3d Metal Example
VELO metal no supports. FORMNEXT
VELO3D
Parts with symmetry to rotational axis. 30krpm
Easier to balance.
An example of what my system can produce.
The Gray object is what comes out of my printer. It is a conbination
polyimer and metal 316L stainless aka marine grade stainless.
The shinny part is the results after it is sent in for the sintering
process which vaporizes the plastic first at a lower temperature then is
heated over a period of hours to bond the
metal together.
Parts are designed in cad which I do in house to be 120% of the finished
size in x and y (horizontal axis) and 126% in z(verticle).
The Cad software takes care of the scaling.
One can print the part first in a low cost material at standard
dimensions which for the example part would be around $1.00 worth of
material plus machine time to test fit.
Once satisfied one scales the part for the stainless filament and
extrudes it. Then one sends it to the processing center for sintering.
There are numerous outfits that perform sintering.
Cost is $50 per KG (2. 2lbs) or or portion there of. Stainless Steel weighs ~.289lbs per cubic inch.
The stainless steel filament runs $465 for 3kg or 6.61 lbs. or $70 per pound.
I would estimate the amount of metal of the example at around 7 cubic inches max = around 2 lbs.
Therefore the price would be around $50 for processing and $140 for material. = $190
Cad for such a design would be around $200
End product $390
In the end
the whole process is not as fast as CAM but far less costly overall in
that the equipment to make the parts costs substantially less.
The part has been polished up and tapped for the fittings.
Stress analysis can be performed inside design cycle.
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Thank You
Best Regards,
Eric Jacobson
Sales Catalog: http://circadea.com/sales.html