An Inexpensive Way to Print Out Metal Parts Low-cost 3-D plastic printers can produce almost anything, from clothes and toys to household items and furniture. Now, researchers from Michigan Technological University say they have developed an affordable 3-D metal printer. For years, large companies have used metal printers to make items like automobile parts and titanium body implants, said Joshua Pearce, a materials scientist at Michigan Tech who led the research and wrote about it in the journal IEEE Access. "Those printers are awesome, but they start at a half a million dollars and go up," he said. The researchers" 3-D metal printer cost less than $1,500. They used open-source software and off-the-shelf components, including a microcontroller and a small welding machine, and made a sprocket with it. Dr. Pearce cautioned that the printer was more dangerous to use than a 3-D plastic printer, requiring more safety gear. "This is not something for everybody's house," he said. Still, he said, the technology would give small companies an inexpensive, rapid way to build prototypes. Scientists could use the printer to build tools for research. And developing countries could use it to print repair parts for machines like windmills. "If there were one per village or region," he said, "the parts could be made right within the community."