Amaze project hopes to commercialize 3D printing of metal

BBC : The Additive Manufacturing Aiming Towards Zero Waste and Efficient Production of High-Tech Metal Products, or Amaze, project is an international collaboration of 28 institutions organized by the European Space Agency. Its goal is to adapt additive manufacturing—better known as 3D printing—to commercial use in the production of planes, cars, rockets, spacecraft, and more. By developing metal-based 3D printing, the project hopes to significantly reduce the amount of wasted material, create lighter and more robust components, and save money. The €20 million ($27 million) project already has several manufacturing locations across Europe that are printing jet engine pieces and airplane wing pieces up to 2 m in size. Additive manufacturing produces almost no waste material when creating components. And because those parts can be made from a single piece of metal, it can be both stronger and lighter than a version of the part that must be assembled. However, problems with air bubbles and surface roughness have plagued the use of metals in 3D printing. The Amaze project hopes to be able to solve those problems and commercialize the process.