I 3D printed a hollowed titanium Straight Jacket but…

[zhangsheng]

I’ve been experimenting with metal 3D printing, and I realized it’s nothing like printing plastic or just scanning something and hitting “print.”





Different factories have completely different levels of accuracy, and they never really tell you that upfront. Some places can only hit rough tolerances, while others can print high-precision, hollow titanium parts—but those shops are extremely expensive.





I also had to modify the model itself because metal can’t flex or “give” the way plastic does. A design that works in nylon or resin will simply fail in titanium unless you adjust the geometry.

 

[SMman]

Impressive. Looks great.

 

[SpecialAdvisor]

3D modeling and printing was definitely a lot of guess and check for me…can be fun on one’s own printer…but painful when it’s farmed out. I did some ceramic props with Shapeways back in the day and it was either amazing or pure frustration.