Comment on How stable is a metallic print

FuglyDuck@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

So, when you say ‘metallic print’? do you mean something like direct metal laser sintering (powder bed and lasers melting to make a solid part,) or the makerforge FDM printers that then sinter the part?

Either of those two will provide an adequate solution.

If you mean the metal-filled plastics (like Protopasta metal fills,) the weakness is in the plastic- and are comparable to whatever base plastic they use. Though, the iron fill and copper/brass/bronze fills all are high enough in metal content they can corrode as well as take most of the polish with, so they’ll age. the metal is purely cosmetic, though.

the plastic holds up well enough, and how much of a patina they get depends on some factors, but it’s only the surface that gets the patina- the iron fill, for example won’t rust all they way through. The polish is nice, and you can age them (a weak solution of water and vinegar, for iron, as an example,).

If you can print PLA hinges that hold up well, you can expect roughly the same performance, and the only real change you need to make for metal fills is going to a hardned nozzle. Given the structural concerns, I would suggest looking for metal-filled ASA, or similar rather than

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