Steel parts compared to sls PA12

#1

I do search for some informations how these 2 materials compare.

  1. Dimenesions / print quality? So for example if I have a 32,0mm diameter tube and want it to fit into a printed metal part. How big must be the diameter to fit tight?
    In general: Do you have any software that will tell you how the parts will come out, so that I know pre printing?

  2. What will be the strength diffrence? I would expect steel to be much more durable than PA12. But i found some informations that says that steel here is used for more decoration things. Also I found your pro site for steel parts, but that doesnt seem to be economical to me if I compare it with chines lost wax casting. So pricly and quality /surface.

Maybe its possible to send you the file and you can help me with this.
Thank you

#2

Hello,

It’s hard to predict the outcome of the 3D printed model in terms of tolerance. Each material offers a particular accuracy post-printing and therefore there are no guarantees for the application to be tight. However, if you can allow some extra space or can secondary finish the produced part it would help.

Talking about steel it is indeed lacks precision in terms of output. Also you should take into account 2-3% shrinkage of the part. Steel would be harder to post-process for you, thus as a test we’d recommend to try polyamide. Polyamide (being plastics) is indeed weaker than steel, but it is the strongest plastics we offer.

Feel free contact our cusomer support team here and share with us your file

Regards,
i.materialise Customer Support