Going Metal? What You Need to Know to 3D Print Metal

Metal 3D printing — additive manufacturing — enables complex, customized metal parts with geometries that traditional methods struggle to produce. This Hawk Ridge guide walks manufacturers and engineers through technologies, applications, and when metal additive makes sense versus conventional production.

Topics covered: aerospace and automotive use cases (including Relativity Space and Ford examples), five metal printing methods (DMLS, powder bed fusion, DED, binder jetting, bound powder extrusion), Markforged Metal X / FX10 materials, post-processing, supports, and how to get started.

Published on Hawk Ridge Systems, November 18, 2024. Hero image: Markforged Metal X series (from the original article).