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3-D Printing Metal Gets Better and Cheaper

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  • Charlie Primero

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    Nov 9, 2017
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    This guy claims tolerances of 0.002", and swappable printer cartridges for titanium, stainless steel, and chrome moly.

    No way this can compete on cost with 80% Lower home-build kits, but that may change. I never thought 3-D printers would get this far...

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    Kar98

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    Well, since even reputable, renowned manufacturers use MIM these days, I don't see why 3d metal printing shouldn't be able to produce actual firearms eventually.
     

    pronstar

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    When we toured the SpeceX facility, they were printing some amazing rocket parts that weren't possible to machine.

    Some chunky metal-looking parts that were light as a feather, as it basically had what looked to be millions of microscopic holes in it. Looked solid until you held it up to a light at a the perfect angle...

    And if you're planning to live on mars, you've
    gotta make your own repair parts.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
     
    Last edited:

    easy rider

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    I have to wonder at the tinsile strength of the metal parts. I didn't see a purging system and I would think the metals would become contaminated. Polymers don't need much of a controlled atmosphere, but metals do. It is pretty cool though.
     

    pharmaco

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    I have to wonder at the tinsile strength of the metal parts. I didn't see a purging system and I would think the metals would become contaminated. Polymers don't need much of a controlled atmosphere, but metals do. It is pretty cool though.
    Probably not as different, I'd think.

    I'm not an expert, but I'm not sure tensile strength really matters in guns.
     

    pharmaco

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    When the slide stop in recoil, tensile strength keeps it from breaking in half.
    That's interesting.

    By "when the slide stop", do you mean when the slide is fully rearward after firing, or do you mean when the slide has shut after firing?
    Are you talking about the slide stop pin?
     

    easy rider

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    I'm not saying I know this system or how it works, but I do know a bit about metallurgy. Metals when heated need a shielding to maintain their characteristics. Atmosphere, mainly hydrogen and oxygen, contaminates metals making them harden and possibly micro crack. Don't mistake hardness for strength. Depending on the applications the harder it is the easier it is to crack or break. Concussions will flex metals, the less flexible a material is the easier it will break, but of course you don't want it too soft to where it distorts.
     

    pharmaco

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    I'm not saying I know this system or how it works, but I do know a bit about metallurgy. Metals when heated need a shielding to maintain their characteristics. Atmosphere, mainly hydrogen and oxygen, contaminates metals making them harden and possibly micro crack. Don't mistake hardness for strength. Depending on the applications the harder it is the easier it is to crack or break. Concussions will flex metals, the less flexible a material is the easier it will break, but of course you don't want it too soft to where it distorts.
    That is super interesting.

    I had no idea hydrogen or oxygen ions or surface coatings affected the crystalline structure of a metal.

    Thanks
     

    Professor Badger

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    That's interesting.

    By "when the slide stop", do you mean when the slide is fully rearward after firing, or do you mean when the slide has shut after firing?
    Are you talking about the slide stop pin?
    The most stress comes when the slide recoils back. The front of the slide stops the recoil.

    Buds-CZ-slide-failure.jpg


    Here is an illustration of cracks in a 1911 slide from failure in tension.

    stress.jpg
     

    G O B

    School of Hard Knocks and Sharp blows
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    3-D printing is getting VERY interesting! They are printing rocket nozzles out of stellite, and jet engine turbine vanes out of titanium alloy. Both of these parts are used under far more stress, both tensile and compressive than firearm parts. I see printed pistols with polimer frames that have stellite clad wear points like the slide etc. and 3-D printed precision "castings" used to replace billets - the final machining would only need to remove thousands to produce the final product, NOT the current wasteful process where a 40# billet produces a 4# final product!
     

    Kosh75287

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    I'M not a metallurgist, either, but if I remember my materials science classes, TWO determinants of durability in firearms applications are tensile yield strength and the value of the Young's Modulus of the alloy. There may be other more important determinants, but these are two that I remember.

    I'm ALSO no expert on the evolution of auto-pistol frame manufacture, but I think it's been a half-century or more since frames were machined out of a solid block of steel. I think hammer forging (which, apparently, makes for stronger frames than machining) was used for quite a while, and certain firearms' frames are/were/will be investment cast.
     

    Kosh75287

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    PROFESSOR BADGER, that's an interesting looking slide in the photograph you posted. What variety of pistol did that come from? The frame cracks kinda stand out against that external extractor above them.
     
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