Aluminum is Shapeways’ Newest 3D Printing Material

Fused deposition modeling or FDM is a way for designers to tweak their experiences with 3D printing products. They can experiment with additives as a means to manufacture different models that vary in size, shape, texture and even the quality of the product. But FDM isn’t the strongest technique because it doesn’t produce the most developed products.

Over time, people have experimented with more materials to make new filaments for printing. Now, products can be stronger, more durable and higher quality in look because of the trial-and-error configuration of FDM printing.

Shapeways, a company that utilizes unconventional printing materials to create products that look more presentable and high in quality, have created a means for designers to get things that look professionally made to be printed for any potential customer.

The company has included aluminum in their line of materials that they use for 3D printing. As the 54^th material in their list of printing ‘ink’, they have made a very important leap in the industry of 3D printing. You might ask what is so special about such a material. Well, aluminum has a high strength to weight ratio, so you can rely on it to be lightweight and strong at the same time. It is also resistant to corrosion and has high thermal conductivity, making the products that are created from this material great to observe and invest in.

Because it is a very reliable material, aluminum has a great impact on many industries. The automotive and aerospace industries hugely benefitted from 3D printed aluminum. The Shapeways aluminum would allow people to actually create any kind of product that would have a lightweight nature and a strong marketable purpose. 3D printed aluminum can be used for a variety of machines. Toys, gadgets, everyday materials and other helpful rigs would be made using such a material.

Aluminum can be used to make cases for phones & laptops, parts for toys and robots, and even gears for fixing toys. The possibilities for aluminum as a 3D printed material are endless.

If any designer would want to know more about the uses and advantages of 3D printed aluminum for different types of products, then they should visit the Shapeways page and see how it is made and how it is going to improve any product that is envisioned. The company even encourages people to send in designs that could be printed using 3D printing products with aluminum as the material at hand. There is a space for anyone, so if you don’t want to fiddle with 3D printers yourself, you can ask other designers to print products for you.

Aluminum is going to change the way people look at 3D printed materials that have industrial or daily use. New products can be made and new ground will be broken by such a technology. Maybe soon, people will be able to create their own products with only a click of a button and the whirring of a 3D printer at work.