It's possible, but there are already good solutions for printing metal parts, and the cost and time involve mean that it's usually best to just farm it out.
Shapeways will print stainless steel and possibly other materials for pretty cheap. I think what they do is to deposit a solid cube of material, an inert ceramic dust or some such where no material is wanted, and stainless steel dust where it is. When the print is complete, they fire the whole thing, sintering the stainless. They remove the inert dust, then re-fill the cube with a material containing bronze flecks. They fire this at a lower temperature and the bronze wicks into the gaps between the stainless steel, solidifying the model.
I think I've read that the final product is 80% stainless, 20% bronze. Since it's a solid print to start with (solid cube of stuff) it can print things that normal additive printing can't do, like negative overhangs and floating objects.
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momijizukamori
no subject
Date: 2011-11-01 03:20 pm (UTC)Shapeways will print stainless steel and possibly other materials for pretty cheap. I think what they do is to deposit a solid cube of material, an inert ceramic dust or some such where no material is wanted, and stainless steel dust where it is. When the print is complete, they fire the whole thing, sintering the stainless. They remove the inert dust, then re-fill the cube with a material containing bronze flecks. They fire this at a lower temperature and the bronze wicks into the gaps between the stainless steel, solidifying the model.
I think I've read that the final product is 80% stainless, 20% bronze. Since it's a solid print to start with (solid cube of stuff) it can print things that normal additive printing can't do, like negative overhangs and floating objects.