Toshiba 3D metal printer is 10x faster than competitor products

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It uses laser metal deposition (LMD) technology sped by a special nozzle design.

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Read more.

deleted. wrong section for my reply.

How much do they cost? Or is it a case of "if I have to ask then it's too much for me" :)

These machines can print Inconel steels, which can be used in aerospace products. NASA and SpaceX have 3D printed engine nozzles, which makes for a cheaper and stronger product because it avoids machining multiple parts, and welding or brazing. If this new machine can get the fine detail too, that's very impressive. This is really cool stuff that's going to change several industries.

I would print serious looking 22 inch Rims with this tech.......

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Originally Posted by Peter Parker

How much do they cost? Or is it a case of "if I have to ask then it's too much me" :)

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If you have to ask...


From the picture it's clearly an industrial device, so I'm guessing high 5 digits into 6 digits.

I used to work for a well known aerospace engineering company and we were investigating an additive manufacturing process called "shaped metal deposition" in 2004, which had been developed in house. This used a robotic TIG welding machine that was developed to manufacture near net shape components from Ti 6/4 alloy. Essentially you'd build up a shape by continuous welding, which could then be machined to produce the final component. This drastically reduced time for manufacture and of course wastage. The material properties were far superior to casting with the same alloy. Typically you get a small degree of porosity as you do with casting and it seems that laser sintering produces similar porosity, but also produces similar properties.

I suspect that one difference is the resolution at which laser sintering can operate on. TIG is dependent on a number of parameters and those preclude very thin sections. Laser sintering is a "finer" process so you can make thinner sections.

However, one has to bear in mind cooling rates and the affect this has on the microstructure produced, so a heat treatment step (or more) may be needed to get the desired properties for the full component.

It's interesting to see just how far additive manufacturing technologies have come. They are still a niche way of production, but they are slowly being used more often. This technology will only grow and grow. The beauty of it is you can switch powder or feedstock along with the shape and parameters very quickly. It's an excellent prototyping tool that ultimately we will come to use fully in full scale manufacture.

Maybe some day they'll be in everyone's garage.

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Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq

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Originally Posted by Peter Parker

How much do they cost? Or is it a case of "if I have to ask then it's too much me" :)

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If you have to ask...


From the picture it's clearly an industrial device, so I'm guessing high 5 digits into 6 digits.

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That thing is easily 7 digits...its a prototype.

Be interesting to know what sort of limits this has, being able to choose the surface finish would be very cool.
In my perfect world I'd make an original Mini out of one with a better grade of steel so it doesn't rust quite so fast.

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Originally Posted by iranu

I used to work for a well known aerospace engineering company and we were investigating an additive manufacturing process called "shaped metal deposition" in 2004, which had been developed in house. This used a robotic TIG welding machine that was developed to manufacture near net shape components from Ti 6/4 alloy. Essentially you'd build up a shape by continuous welding, which could then be machined to produce the final component. This drastically reduced time for manufacture and of course wastage. The material properties were far superior to casting with the same alloy. Typically you get a small degree of porosity as you do with casting and it seems that laser sintering produces similar porosity, but also produces similar properties.

I suspect that one difference is the resolution at which laser sintering can operate on. TIG is dependent on a number of parameters and those preclude very thin sections. Laser sintering is a "finer" process so you can make thinner sections.

However, one has to bear in mind cooling rates and the affect this has on the microstructure produced, so a heat treatment step (or more) may be needed to get the desired properties for the full component.

It's interesting to see just how far additive manufacturing technologies have come. They are still a niche way of production, but they are slowly being used more often. This technology will only grow and grow. The beauty of it is you can switch powder or feedstock along with the shape and parameters very quickly. It's an excellent prototyping tool that ultimately we will come to use fully in full scale manufacture.

Maybe some day they'll be in everyone's garage.

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That's interesting - why were the material properties better for the MIG-printed parts than cast? Was it a product of the really high cooling rates?

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Originally Posted by HavoCnMe

That thing is easily 7 digits...its a prototype.

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True, for the prototype depicted, though I was more thinking of the eventual "mass-market" edition in 2017+

Chances are the prototype can't actually be bought.

Apparently you can print with solder in most 3d printers - but it eats away at the nozzle pretty quickly.