Atomic Diffusion Additive Manufacturing to Print Metal Parts

We're getting closer to the day when machinists, who turn cranks on mills and lathes will be completely replaced by pimple faced kids who just sit at a terminal and push buttons.

I was taught mechanical arts (using machine tools) by a model maker (and I don't mean model cars) when I worked in aerospace. It's a lost art today.

Today's parts are better/stronger/cheaper, I admit, but the craftsmanship is a lost art.

I know I know, we don't need buggy whips anymore either.

It's just a different machine, that requires a different skill set, that produces a superior product... Technological evolution at work...

I know.

But there is a certain amount of satisfaction/art/craftsmanship in being able to take a piece/chunk/block of metal and turning it into something unique and functional with one's own hands (and a machine sometimes) that a person sitting at a keyboard will never feel.

You can still craft custom made products and sell them to collectionists at a price that will pay the bills.

Yeah I get that, I have worked with my hands my whole life...I would think that you would lose that personal relationship with what you are working on, the constant concentration and hand to eye connection, the feel and constant effort needed to achieve perfection, the satisfaction that very few if any could do as well, the pride in accomplishment and praise from contemporaries, the awe from viewers and quiet whispers in disbelief that anybody could do something like that with their own two hands...or just the personal satisfaction in a job well done...

That will never disappear. Machinist will always be needed, in one respect or another.

The parts may be produced so fast, that revisions come in after the part is made for what ever reason.

Then in steps the machinist to machine the forgotten, over looked, or revised feature feature.

Just like computers will make a paperless society... we generate more paper than ever before.

Does anyone know or have a guess to the inner workings of the printer? Their is a kickstarter for filled filament to allow an fdm printer to do this. It would be interesting to know how this printer is different or not in how it functions.

I found a second company selling filament and it looks like 1kg of stainless is almost $250 which is really expensive as filament goes. You still would need a vacuum oven or some method to sinter the print. Also cnc or hand machining is often done as a post processing step to finish a part to its final dimensions.

I still want to know what is different about the Markforged machine. Does it use filament for example or do you feed it a powder or whatever you use for MIM. If it does use filament how much does that cost. If you can use the same stuff used for MIM I would imagine that is cheaper. I did read somewhere that they are either using or trying to use microwaves to do the sintering to reduce the time.

https://markforged.com/about/

https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/21/markforged-announces-two-3d-printers-that-produce-items-as-strong-as-steel/

That doesn't have much in the way of technical detail as to how it works.

Interesting,... I wonder how the composition or shape of the filament would differ from say... solid core filler material for wire feed welding. Higher quality?,

I recently visited the company mx3d doing something like that. What they are doing is interesting although nothing near the detail of a standard FDM printer. I am planning to write an article about them and also another 3d printer company I visited while in the area called aectual ,pronounced actual.

My understanding is that the filament for 3D printing in is in the range of 60% to 80% metal powder where the remaining part is plastic and this is formed into a filament. The plastic part of the filament melts at standard FDM 3D printing temperatures and is extruded like a plastic part. The sintering process removes the plastic by dissolving it in a solution and or burning it out while bonding the remaining metal. The parts shrink due to the loss of plastic but this is accounted for in the print. This is not the same as a 100% metal filament for welding and an FDM printer nor the markforged could ever come close to melting that for printing. Some people and companies have used welding wire with a welding process for printing but it is not the same.

make sense,... powder would have more surface area...

Maybe similar to spray arc welding? Only powder, I believe SPW uses wire yet.