Metal printing dreams and reality check

We've enthused about the potential for 3D printing in titanium and other metals to completely revolutionise manufacturing as we know it, and indeed, in the aerospace industry, printing specialised components from titanium powder is enabling novel designs.

But in 3D printing titanium and the bin of broken dreams Spencer Wright takes a deep dive into the current state of the art, and science, of metal printing. And it's a bit of a nightmare, but with a lot of potential to improve in the future.

"Today, 3D printing metal parts via a distributed supply chain is a myth, full stop. And while I’m as excited about that vision as the next guy, distributed manufacturing will continue to be a pipe dream for the foreseeable future. A distributed manufacturing ecosystem can only exist once there’s a robust network of suppliers capable of making parts repeatably."

3-D printing creates unusual alliances

Dateline: 26 August 2016

Five years ago, it would have seemed an unlikely partnership. But the alliance announced today between BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining group, and printing technology company Hewlett Packard, makes perfect sense. And the reason? 3-D printing has gone mainstream as an industrial production technique, and HP-BHP wants to corner the market. There's hardly an industry within which 3-D ...