From the course: Additive Manufacturing: Tips, Tricks, and Techniques

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Printing with precious metals

Printing with precious metals

From the course: Additive Manufacturing: Tips, Tricks, and Techniques

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Printing with precious metals

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- [Narrator] 3D printing with metal is more challenging than printing with plastic, but many new technologies are coming on the market that are bringing down the price. However, for most technologies, printing precious metal, like gold and silver, and how they conduct the very reflective ones, like copper, is much harder still. It's possible to 3D print with precious metals directly, with printers specialized for the task. Another option is to 3D print a mold in a specialized plastic, and investment cast apart. Finally, a part can be 3D printed in other materials, and then plated with precious metals. - [Narrator 2] The fact that many precious metals are both highly conductive and highly reflective, creates some challenges for direct metal centering. Special lasers or build settings are required, like those in the EOS Precious M 080. Obviously, the powder is very expensive and will need to be managed carefully. Other…

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