IN718
Inconel 718
A nickel superalloy that keeps its strength and creep resistance where aluminium and steel give up. The default for turbine, manifold and structural hardware that runs hot.
Inconel 718 3D printingA metal 3D printing service built for flight hardware.
Laser powder bed fusion in Inconel 718 and GRCop-42 on the largest commercial metal platform in Alabama. One prototype or a pilot run, quoted by an engineer and shipped anywhere in the country.
AME is an industrial metal 3D printing company in Huntsville, Alabama. We run a single process, laser powder bed fusion, on an EOS M 400 with a 400 mm cube build envelope, and we run it on two alloys that propulsion and turbomachinery programs actually fly. Send a model and you get pricing, a build orientation and an honest read on whether the geometry will build.
- Build envelope
- 4003mm cube, one piece
- Laser source
- 1kW ytterbium fibre
- Typical density
- 99.5+percent, full melt
- Qualified alloys
- 2flight materials
What a metal 3D printing service should hand back to you.
A file goes in and a part comes out, but the part is only useful if the metal is sound, the dimensions hold and the paperwork travels with it. Our service covers the whole chain, with a person you can call at every step.
- Design review before the build. Overhangs, trapped powder, thin walls, orientation and support strategy, flagged and fixed before a layer is fused.
- Full melt laser powder bed fusion. Each 40 micron layer is melted, not sintered, under argon. Parts come off the plate at better than 99.5 percent of wrought density. How the process works.
- Post processing to your callout. Stress relief, wire EDM removal from the plate, support removal, hot isostatic pressing, heat treatment, machining and surface finishing, coordinated through finishing partners we already work with.
- Inspection and documentation. Dimensional checks, material certifications and build records with every shipment. Witness coupons on the plate when the program needs them.
Industrial metal 3D printing, not desktop printing.
Industrial metal 3D printing means production class hardware: a 1 kilowatt laser, a sealed inert build chamber, controlled powder handling and traceability from powder lot to finished part. It is a different world from bound metal filament or benchtop systems, and it produces parts with mechanical properties on par with wrought material after heat treatment.
The EOS M 400 we run is the largest commercial metal additive platform in Alabama. Its 400 × 400 × 400 mm envelope builds a combustion chamber, a manifold or a full plate of brackets in one run, and it is the same machine class the propulsion primes use for their own hardware.
What we print.
Most of the work on our floor is propulsion and turbomachinery hardware for aerospace and defense, with pilot series parts for medical and automotive programs alongside it.
- Regeneratively cooled combustion chambers and injectors in GRCop-42, with cooling channels printed in place.
- Manifolds, housings, valve bodies and turbopump components in Inconel 718.
- Heat exchangers and cold plates with conformal internal passages.
- Brackets, mounts and structural parts consolidated from multi piece assemblies.
- Lattice and thin wall test articles for development programs.
Rapid manufacturing without tooling.
Rapid manufacturing with metal 3D printing skips the pattern, the mould and the fixture. A design change is a new file, not a new tool, which is why development programs use it to iterate flight hardware in weeks. The same run that makes one prototype makes the pilot series: nest more parts on the plate and the process does not change.
Two alloys, both chosen for propulsion.
We run the materials our customers actually fly, and we know how each one behaves in the build.
GRCop-42
GRCop-42
A copper chromium niobium alloy developed by NASA. It moves heat like copper while holding strength past 700 °C, which is why it lines regeneratively cooled combustion chambers.
GRCop-42 3D printingSpecifications.
Typical values for laser powder bed fusion on our platform. Program allowables come from your own coupons.
| Process | Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), also called SLM or DMLS |
|---|---|
| Platform | EOS M 400, single 1 kW ytterbium fibre laser, argon atmosphere |
| Build envelope | 400 × 400 × 400 mm (15.7 × 15.7 × 15.7 in) |
| Layer thickness | 40 µm typical; thicker parameter sets where the part allows |
| Laser spot | Approximately 90 µm focus diameter |
| Materials | Inconel 718 (UNS N07718), GRCop-42 (Cu-Cr-Nb). Other alloys on request, subject to volume |
| Typical as built tolerance | ±0.1 to 0.2 mm on small features, plus a length dependent allowance. Tighter callouts by post machining |
| As built surface | Ra roughly 6 to 12 µm on vertical and upward faces; rougher on downward facing surfaces. Blasting, tumbling and chemical polishing available |
| Minimum wall | 0.5 mm supported; 1 mm recommended for structural walls |
| Post processing | Stress relief, plate removal, support removal, HIP, solution and age, machining, finishing |
| File formats | STEP preferred. Parasolid, IGES and STL accepted |
| Lead time | Quoted with the job. Ask for a date and we give you one we can hold |
How a model becomes a part.
Five moves. You hear from an engineer at every one of them, not a portal.
Quote
Send a STEP file and a material. You get pricing, a suggested orientation and an honest read on whether the geometry will build.
Review
We flag overhangs, trapped powder and thin walls that will not survive, then propose the fix.
Build
Fused layer by layer on the M 400 under argon, monitored through the run, with witness coupons on the plate when required.
Finish
Stress relief, plate removal, supports off, then HIP, heat treatment, machining and surface work to your callout.
Inspect and ship
Dimensional checks, material certs and build documentation travel with the parts.
How to choose among metal 3D printing companies.
If you are comparing metal 3D printing companies, the differences that matter are rarely on the price sheet.
- Full melt or sintered. Laser powder bed fusion melts the alloy completely. Binder jet and bound filament parts are sintered afterwards and finish at lower density with more shrinkage. For pressure and temperature loads, ask which one you are buying.
- Machine class and envelope. A 400 mm platform builds hardware a 250 mm machine cannot, and builds more of it per run.
- Alloy depth. A shop that runs two flight alloys every week knows their quirks better than one that runs twenty occasionally. GRCop-42 in particular rewards experience.
- Who reads your file. Ask whether an engineer reviews the geometry or whether an upload portal does.
- Standing. HUBZone and Small Disadvantaged Business certification matter to government buyers and to primes with subcontracting goals.
- Distance. Being able to drive over, walk the floor and see the part on the plate is worth something, especially for a first article.
Questions we get asked.
What is a metal 3D printing service?
A service bureau that builds metal parts from your CAD data on industrial additive machines, rather than selling you a printer. At AME that means laser powder bed fusion on an EOS M 400 in Inconel 718 and GRCop-42, with design review, post processing and inspection included in the job.
How much does metal 3D printing cost?
It depends on build height, part volume, supports, alloy and finishing. Small simple parts start in the low hundreds of dollars; large or complex Inconel and copper alloy builds run into the thousands. Our cost guide walks through the drivers, and a quote from us is free.
What tolerances can you hold?
As built, typically ±0.1 to 0.2 mm on small features, with an additional allowance on longer dimensions. Where a drawing calls for tighter, we print with machining stock and finish the feature to size.
What file format should I send?
STEP is best. Parasolid, IGES and STL also work. Include a drawing or a note for critical dimensions, tolerances, surface finish and any heat treatment or testing the program requires.
Do you only serve Huntsville?
No. We ship nationwide and most of our customers are outside Alabama. Being in Huntsville means we are next to NASA Marshall and Redstone Arsenal, and local customers can pick up at the shop.
What quantities do you handle?
One part through pilot series. A single plate on the M 400 can carry one large component or dozens of small ones, and repeat runs use the same locked parameters.
Do you sign NDAs?
Yes. Most of our work is under NDA and we are used to program specific handling requirements. Tell us what the job needs when you send it.
Go deeper.
Primer
Metal additive manufacturing
The process families, the standards, and where laser powder bed fusion fits.
ProcessLaser powder bed fusion
How the machine works, the design rules, and LPBF next to powder metallurgy.
MaterialInconel 718 3D printing
Composition, properties, heat treatment and ASTM F3055.
MaterialGRCop-42 3D printing
NASA’s copper alloy for chamber liners and injectors.
PricingMetal 3D printing cost
Six cost drivers, typical ranges, and how to bring the number down.
LocationMetal 3D printing in Huntsville, AL
Next to Redstone Arsenal and Marshall. Visit the shop.
Request a quote
Send the model. We’ll tell you if it builds.
Pricing and an honest read on the geometry, from an engineer. Call the shop or send the request and we will pick it up from there.