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make.co
M
etal 3D printing conjures up an image of
lasers depositing energy into explosive
powders, and systems that cost millions of
dollars. However, there are viable options that will
allow you to print metal parts on a consumer-
level filament 3D printer. The investments start at
a couple thousand dollars and go up a couple
orders of magnitude from there. Let’s find out
what it takes to create metal 3D printed parts
with garage-level maker tech.
LIKE MIM — BUT WITH FILAMENT
The roots of this technology lie in metal-injection
molding (MIM). MIM parts are created from a
feedstock made of metal powder and a binder.
The feedstock is typicall ...