Fusible Alloy

Some day, when I get all my other projects done, I'm going to do this.

1. Build an extruder
2. Buy some Bismuth shot and Tin inguts
3. Melt them together 62.5% Bismuth, 37.5% Tin
4. Extrude to 3mm filament
5. Print metal objects at about 95 degrees celcius!

[www.gizmology.net]

[www.metalshipper.com]

[www.metalshipper.com]

Who's with me!? In case anyone does this, you read it here first ! lol or maybe second...

And since the fusible alloy has about half the melting point of HIPS, it could be used as a disolvable support material on dual extruder systems.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/08/2015 12:51PM by thetazzbot.

Have you ever soldered? If so, you probably know how differently metal behaves than plastic. In my experience, solder tends to transition from solid to liquid quickly, and it tends not to stick to stuff -- it has high cohesion, low adhesion, and quickly develops a skin which it doesn't stick to. So, I get the feeling you'll just end up with a blob of metal attached to your nozzle.

Oh, and keep in mind that this might (will) dissolve a brass nozzle, and possibly a stainless one. Prepare to make your own ceramic/glass/etc. nozzle. Or plastic, I suppose; polycarbonate and PTFE can work at those temperatures.

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thetazzbot
Who's with me!? In case anyone does this, you read it here first ! lol or maybe second...

People have been doing this for years.

Near the top of the General forum there is a sticky post (third down from the top) called

Read Before Posting - Technical Questions and Answers

If you click on that and scroll down you will find these questions:

Has anyone thought about 3D printing metal?
Can you extrude ordinary metal solder with a RepRap?
Can you extrude low melting point metal into grooves in a 3D printed plastic part?

and then you will find links to many interesting projects related to 3D printing of metals, including solder and low temperature melting alloys.

Yes ive soldered. And yes im overly optimistic.

Im sure someone once said you can do what were doing now until some fool came along and proved em wrong.

I've thought about reserving a slot in a multi-struder for a solder-struder, but there's issues with acidity and creep.
In all honest, I'm probably better off using conductive filament for that.

As far as metal objects, you'd be better off using PLA to produce an object, covering it in plaster or sand, and using aluminum to cast the object in process similar to lost wax.

A low melting point can be a hinderance as much as a blessing, so that's sorta where that's at for me.

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Qcks_
I've thought about reserving a slot in a multi-struder for a solder-struder, but there's issues with acidity and creep.
In all honest, I'm probably better off using conductive filament for that.

As far as metal objects, you'd be better off using PLA to produce an object, covering it in plaster or sand, and using aluminum to cast the object in process similar to lost wax.

A low melting point can be a hinderance as much as a blessing, so that's sorta where that's at for me.

Yeah, I just saw the thread about Lost PLA casting and think that's awesome.

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Qcks_
but there's issues with acidity and creep

What do you mean by this? I have never seen 'acidity' or 'creep' mentioned as challenges when extruding solder or low temp metal.

Perhaps by 'acidity' you mean that the molten metal can dissolve certain alloys? This problem was described by Rhys Jones in this blog post. This can indeed be a problem, but it has nothing to do with acidity.

Creep is 'the tendency of a solid material to move slowly or deform permanently under the influence of mechanical stresses' (see the Wikipedia article). What is the issue with creep? Perhaps you mean surface tension or viscosity or some other property...?

I still think when you combine materials the properties that make them unfavorable individually change to a more favorable set.

Melting point of tin is 450 F. Combined with bismuth at the right proportion and you basically get a new element with melting point of around 200F.

Is it stiff enough to extrude? Dont know. Can it be combined again? Heck can you combine it with PLA?

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thetazzbot
I still think when you combine materials the properties that make them unfavorable individually change to a more favorable set.

Yes. This is called making an alloy.

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thetazzbot
Combined with bismuth at the right proportion and you basically get a new element

No. You are not making a new element. You are making an alloy.

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thetazzbot
Is it stiff enough to extrude?

This question and more is answered in the links I already provided for you. I highly recommend reading Rhys Jones' interesting blog post here.

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thetazzbot
Can it be combined again?

Sure. You can make an alloy with more than two metals. Take a look at the Wikipedia article for Wood's metal for a list of some of the more common components.

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thetazzbot
Heck can you combine it with PLA?

No. PLA is not soluble in molten metal. Molten metals are not soluble in PLA. You could make a metal+PLA composite, but not a metal+PLA alloy.

yeah i read the links. sorry for thinking out loud and wasting space.

of course pla is not a metal, i thought it was funny though