Ability3D is working a new metal printer prototype that will allow us to print metal objects on domestic 3D printers.
Your prototype printer combines technology from a MIG welder and a CNC milling machine. This original idea will allow cheapen enormously the costes of metal 3D printing. The place of using metal powder and fusing it using a laser, like most of today's metal printers, have devised a much simpler method.
How does it work.
On the one hand we have a MIG welder. This performs a gas arc welding protector using a metal electrode being consumed during the process and serves as a filler material (the equivalent of our filament spool in FDM printers). It is a very versatile process whereby deposits material at high speed and you can deposit a very thin layer of material.
Once the solder is cold rework the shape of the layer and remove excess material using the CNC milling machine. As the milling is done layer by layer, it is possible to access parts and details of the object that would be impossible for a conventional CNC milling machine.
Thanks to this new method, well-defined objects with very smooth surfaces at a significantly lower cost than professional printers.
As an additional advantage we can use your equipment as a traditional cnc router. So we can work with wood, DM and the like.
When we can print metal objects on domestic 3D printers.
Ability3D, will start a crowdfunding campaign in the first quarter of 2017. The company still has not given technical details about the equipment so we do not know what measurements it will have, how fast it will print, what resolutions it will work with and the rest of the features that we are all waiting for.
It is also unknown what goal the kickstarter campaign must reach in order to make this project a reality. The manufacturer estimates that the cost of each machine will be around $ 3000.
The company has confirmed its attendance at CES Las Vegas. We imagine that they will use the event as the starting gun to start the campaign. We will be attentive to the event to be able to give you more technical information about this project that will undoubtedly revolutionize the metal 3D printing market.