Thread: Expressions of interest

Originally Posted by gundoc

Be aware that electron beam/laser 3D printed metal is not as strong as normal machined metal of the same grade. With some metals the 3D printed item is only rated at about 50% of the strength of conventional machined metal. Something like a bolt shroud or trigger guard is OK because they are not pressure-bearing items. It is usually much cheaper and stronger to have parts made by conventional machining from bar stock. One-off items are much cheaper to make on ordinary mills, lathes, etc. than would be the case for CNC machining. A good tradesman with a properly dimensioned freehand sketch could make some parts on conventional machines in less time than it takes for the CAD drawings and tool setting to be done for the CNC machine. Using a 3D printer to make PLA patterns for investment casting would be preferable for many items (a process I use myself for some tricky items).

I think this depends on the process. They use varying degrees of current for different applications and claim twice the strength and half the weight of machined stainless steel. Should be strong enough for most firearms applications especially small complicated parts.
This is a 1cm cube with 0.4mm thick structure.