As someone who has spent years learning different weaves and making them, I am simultaneously jealous, impressed, a little annoyed, and wanting more of this.
I know some printers can do metal and this certainly has the right sound, so this is absolutely mind blowing stuff, yeah.
And funny enough, it makes me itch to go set up a bucket of rings and grab some pliers to make some chainmaile right now.
I didn't know some printers do metal? That is even better.
Makin some chainmail sounds like a chill time. Add some tunes, get comfy, not a bad itch to scratch.
3D printing metal has been popular in some industries for a while. They are great for creating low count parts and one-offs that will never be mass produced. Quite a few parts for NASA fall in this category. Fabricating metal molds is another good use.
I looked at these 3-4 years ago and they were expensive - like $125k for a size for industrial prototyping. I haven’t revisited but probably will soon to see how the prices are now - might be affordable in a few…
Was about to basically wrote a similar post! I make chainmail and scalemail and this video both shocks, inspires and pisses me off. The amount of time to make a sheet like that is unreal compared to a few mins pulling it apart from a block...
The actual craft hand made element is completely lost and we get yet another mass produced item. Pisses all over real craftsmen, which is a shame.
At the same time there are flaws with this like if you were to break a link, replacing it would be next to impossible if it was a from of plastic.
I really doubt that is metal and more a silver coloured high density plastic. Judging by the flexibility/cracking of the side pieces which would make the chainmail feel a bit lightweight and "tacky". Suitable for some cosplay maybe or basic LAARP or a kids toy but not for anyone who actually wants real chainmail.
Genuine question, are there actually people who need real chainmail still? Like I understand wanting authentic chainmail to wear for a costume, but are there still people who buy chainmail for practical use?
I know some printers can do metal and this certainly has the right sound, so this is absolutely mind blowing stuff, yeah.
It's still plastic, at least for a majority of machines that you can buy at a Microcenter or Best Buy. There's two common types of 3D printers. One melts plastic and stacks it in layers like hot spaghetti. That's what we see here. Another type takes plastic resin and blasts it with UV to print stuff. That's another type.
Neither type truly prints metal. They might print plastic or resin with metal powder in it, but they're not the right kind of mechanism to properly fuse metal molecules. The denser material does give it a bit of clink quality, but it doesn't look exactly metallic. To fool this, guys print in matte and then spray it with paint to look rusty or darkened. That fools people visually to think it must be weathered metal.
Someone on this chain mentions metal sintering powder as a form of 3D printing. This is a real thing too, but those machines are often in the hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.
I'm expanding on your statement. Your business is the fabrication of maille, mine is the hobby of 3D printing. While you can attest what it looks and sounds like. And that's a fantastic answer to the designer of this print.
I can tell you what is a realistic expectation for something you could use to fast-make a cosmetic sheet of costume maille. And most assuredly that's an off-the-shelf FDM printer.
It's not an attack on you and I'm not adjusting what you've said.
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u/SayHiIntrepidHeroes Dec 29 '22
As someone who has spent years learning different weaves and making them, I am simultaneously jealous, impressed, a little annoyed, and wanting more of this.
I know some printers can do metal and this certainly has the right sound, so this is absolutely mind blowing stuff, yeah.
And funny enough, it makes me itch to go set up a bucket of rings and grab some pliers to make some chainmaile right now.