Nov.12, 2013

Most entry-level 3D printers are plastic-based printers, but David Hartkop hopes to bring everyone a new tool to create customized 3D printed items in metal. Together with Ben Aiken and Tim Sparks, Hartkop built the first-ever Mini Metal Maker, a 3D printer that prints 3D objects from digital files directly in precious metal clay, rather than in plastic.

The Mini Metal Maker brings together two distinct developing technologies: precious metal clays (PMC) and low-cost 3d printing. It prints 3D objects by extruding fine threads of metal clay that has been blended into a liquid paste. The liquified clay is thick enough to hold shape as it is laid down, but liquid enough to fuse together as it dries. Once dry, the clay object is fired in a pottery kiln, a process which removes all of the PMC's organic binders, leaving behind only high-purity metal in the original shape of the print. Only a small electric kiln is required to fuse the metal particles permanently into a solid metal object. No lasers are needed to fuse the particles, and no foundry is required to supply molten metal.

Metal clay types include sterling silver, gold, copper, brass, bronze, iron and steel. Objects printed with the Mini Metal Maker can be bent, polished, filed, and drilled. It can also conduct electricity and withstand higher wear than any plastic 3D printed counterpart.

Once refined, Hartkop believes the Mini Metal Maker is a game-changer in the world of do-it-yourself 3D printing. It lets engineers, designers, artists, and jewelry artisans perfect their designs in metal, all from a desktop environment. And it is also a valuable and accessible educational tool because it is low cost and small enough to be portable.

According to Hartkop, the current prototype of the Mini Metal Maker operates at roughly ½ the linear speed of a standard FDM printer. The speeds range between 10 and 100 mm/second. It takes around 15-25 minutes to print a small object the size of a wedding ring, depending on the resolution and level of detail of the computer model.

"The line trace produced by our prototype Mini Metal Maker is 450 microns (0.45 mm) and this size shrinks further to 370 microns once fired (using bronze metal clay)." writes Hartkop. "An important R&D goal for the Mini Metal Maker project is to reduce this print resolution further to the 200 micron threshold."

The Mini Metal Maker uses direct-drive worm gears to move the XYZ and has 1600 steps per mm. Hartkop says with continued improvements to their patent-pending clay extrusion device, the detail of printed metal clay objects will surpass that of plastic objects. The production model Mini Metal Maker will have a build volume of a cube 2.4 inches (6 cm) per side.

Hartkop has launched a crowd funding campaign aiming to raise $10,000 to refine the performance and cover the manufacturing costs of the Mini Metal Maker. Future optimization include also a second print head for use with additional metal clays or support material, custom firmware, and new Mini Metal Forge software environment.

A Full Mini Metal Maker 3D printer kit containing all of the hardware and electronics needed to assemble is priced at $750 on indiegogo. For $1,000 you will receive a fully assembled Mini Metal Maker 3D printer with a preloaded tube of copper metal clay.





Posted in 3D Printers

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Maurice wrote at 2/25/2015 10:16:35 PM:Re Suro's comments: I have been manually using silver PMC for many months for jewellery making. Suro missed one point: after shaping the PMC, it is allowed to room-dry and becomes hard enough to even hand file and polish BEFORE placing into the Kiln.there is NO issue with the object distorting before/during placement into the kiln. My only question relates to the shrinkage rate of approx 10% during the metal SINTERING process. Note: sintering, NOT melting. The metal particles are sintered, not melted. The degree of shrinkage needs to be allowed for in the process of many moving parts.Maurice wrote at 2/25/2015 10:12:54 PM:Re Suro's comments: I have been manually using silver PMC for many months for jewellery making. Suro missed one point: after shaping the PMC, it is allowed to room-dry and becomes hard enough to even hand file and polish BEFORE placing into the Kiln.there is NO issue with the object distorting before/during placement into the kiln. My only question relates to the shrinkage rate of approx 10% during the metal SINTERING process. Note: sintering, NOT melting. The metal particles are sintered, not melted. The degree of shrinkage needs to be allowed for in the process of many moving parts.Max wrote at 12/2/2014 8:59:24 PM:Seems project failed. All news dated december 2013 and no more info about this device :(Huh wrote at 11/13/2013 6:09:21 AM:Guns :)Suro wrote at 11/13/2013 3:42:21 AM:My biggest issue with them is the firing - you've got to take the mostly-soft clay object and put it into a serious furnace without distorting it. That's both a skill/structural issue (keeping it stiff enough while moving it) and a cost/safety issue - those furnaces aren't free, and the whole point of them is to be hot enough to melt metal, so their waste gases can be quite hot. Finally, as noted, keeping shape can be 'strange' because of how much things shrink when fired, so precise dimensions can be elusive. Still, it's totally worth working on, so don't take this as a complete negative - merely things to work towards!Parker wrote at 11/12/2013 8:54:34 PM:Awesome, I've been waiting for something like this for a while! Should get better quality/print area in time.CornGolem wrote at 11/12/2013 5:38:33 PM:Metal clays ? didn't know about that. This device shall be quite successful.



