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Perhaps manufacturing processes like laser sintering or 3D printing with a MIG welder have not become mainstream because traditional metalworking processes like

Perhaps manufacturing processes like laser sintering or 3D printing with a MIG welder have not become mainstream because traditional metalworking processes like casting, turning, and milling are so much faster and much more repeatable. Let me know when this thing can hold tolerances of +/- 0.0001". We'll probably have a cure for cancer by then. Metal can be a tricky material to work with. It takes a lot of force manipulate. If you don't know what you are doing, you can very easily get seriously injured or even killed. To me, it would seem much more rational to try to build low-cost milling and turning centers that are small enough to move into a house without taking out the walls and simple enough to maintain where you don't need to have certified mechanics come every time you crash it. You're still going to have to make a considerable investment of time to learn how to safely and properly operate it, but that seems much more realistic scenario than emailing a file to grandma, having her put on her sunglasses, then pressing "Print," followed by 6 hours of sparks flying. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are applications for additive metal manufacturing processes, but I believe that the cases where they are the best solution are few and far between.

merrillii 12y ago
I think your bar is a bit high. Standard milling tolerences are almost 50x higher than what you state. Casting is much worse. The point is that additive printing won't take over the metal world any time soon but it does have some advantages. Try to machine a hollow sphere for example. There are plenty of shapes that can't be traditionally machined.
- Animats 12y ago
  Yes, milling to 0.0001in tolerance is rare, although possible on some machines. 0.001in is not unusual, though. This 3D printer, from the pictures, seems to be delivering about 0.2in. That's worse than sand casting. Still worse, some of the errors are in the void direction, undersize. If this thing consistently produced a good solid metal blank, ready for finish machining, it could substitute for having a foundry for small jobs. But it's not even that good. There are very good, but expensive 3D printers that print excellent metal parts. Check out Space-X's 3D printed rocket engine for the new Dragon spacecraft. Shapeways can now do small steel parts for $10 + $5/cc with reasonable tolerances. 3D printing of metal works now. This welder thing, not so much.

merrillii 12y ago

I think your bar is a bit high. Standard milling tolerences are almost 50x higher than what you state. Casting is much worse. The point is that additive printing won't take over the metal world any time soon but it does have some advantages. Try to machine a hollow sphere for example. There are plenty of shapes that can't be traditionally machined.

Animats 12y ago
Yes, milling to 0.0001in tolerance is rare, although possible on some machines. 0.001in is not unusual, though. This 3D printer, from the pictures, seems to be delivering about 0.2in. That's worse than sand casting. Still worse, some of the errors are in the void direction, undersize. If this thing consistently produced a good solid metal blank, ready for finish machining, it could substitute for having a foundry for small jobs. But it's not even that good. There are very good, but expensive 3D printers that print excellent metal parts. Check out Space-X's 3D printed rocket engine for the new Dragon spacecraft. Shapeways can now do small steel parts for $10 + $5/cc with reasonable tolerances. 3D printing of metal works now. This welder thing, not so much.