Love your stuff dude, real 22nd century hacker metalsmith vibe !!! That head you made in this video could make a really cool shirt button, (if you printed like 8 of them for 8 buttons up the front of a tunic haha)
Excellent progress, dude! Your newest sample looks far improved over your first attempts, as one would hope! I have a thought for you. I assume that you are using pure aluminum filament during this whole process, and though the less-than-desirable sintered bonding is a factor in the strength of your samples, I think it is fair to assume that oxidation is also still playing a large role. I have managed sinter aluminum successfully using an excessive amount of nitrogen purging, but I doubt that could reasonably be applied in this situation. Instead, I think that if you managed to use a low alloy aluminum-magnesium filament (approximately 0.15% Mg), the oxidation of magnesium would better protect the entire sample form oxidation and result in a sturdier build. I doubt that is something you are looking to try, but I believe its results would be evident. Keep up the good work, man!!!!
Thanks! I'm using virtual foundry's filament for this and (which is AL 6061). They do allow people to request/purchase custom filaments but I'm not 100% on the pricing model for that. I still haven't gotten as good of a result when comparing to my other crucible but it sintered at a pretty high temp (so maybe all I need to do is ramp it up even hotter) More tests to follow and thanks for the other suggestion and kind words 🍻
