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3D printing used to mean intricately-shaped chunks of plastic or resin, but the range of materials available to churn out one-off designs has grown, through glass and stainless steel to – now – titanium.
The service only comes from I.Materialize right now and is done using a process called Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS). The machine lays down a layer of titanium powder and a high-powered laser sinters it into a solid later. Sintering is the process of turning powder into solid using heat, but without liquefaction.
This is repeated layer after layer until the object is ready, just like the 2 x 2-cm ball you see above, looking like something between a golfball and a microphone you might see in front of a blues singer.
Pricing depends on size, and the volume of titanium used. A 2 x 2 x 4-cm part, using one cubic centimeter of titanium, would cost you €93, or $125. Make something the same size, but with four cubic centimeters of titanium and the price goes up to just €144, or $194.
This is pretty cool, and I’m saving up to build my first titanium terminator (my previous prototype was fashioned from human bones and old printer-motors, which draws uncomfortable questions when I test it outside). You, mortal, can peruse the I.Materialize blog, where you can find pictures of what everybody else will be making: sentimental trinkets.
i.materialise launches DMLS: You can now 3d print in Titanium [I.Materialize. Thanks, Joris!]
See Also:
- Rebuilding Bones Stronger and Faster with Titanium Foam
- Custom iPhone Back Hewn From Solid Titanium
- 3D Printing, Now in Stainless Steel – Wired.com
- 3D Printing, Now in Glass
- 3D Printer Feeds On Paper and Glue
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