Lower cost metal 3D printing Options

[914e]

"Home" 3d metal printing

This could add some new options for custom parts. Too expensive for most of us, but it could be affordable through a service.

[technicalninja]

My son is a 3d printing master.

He's about 3/4 through an engineering degree and had to take a 3d printing class as a class requirement.

He smoked the INSTRUCTOR!

Showed her how to modify/adjust her stupid expensive machines.

She refused to allow anything but the most basic filaments to be used and Bryan wanted to pay for and use the exotic stuff which the fancy-pants printers she had could handle.

His project for that class, a small remote controlled tracked vehicle for pulling cables (cat5) through a suspended ceiling, got appropriated by the school as one of their "showcase" projects.

He can print into the microscopic range already.

He will get into metal printing soon.

I'd put a bunch of money into a metal printer but not 100K which is the basic buy in for that stuff.

Still too expensive for my taste but that technology will be 10 times less costly a couple of years from now.

I'll wait...

[DennisV]

This could add some new options for custom parts. Too expensive for most of us, but it could be affordable through a service.

You could prototype at home in plastic, then upload your model to Shapeways. They will print for you in all kinds of interesting materials. Including metal. Then ship you the print.

[JamesM]

Old news, but for sure the way of the future. Especially when it comes to rare/vintage car parts.

https://jalopnik.com/porsche-is-3d-printing...59-a-1822959539

When you think about the low production numbers on some of Porsches more "quirky" cars it makes a lot of sense as no vendor is going to spin up production for a part that existed on one a couple thousand cars when new.

I think most of the 914/6 stuff has been done because the conversion market is huge but other quirky sub models like the 912e and 924 turbos have some next to impossible to find parts.