Sinterjet has developed a precious metal 3D printer.
Metal 3D printers are somewhat common these days, although they are usually quite expensive to acquire and operate. Sinterjet has been working on metal 3D printing for a decade, first with SLM technology, and most recently with a binder jet process.
They’ve already released their mini metal 3D printer, the M60, which we took a look at last year. That €65,000 (US$71K) device is able to produce small metal parts at relatively low cost compared to many other metal 3D printing solutions.
Now the Turkish company is also developing the P45 precious metal 3D printer, which they’ve taken two years of research and development to complete. This device will be able to print items in gold, platinum, silver and other precious metals.
The P45 will use a binder jet process that Sinterjet said requires only “one step”, as there is no debinding required. That means the green parts need only be sintered to finalize their production.
Their process collects excess material, so there’s no loss of powder. That’s critically important for precious metal materials, where the powder is perhaps the most expensive used in the 3D print industry.
Sinterjet explained that the P45 allows for quick material swaps, which is actually quite rare in metal 3D printers. These devices typically become “committed” to a particular material once used due to the possibility of contamination. Apparently this is not the case on the P45, where they’ve designed the system to prevent contamination.
It would seem that jewelers and watchmakers might be the prime users of the P45 precious metal 3D printer, but Sinterjet suggested it could also be used for research purposes. This could be for the production of small metal parts for experiments that must be made with unusual precious metals.
Via Sinterjet
