3D Printing of Liquid Metals at Room Temperature

[Greegor]

http://circuitcellar.com/featured/3...als/#at_pco=tcb-1.0&at_tot=5&at_ab=-&at_pos=1

and Video:

 

[Martin Brown]

http://circuitcellar.com/featured/3...als/#at_pco=tcb-1.0&at_tot=5&at_ab=-&at_pos=1

and Video:

Although you *can* print gallium alloys at room temperature don't put
the resulting objects anywhere near bare aluminium or you will be sorry.

It is a lot more reliable to print things using a variant of the lost
wax process to make a mould and then cast in conventional metals.

 

[Syd Rumpo]

Although you *can* print gallium alloys at room temperature don't put
the resulting objects anywhere near bare aluminium or you will be sorry.

It is a lot more reliable to print things using a variant of the lost
wax process to make a mould and then cast in conventional metals.

I wonder if you could make a metal object using the 3D printing
technique by electroplating? Bit slow, perhaps.

Cheers

 

[George Herold]

Yup. Doing it with hot metals is difficult, dangerous, and leads to a
lot of badly warped parts when you're done.

Video sped up x50!

I've always wanted some of those low melting point indium/gallium alloys.
http://www.indium.com/thermal-interface-materials/other/liquid-metal/

Hmm can't find a price.
George H.

 

[Syd Rumpo]

On 27/11/2013 15:37, George Herold wrote:

I've always wanted some of those low melting point indium/gallium alloys.
http://www.indium.com/thermal-interface-materials/other/liquid-metal/

Hmm can't find a price.
George H.

Try this instead...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NaK

....I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

Cheers

 

[Martin Brown]

Video sped up x50!

I've always wanted some of those low melting point indium/gallium alloys.
http://www.indium.com/thermal-interface-materials/other/liquid-metal/

Hmm can't find a price.

Roughly $300 /kg for Gallium. Keep it away from aluminium and follow the
MSDS. Indium content dominates the eutectic price these days.

 

[[email protected]]

Although you *can* print gallium alloys at room temperature don't put
the resulting objects anywhere near bare aluminium or you will be sorry.

Does "bare aluminum" exist in the real world? If it does, it's not
for long.

 

[Phil Hobbs]

Does "bare aluminum" exist in the real world? If it does, it's not
for long.

Watching gallium chew its way into aluminum is pretty amusing. Happens
fast. Gallium is also inconveniently reactive--it scums over like
molten solder.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics

160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net