BACKGROUND

Producing metal parts continues to be dominated by methods such as machining and casting. In addition, polymers, especially high strength polymers, have replaced metal parts in many applications due to the ability to mold polymers in high volume with high detail at low unit cost. In contrast, molding for metals has had some success with approaches like metal injection molding (MIM). However, for a variety of technical and economic reasons, methods of metal molding have not achieved widespread use in forming metal parts. When it comes to forming small numbers of complex metal parts, machining remains the go to methodology. The limitations and costs to producing complex metal parts underscore the need for improved ways to producing complex metal parts.

