A March 2013 report from Smart Tech Publishing predicts that the Precious metal 3D market could grow to more than four billion dollars in less than 10 years.  The forecast involved data from leading companies directly involved in the metal printing segment including Argen, Asiga, Autodesk, 3D Systems, Concept Laser, Cooksongold, DWS, EnvisionTec, EOS, Hilderbrand, Legor, Materialise, Optomec, Progold, Realizer, Shapeways, Sculpteo, Solidscape, Tanaka Precious Metals, Voxel8, and Xerox.

The company Sinterex has established a facility in Ras al-Khaimah, which is about a 1.5 hour drive from Dubai. Sinterex plans to concentrate its printing efforts on regional energy, aviation, and manufacturing firms, and the company will also offer market research and consulting services.

Additive Industries and its design partner VanBerlo have won Red Dot Awardfor their industrial 3D metal printing system, MetalFAB1. This printer is the company’s first integrated additive manufacturing machine for high-end metal parts, and its VanBerlo-designed exterior reflects advanced industrial technology’s aesthetics.

Professor Rashid Abu Al-Rub and his team at Masdar Institute, United Arab Emirates is developing methods to change the internal geometric structure of familiar plastics, metals, ceramics and composites. Using the 3D Printing Technology as the only solution, they seek to revolutionize the existing 3D printing patterns and provide light-weight but strong materials for applications.

Engineering firm TWI worked with metal powder technology company Metalysis to create Hip Replacements using "metal additive layer manufacturing" which uses tantalum powder, a metal which is bio-inert, to form a lattice structure with consistent strength and density. The powder is formed into solid structures using "selective laser melting" to fuse the tiny metal particles together with heat and the whole process is cost-competitive according to company.

Researchers from the University of Waterloo in Ontario performed a study regarding 3D printing processes with metal and layer thicknesses in material and used Titanium Powder with particle size range of 38–45 μm which was 3D printed on the ZPrinter 310 Plus by 3D Systems . Several different studies considered Particle size, Sintering temperature and Powder compaction level from which they found how layer thickness affects powder compaction during 3D printing, as well as how temperature variations affect bonding and they can now aim to help close any gaps that might occur as implants loosen and cause inflammation and other issues for patients.

England's Bennett Engineering Design Solutions, established in 1999 gained interest in 3D Printing after Materialise offered them teach the way of working with 3D printing. By the far end, Bennett Engineering have already 3D Printed over 30 products on client requests and now are looking forward to learn about metal printing materials like titanium, aluminum and stainless steel with the help of Materialise.

Engagement of Dr. Alaa Elwany of Texas A&M University , Dr. Paul Smith from Glasgow School of Art's Institute of Design Innvovation and Julian Callanan, founder of Sinterex led to development of Metal 3D Printing in middle east. Sinterex will provide consulting services as well as manufacturing services and the organization has announced their first Metal 3D Printer aiming for Biomedical Field.

A group of researchers from the Sri Rajiv Gandhi College of Dental Sciences & Hospital in Bangalore, India evaluated the marginal accuracy of Cobalt-Chromium copings (thin covering of the tooth’s crown portion) fabricated using DMLS, computer-aided milling, traditional casting, and ringless casting and comparatively analyze the marginal discrepancy. They used typodont resin model made of silicone impression material and 40 copings, for which they used 3D laser scanner from 3Shape to obtain an indirect impression of the tooth model, and then used the data to design the coping in 3Shape’s CAD software program, before they were 3D printed on an EOSINT M 270 3D printer from EOS.

A group of researchers from Jiangsu University tested Laser Peening (LP), a laser surface modification technology, to increase the wear resistance of most common titanium alloy for implants, the Ti6Al4V alloy. Cut samples of alloy of 40 x 20 x 4 mm rectangular shapes, with 4 mm thickness were treated with Laser Peening and then tested for surface roughness and micro-hardness at Nanjing University of Aerospace and Astronautics in China. The promising results concluded 25.7% increased wear resistance in LP-Treated Ti6Al4V samples compared too untreated ones.

Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0030399217319230

Anatomiz3D Medtech Private Limited, a Mumbai-based medical 3D printing company has announced its partnership with another Indian company, Incredible AM, a part of of Industrial Metal Powders Pvt Ltd in Pune, works with both the medical and engineering industries by providing metal 3D printing services. With the joint venture, the two companies aim to provide 3D Printing designs and plastic 3D printing skills while aiding surgical practices by simplifying and customizing operative planning and procedures in order to improve patient recovery quality, and to developing patient-specific tissue engineering solutions to help lower the need for organ donors in the future.

L.E.Murr, a researcher from the University of Texas at El Paso, wrote an overview of how 3D printing of Metal and Alloy Implants using powder bed fusion technologies, especially with commercial laser and electron beam systems, has rapidly emerged worldwide. He emphasized on key points: Applications of solidification fundamentals to powder bed fusion fabrication; Fundamentals of powder bed fusion AM of complex and porous biomedical implants; Design strategies for fabricating porous, optimized metal and alloy biomedical implants by powder bed fusion technologies and Examples of porous, powder-bed fabricated implants which included: Custom-built cranial/maxillofacial/implants and surgical, pre-operative models; 3D printed, open-cellular structure spinal implants; 3D implant designs for total hip arthroplasty; Total knee arthroplasty and open-cellular implant components and Complex skeletal reconstruction implants: personalization of implant fabrication through hospital point-of-care, 3D printing centers.