A comparison between 3D printing materials and metal

[Metin]

Hey there..
I'm new to the forum and I'm not that much of an experience about 3D printers and it's materials!!
I'm asking about those new materials that contains aluminium or copper metals as a component of it, well if we checked out the melting degree for copper it's nearly 1000 c!! it's also 600c for aluminium!! a degree that won't be reached in a 3D printer, not even close to..
I'm having a machine that needs some pieces made of copper and I'm gonna need to order them to be made for me by specific details, one single piece of those costs about 3000 dollars, and here comes the question
Can I made those pieces by using 3D printers, would it be enough to use plastic instead of copper
can you please help me comparing between them too, compression, strength, degrees and all other physical details..
Thanks a lot..

[Sebastian Finke]

Withour knowing what you want to make, what purpose the article serves and what conditions it needs to endure its really difficult to answer...

[Metin]

Actually I'm printing templates for soap making machine.. soap will enter the machine as big bieces that will be given shape by those templates, like starting with cubes and ending with rounded soap pieces as we know it.. that is why it should be strong enough because it will be exposured to high pressure and heat (nearly 300kg each).. will it be that strong or i should keep using the current copper expensieve templates!!

[awerby]

The 3D printing filaments you referred to with metals in them don't melt the metals themselves; they are thermoplastics with metal powders mixed in. Only the plastic melts. But high temperature 3D printing has been demonstrated; there are experimental machines that print in glass, which has a melting point comparable to aluminum and copper alloys: http://www.dailydot.com/technology/m...glass-3d-g3dp/ Unfortunately, metals don't behave the same way when melted, so that technique won't work with them. While it is possible to make 3D prints in solid metals, this is done by sintering a metal powder, not by extruding it. Material properties are similar to those of cast metal parts, but not quite as strong.

It's also possible to print parts in PLA or other polymers that burn out cleanly, then send them to a foundry for casting. Alternatively, you can print your templates in any hard material and use them as patterns for sand casting. Pure copper isn't normally cast, but copper alloys like bronze are pretty standard.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[curious aardvark]

to answer your actual question.
Yes - you can contact a 3d print bureau and have the parts 3d printed in metal.

your best bet is to look through the 3d hubs directory for a commercial bureau with metal printing capability in your area.

It should be cheaper than having the parts individually machined.
https://www.3dhubs.com/

[awerby]

I really doubt that 3D printing these parts would be cheaper than milling them, unless they're really complex. Machines that print directly in metal cost a lot more than CNC mills, and the feedstocks are astronomically expensive. Anybody who's trying to make payments on one of those things and keep up with its appetite for atomized metal is going to have to charge a lot just to break even. An indirect approach will be a lot cheaper.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com