New generation extruder for FFF/FDM metal printing

Hi, I am currently working on a project that deals with the design of an extruder (hot end+cold end) that should allow conventional FFF 3D printers to directly process metal alloys such as aluminum or zinc alloys. Imagine if your printer would be able to process not only PLA, ABS, PETG , but also metals after minor modification. You could then produce components with greater strength and durability. This proposed extruder would work with metal wire, which is used for welding, for example. I would need to know your opinion on this new opportunity. If such a thing existed, would you be interested? What benefits do you think it could have for you? What problems could it pose for you? Any opinion is valuable to me thank you.

... see my other post.

For the extruder -- with metal alloys and solid metals, melting them with lasers, it's a complete different and much easier setup - here it could be a simple wire-feeder, as used for wire wielding ...

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Viktor
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Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

Hello, I am interested in depositioning metal alloy in a semi-solid state. This way the printed material retains its shape and is not easily spread as in the case of full liquid metal. Something like this: [encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com]

... with my methode its halfway between "FDM" and a "paste-dispenser", what I was developing and using many ears.

Instead of a heated chamber to melt the material and extrude it in a "semifluid" state, I'm touching the surface with a "cold" wire and then only melt the tip, touching the surface, so it forms and releases a droplet of molten metal, if retracting the wire before switching the laser(s) off ... or, while pushing the wire into the melting zone and moving the head in XY it will release a "track", similar to the FDM printing prozess.

Was first meant for micro-printing sensor structures and connecting tracks -- managed to "draw" a 12 micron wide track with a 10 microns thick platinum wire for my project then (was around 2007) with a NdYAG-laser with 3 Watts averaged power or up to 8 Kilowatts pulse-peak power.

My actual lasers, suitable for this methode, are much stronger - CW-fiberlasers with (constant) max powers from 50Watts to 130Watts on a smallest spot of around 20 microns ... and IR-laserdiodes (salvaged out from broken 3kW and 6kW fiberlasers) with CW-powers of 135 to 360Watts on a minimum spot of roughly 200 microns (or bigger) ... so with the IR-laserdiodes for the "coarse" welding and the CW-fiberlasers for "fine" structures

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/05/2025 05:15PM by VDX.

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Viktor
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Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

The thing you're describing is "Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing" and is most easily described as strapping a MIG welder to a 3d printer motion system.