Selective Laser Sintering is the name of the process that takes in 3D part data and produces a finished metal part. The last I heard, the parts were not fully dense, and did not have the same fatigue strength as the conventional forged or cast part. But a run through a Hot Isostatic Pressing cycle would fix that.

The problem with 3D printing is that it takes a long time to produce a single part. It's great for prototyping and very low volume production, but if you need to make more than a few thousand of a given part in a year, forging or casting is more economical.

Yes, I have thought about it. When you read analyses of the evolution of humankind, there was a breakthrough point (genetically as well as socially) when cities got big - hundreds of thousands of people. The concept of the autonomous individual who produced everything he consumed is a fairy tale ideal (akin to 'noble savage') - this person is doomed to live a primitive life because he lacks the leverage of specialization.

This is the world we have lived in for the past 5K years.

Enter 3D printers, and the Internet. Now, for the first time since the Neolithic, we are headed for a society where an individual can be functionally independent of gov or infrastructure and still have all the benefits of collaborative interaction and high technology. Add in self-driving vehicles and robots and we are creating a new social structure.

Jan

Considering that they've made fully functional 1911 pattern handguns in .45ACP on 3D printers, I'd say that yes they achieve the same strength as cast parts. I think the springs were the only parts not printed.

I have two different kinds of 3D printers and have created props for my photo booth rental and parts for things that didn't exist before. Unfortunately, I rely on my son to design the pieces I want so I can load them on the 3D printer and sometimes he is busy or not available when I need something designed. I'm not good at designing but once you have the design made the rest is easy. I think that eventually, the printers will become more affordable and currently there are some shops with printers available to the public. That business will become similar to a print/copy shop in many neighborhoods.

It could be an economic explosion, unless it gets regulated to death.

These new manufacturing techniques will allow people to avoid governmental influences for awhile, but unless the generally accepted philosophy changes here, government will slow down and stop this new engine as they have done up to now.

An example is here in Las Vegas, one cannot start a new business without getting PRIOR approval from the city/county. The business must fall into one of the pre-approved categories set by the government in order to be accepted for a business license. Pretty stupid if you want new innovations.....

At the time that I read about this use of 3D printing and exotic alloys (the part was made out of titanium), the engineers that I was working in the aerospace industry with had similar printers (but not quite as good as the one used to print those parts) however they were similar. The part printed for the landing gear, met all tests and ended up being used in that landing gear assembly. This was about 4 years ago.

Can these parts made from metal dust take the same loads as a cast-metal part? Of course, one can always break things down into several steps, that involve making ceramic molds.

They have been doing that for over 4 years now. Any metal that can exist in powder form can be used in the appropriate 3D printer, of course the cost for such a device is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars but it does exist. Again, Airbus A300 (I believe is the model) has aircraft landing gear components "printed" in metal and, meeting the stringent "airworthiness" criteria.....

They have already been using the technology even in making critical titanium aircraft parts for the Airbus. Amazing! Only a matter of time before we can get printers that will truly be utilitarian and economically within the reach of the average person.

Additive manufacturing ("3-D printing") still has a long way to go. As I understand it, the most common substrate is extrudable plastic. I'd like to see a device that can turn out a metal part. For that matter, I'd like to see a chemical synthesizer--and a self-contained chemical analyzer that could become part of an emergency first-aid kit.

All the same, what we see now, makes the things I named not only conceivable but possible. Which they wouldn't have been ten years ago.

This is a passion of mine. I recommend Singularity University youtube channel. There are some great books to get you thinking about it, from Kurzweil to Diamandis, to James Canton, to Cecily Sommers.

I highly recommend that everyone lean into this edge - there will be many billions of dollars to be earned - supporting the companies that are doing breakthrough work. It is the best time to be an Entrepreneur in the history of the world, and it is getting better as we go!a

It's happening now. Automation is changing everything.

I've read about how 3D printing is lowering the barriers to entry in industries like biotech, that used to have huge investment costs to get started. Now they might be viable for a small business incubator in a remote location that flies partly under the radar, i.e. a Gulch.

In the same way that Steve Jobs generated a market for things that they didn't even realize that they ought to want, I am working towards making several products into 3D-printed realities. Welcome to the Gulch, Autox3d.