Preliminary testing of an i3 based 3D metal printing platform, printing 316 stainless steel.

This project aims to establish a cost effective opensource metal 3d printing platform. Subscribe for future developments & announcements.

Forum to be released within the coming weeks. CAD files pending development. Total build cost estimated to be around $1500 USD.

3D printing is a process which allows for the creation of complex objects not possible with traditional manufacturing techniques. Most 3D printing techniques are based on plastics however metal additive manufacturing has been growing in popularity due to the high strength components they make. Selective laser melting is the most common form of metal 3D printing, however this is extremely expensive due to the lasers, inert gases and other supporting systems.

Here we show how a low cost desktop metal 3D printer can be made through an electrochemical additive manufacturing process. This leverages off the decades worth of development in the electrodeposition process but localises this into a movable print head. We demonstrate that this approach can also be multi-material, allowing for the creation of bi-metallic structures with thermally responsible characteristics.

This works is mostly based on 2 papers we have previously published which are linked below:

A low cost desktop electrochemical metal 3D printer.…