This is really cool, I want one!
 

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How long will it be before there is a home workshop version? :p

I am guessing this is kinda pricey, but way cool.

That is just amazing. The things that are being done with computers and robotics is mind boggling at least to me.

$500,000+ depending on options

Advanced manufacturing: Adding and taking away | The Economist

That is very cool. Solid Concepts built a complete, working 1911 using some sort of metallic 3D printing. I'm not sure what method they used.

$500k isn't that bad considering what you get. Don't the high-end 6-axis CNC setups run up into the million-dollar range?

The idea of being able to repair parts with this technology is what got me as pretty cool. I do wonder what the strength properties of the deposited/machined metal are? Will it be similar/inferior/superior to cast or forged pieces that are subtractively finished?

That and heat treatment - absolutely critical in many applications. Still, it's a very cool tech!

I did a little more research and the Solid Concepts stuff is "direct metal layer sintering". You wind up with a part buried in metal powder, and the laser sinters one layer at a time. Not quite as cool as this. :D

Incredible. I love watching any variety of CNC machine at work, it is mesmerizing.

And Skynet started building hunter/killer robots.

THAT looks like a Great machine only limited by your imagination. The laser welding process is not new but this application is.

Excellent for working prototypes but an actual product would be manufactured in a more traditional way.

Better than a fish tank IMO.

DMLS parts have equivalent properties to wrought materials for the most part, far superior to castings anyway. They do need a post-build heat treatment to relieve the stresses caused by the welding of the build process. They should also be shot-peened afterwards to help with fatigue (smooth surfaces don't initiate fatigue cracks like a rough surface).

"One offs" will become the standard?
Pretty Kool!

I could use that in my pipe fabrication shop.

I will wait for the home version that sells for a couple of grand and that can do steel, stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, magnesium, or any alloy that currently exists. If you want an alloy, just change the dial.

Hey, I can dream can't I? :p

Same, but done in sheet layers:

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That would be...exciting! :D

I know of more than one knifemaker who landed a spark in some Ti dust...only to watch his shop burn down.