Anyone know a metal 3d Printing company?

[EDcase]

A bit out there but just wondering if anyone knows a cheap place that does 3d printing in metal...?

 

[Prisce]

Not sure this is even possible yet. I work with a lot of 3D printers and haven’t seen a metal 3D printer yet. I know you can add some metal bits to the plastic.. what you after? Plastic should be fine.

 

[Lozart]

Shapeways does metal printing. It's been around in engineering prototyping for a while but is usually mind buggeringly expensive for the average punter.

 

[Duff]

There's 3D metal filament printing but it ain't cheap or probably fit for the purpose you require.

 

[Lozart]

There's 3D metal filament printing but it ain't cheap or probably fit for the purpose you require.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, metal filament printing is a bit rubbish. You need the powder bed laser stuff https://www.shapeways.com/materials?utm_campaign=search_3d_printing_materials&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=253988568460&utm_term=3d metal print&adgroupid=52006637745&gclid=CjwKCAjw68zZBRAnEiwACw0eYdqTGo_qfvhdJvD3e-atAxQeWx5p_4DSnkMMxeS9F9KsiIpGTKYx3xoCHv4QAvD_BwE

 

[EDcase]

Thanks guys.

Yeah, was thinking of SLS (Selective Laser Sintering)

This is for a bipod yoke so has to be metal not plastic.

Got some quotes back but the cheapest is £570 ?

I can buy a whole new bipod including the legs for about £65 so its a no-brainer.

Since 3d printing has come down in price a lot (I have 2)  I thought metal would be a bit lower but that's still quite specialised.

I would have been willing to pay a bit more for a steel part instead of the pot metal original but that price is out of the question...

 

[Prisce]

Yeah SLS is a bit different to 3D printing, I imagine that is still expensive.  There are specialist bits of kit out there now that can probably laser cut this out of a block if your looking to make it cheaper. Pop into a local machining shop and have a chat with them, most of them like a challenge so will try and help you best they can.

 

[AshOnSnow]

I heard about metal printing - it’s laid out in fine filament then tiny small concentrated heat to fuse it together. Very expensive, much easier and cheaper to go to a fabricators with a CNC machine.

 

[Wo1f]

That’s what I’d do. Easier and cheaper to take a big block of something and have it cut out than magically glued together from dust. 

 

[ImTriggerHappy]

Simple answer is just to buy one.

Metal printing is very expensive as it is not cheap to do and a good printer is a ridiculous amount of money. It is really only for aerospace level prototyping.

As for getting it cnc made that would be ridiculously expensive for what it is. First a model would gave to be drawn and that costs. Then a machine needs setting up to make it. For something like a yoke it would be at least two sets as you would need to do one face then the other. Probably would need a fixture plate making as well so that is more cost. Everything would be at max pricing costs as it is a one off as well. 

So yeah £65 would be fraction of what either other option would cost.

I am sure people think we just walk up and press a button and everything magically happens with no other effort lol. 

 

[AshOnSnow]

Simple answer is just to buy one.

Metal printing is very expensive as it is not cheap to do and a good printer is a ridiculous amount of money. It is really only for aerospace level prototyping.

As for getting it cnc made that would be ridiculously expensive for what it is. First a model would gave to be drawn and that costs. Then a machine needs setting up to make it. For something like a yoke it would be at least two sets as you would need to do one face then the other. Probably would need a fixture plate making as well so that is more cost. Everything would be at max pricing costs as it is a one off as well. 

So yeah £65 would be fraction of what either other option would cost.

I am sure people think we just walk up and press a button and everything magically happens with no other effort lol. 

Click to shrink...

Yeah I should have said - easier and cheaper to do if like me you have experience in 3D modelling for CNC cutouts (which means no chambers folks!) and don’t have to pay someone to create the however many layers it needs to create each individual model for each part needed for the single component.