本星期，The Virtual Foundry（TVF）宣布一个有趣的新产品，一个FFF Metal 3D Printing Evaluation Kit.
The package includes a completed metal part and all of the consumables required to 3D print your own metal part. You will need access to a filament based (FFF/FDM) 3D printer. If you don’t have access to a kiln, you can send it back to The Virtual Foundry and they will sinter it for you and send it back.
Over the past 7 yearsThe Virtual Foundryhas earned a reputation as a flexible, ultra low cost method of 3D printing metal, glass and ceramic parts. Their approach is different from systems like those from桌面金属和Markforged. The Virtual Foundry maintains an open architecture philosophy with open lines of communication and a sense of community.
The company focuses on creating materials (Filamet), and curates user-generated information on how to debind and sinter parts into the ideal final product. Much of the sintering process has been developed by a dedicated user base. At present, the published debind and sinter methodology is based on an expanding list of theses, studies, dissertations, and other published papers.
A search of the Google Scholarly database returns dozens of links to直接引用虚拟铸造的论文. When considered from this perspective, you can think of TVF as much a concept as it is a product.
目前，TVF的主要应用是军事，研究和学术界。但是，超低成本，开放型和简单性使其成为具有最低入口壁垒的金属印刷解决方案。这种简单性和可访问性将金属印刷带给了比以往任何时候都更广泛的受众。
“目前，我们看到高中，工厂实验室，社区大学甚至家庭用户的增长正在增加。这个市场非常合适。“每所学校都有3D打印机。通过使用我们的方法，这些用户可以在没有大量资本支出和最小学习曲线的情况下扩展到金属AM。”
With the Evaluation Kit, you can follow the instructions to sinter your part using any simple, low-cost, hobby-grade kilns often used in ceramics, glass, precious metal clay. Or you can send your print back toThe Virtual Foundry烧结。烧结您的印刷品对于美国大陆的任何人都是免费的，或者是为世界各地的人们提供的返回费用。
这项技术的未来变得越来越有趣。可以在YouTube上找到TVF用户，并在常见的家用微波烤箱中使用烧结金属3D打印进行实验。
“微波烧结有可能有效ely remove our already low barrier to entry for 3D metal printing,” added Bradley Woods, Founder/CEO of The Virtual Foundry, inc. “Innovative makers experimenting in their basements are achieving greater and greater sinters with simple, household microwaves. Once we can sinter in a microwave, the barrier to entry is reduced to a trip to Walmart or Amazon. Our community is incredibly innovative and is already having intermittent success. A stable recipe is coming.”
Nominations for the2022 3D Printing Industry Awardsare now open. Who do you think should make the shortlists for this year’s show? Let us know by casting your vote now.
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特色图显示了一个图表，指示虚拟铸造厂的Filamet评估套件的工作方式。通过虚拟铸造图像。
