Printing Tin???

Has anyone here tried to print tin??? Seems to have a low enough melting point.

I think it would give some issues because of the surface tension.

I'm tempted to try it and see what happens. no idea where I'd buy 3mm tin rod though.

Make some?

Ben

Check out:

Low-melting point alloys "Then I looked at the silicone tubes I was using to carry the cooling water. Dang me if they weren't 3mm internal diameter. I put one on a funnel with a clothes-peg at the other end, heated them all in a beaker of boiling water, took them out and quickly hung them up, then poured in the Wood's metal: After it had cooled I just sliced away the silicone tube with a scalpel, which left a perfect shiny rod."

and Simple hot metal valve

and Syringe Pump Metal Extruder

and A new approach to printing metals

[utwired.engr.utexas.edu]

They used a Tin-Bismuth alloy - 492183 is very much correct about surface tension being an issue. Note how the corners of the square print become more rounded on the upper layers.

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[haveblue.org]

We used to "print" tinpaste or tin-bismuth paste in my company in the mid 90s. That was of course not for printing 3D objects but to dispense the solderpaste to very special locations (selective soldering). Using paste, you should not have any issue concerning the surface tension. After printing the object you may would have to stabilize it with sand or else and then melt it in one go. Just an idea, I have never tried this out.
Fact ist, if you dispense tin paste or bismuth-tin paste, It will give you perfectly shaped little voxels. Just dont melt as you print.Let it dry and then melt it using some cast to stabilize it.