the method by which the metal is fused together, making parts that have properties closer to a forged part, not cast.

In the aerospace industry they are making production parts using 3D printing. It is happening now. It's not "a long ways off".

 

[aviator41]

In the aerospace industry they are making production parts using 3D printing. It is happening now. It's not "a long ways off".

Yes, there are 3D printed parts in the aerospace industry. One popular way to do this is FDM or Fused Deposition Modeling for composites. Nasa is currently testing rocket engine parts generated using 3D metallic printing.

Get obscure enough and you can find printed diamonds.

The OP's original post was about economical 3D metal printing. There are very few areas of Aerospace where using the adjective "economical" would be accurate. Being able to make 3D printed parts out of metal economically is still a very long way off. It took years before carbon fibre was able to move into mainstream and be considered economical. One of the first places carbon fibre appeared was Aerospace. Aerospace/defense pioneers many technologies.