A new rapid 3D printing technique for molten metals has been developed which allows metal parts of furniture such as tables and chairs to be produced in just a few minutes and at low cost.
The products, although not perfectly finished, are very resistant and can withstand further processing steps such as milling and boring.
This is demonstrated by the tests conducted in the United States, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which pave the way for new applications in architecture, construction and industrial design.
The technique called Lmp (Liquid Metal Printing) consists of melting the metal in a sort of electric furnace and then depositing it along a path traced on a bed of tiny glass beads with a diameter of 100 thousandths of a millimetre.
These spheres are so small that they form an impalpable sand that leaves no marks on the surface of the printed object.
For their experiments, the MIT researchers used aluminium, a metal commonly used in construction, which can be recycled economically and efficiently.
The results obtained demonstrate that the Lmp technique is at least ten times faster than other metal additive manufacturing processes.
While it can print larger components than those made with slower additive techniques, and at a lower cost, it cannot achieve high resolutions.
A disadvantage that is not too penalizing, according to the researchers, who envisage applications in construction, architecture and in the creation of prototypes with recycled or waste metals.
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