What is the goal of the The Metal 1.0

  • High quality metal parts
  • Affordable
  • Easy to use
  • Accessible 
  • Safety

High quality metal parts

Our metal 3D printer offers unique possibilities for the creation of metal parts with high precision, quality.

  • Unique capabilities in the price range
  • High precision
  • High quality materials

Affordable

By completely rethinking the structure of the system and how it is controlled it is possible to offer this machine for a much lower price while keeping the quality of the produced parts the same.

How have we achieved this:

  • Laser source is a diode laser
  • Laser motion system is a XY system
  • System movement is done via stepper motors
  • Make the system design simple but effective.
  • Slicing software is opensource

Ease of use

The motion system of the system runs on Klipper so it will supply you with all the modern features that are also available for FDM 3d printers like:

  • Remote control via Wifi or Ethernet
  • Webcam view
  • Live adjustments of process parameters

The slicing is done in OrcaSlicer, so the process of preparing the parts is the same as for a FDM 3d printer. The sliced files can be immediately transferred to the printer to start the printing process.

Accessible

The system power requirements easily allow the machine to be used on a normal home outlet. (<800 watt of contineus power usage.)

For the inert/air supply only a flow of 5l/min is required.

For the generation of inert gas (N2) ther is an option to have a nitrogen generator integrated into the machine that will generate low purity N2 gas(1-5% O2 left) using compressed air. This will remove the need for having large cilinders of inert gas. The extra price of the N2 generator system will be 1000 euro including VAT.

Safety

This technology has some risks:

Laser light: because the machine uses a high power laser source there is a risk of burns to the skin and eyes. This has been mitigated by:

  • Shielding the laser source as much as possible so there can be no direct reflections
  • Making the Viewing window of a material that absorbs any indirect laser reflections
  • Disabling the Laser source when the machine cover is opened.

Burning metal powder: certain types of metal powder are prone to cause fires when exposed to high heat and oxygen. This has been mitigated by:

  • incorperating a high quality safety system that monitors the oxygen content of the process chamber and shuts down the laser and air pump when the oxygen content becomes too high.
  • Optimizing the airflow in the chamber and around the laser spot and filtering the particles that are generated by the process.
  • Enclosing the process and using inert gas as this will remove the risk completely.
  • Detailed and clear instructions on how to remove and replace the air filters of the system.

Handling metal powder:

While moving and handling open metal powder it is recommended to wear gloves and use a full or half face respirator furthermore the machine must be placed in a well ventilated area as the system is closed but not 100% airtight.

Specifications

Productivity: When printing 5 1cm3 cubes the printer will be done in 3 hours once the print is started, this gives a productivity of a bit over 1.5 cm3/h. This is however not the maximum speed since larger surfaces will be done with a higher productivity peaking at about 2.5cm3/h. Smaller features will take longer.

Build volume: The printable volume will be 12.5 round x10cm height or 1.2 liter

Cost: the final price will be 9999.00 euro including 21% VAT for a partly assembled machine without the N2 generator.