Sinterhard Metal Filaments

[boucaron]

Hi there,

I had a look to this kickstarter stuff, that I would like to share : https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1093108121/sinterhard-metal-filled-filaments-for-3d-printing
The presentation is not really nice, but the content is much more interesting

Process idea: You print your part, you pass it to an oven to remove plastic and sinter the part to obtain a metal part.
It is very similar to what is used for the Mini Metal Maker (http://www.minimetalmaker.com/) but you print directly using PLA/ABS filament

I think it is really something that is missing to bridge the gap with 3d metal printing

[soofle616]

Not a bad idea but at least based on the video they have no filament, no parts printed with the filament, and no parts post-sintering. So basically they have an idea without even a prototype. Not gonna risk my money on that.

[boucaron]

Not a bad idea but at least based on the video they have no filament, no parts printed with the filament, and no parts post-sintering. So basically they have an idea without even a prototype. Not gonna risk my money on that.

Yes, I agree for the video part.
I saw this Kickstarter campaign as the fund raising to build the prototype, check interest by the 3D printing community and to perform a first serie of tests (15 K$ is little money for this kind of stuff)
At least, they seem to have already the means to do it.
Let see how it will evolve.

[LambdaFF]

While I can see the interest for a pro straight away, I was curious as to whether it would be applicable to hobbyists. So I wrote to them to ask for a "tutorial" : how to do it in your garage with "DIY" equipment. Say a 3D printer, a gas burner and a steel container (obviously thinking only about aluminium here). No feedback.

While I would have been interested, it seems they are either at a really early stage or fear to be copied if they put out too much data. I can understand that but it's hard to be convinced to put money on the table either way.

[boucaron]

While I can see the interest for a pro straight away, I was curious as to whether it would be applicable to hobbyists. So I wrote to them to ask for a "tutorial" : how to do it in your garage with "DIY" equipment. Say a 3D printer, a gas burner and a steel container (obviously thinking only about aluminium here). No feedback.

While I would have been interested, it seems they are either at a really early stage or fear to be copied if they put out too much data. I can understand that but it's hard to be convinced to put money on the table either way.

I wonder if the temperature must be carefully controlled, may be simpler with some kind of DIY electric furnace like the Lil Bertha as a starting point (http://www.dansworkshop.com/2008/03/...ing-furnace-2/), or probably to look around DIY furnace for ceramic where some kind of temperature control is mandatory

From a different perspective some crazy guys are already able to cast parts with the Lost "PLA" method:
- http://3dtopo.com/lostPLA/
- http://www.instructables.com/id/From...ost-plaabs-me/

[LambdaFF]

I wonder if the temperature must be carefully controlled, may be simpler with some kind of DIY electric furnace like the Lil Bertha as a starting point (http://www.dansworkshop.com/2008/03/...ing-furnace-2/), or probably to look around DIY furnace for ceramic where some kind of temperature control is mandatory

From a different perspective some crazy guys are already able to cast parts with the Lost "PLA" method:
- http://3dtopo.com/lostPLA/
- http://www.instructables.com/id/From...ost-plaabs-me/

That is precisely what I mean. However, I would like them to show something of the kind to convince me. They don't even say it should be possible.

Considering that, I'll wait until they have something more solid.

[curious aardvark]

still like to know how you can lose the plastic and keep the model.

But in a garage with a gas burner ? - lol
No.

[LambdaFF]

still like to know how you can lose the plastic and keep the model.

But in a garage with a gas burner ? - lol
No.

You're right. They updated their info and now it is stated you can't do the debinding without inert gas to prevent corrosion.

[jbasen]

I have worked with metal clay before for jewelry work. Metal clays are metal mixed with a binder. You work it just as you would a standard clay product. When it has dried you can fire it in a Kiln at a temperature around 1700 degrees (varies depending on the specific product used). The firing burns away the binder and sinters the metal to form a solid object. Typically the process results in shrinkage of around 10%. Again, this varies depending on the metal clay being used.

Metal Clays come in a variety of forms. I've used silver, copper, and bronze. Manufacturers are coming out with new varieties all the time. Firing silver clay typically doesn't require any special treatment. On the other hand copper and bronze clay typically have to be fired in activated charcoal to control the oxidation.

Some people do fire small clay pieces using a torch but it is a much more controlled process to use a kiln. For example, the copper clay that I currently have requires ramping your kiln to between 1700 and 1800 degrees and then to hold at that temperature for 3 hours.

There has been a lot of money invested and a lot of work done to create the metal clays that we have today. That being said there are now people who have built upon that knowledge and produce their own metal clays that they sell on the internet. So it isn't impossible that these folks could come up with a metal 3d printer filament that would operate the same as metal clays do. However, the binders that are used in today's metal clays aren't at all flexible and would not work well to create a filament. So, a new plastic based binder would have to be created that would burn away cleanly, would be flexible enough to wrap on a spool and feed into a printer, and could support enough metal in it to minimize shrinkage during the firing process. I believe this could prove to be quite challenging.

[boucaron]

Small update, this project is funded
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects.../posts/1218961