3-meter long titanium airplane part 3D printed in one piece

Most titanium alloys are poor thermal conductors, therefore thermal based additive manufacturing (AM) is an effective way to process titanium alloys. In addition, it is often expensive to cast and machine parts from titanium, AM process is proven not only to be cost effective but could also shorten lead time.

The State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) in China began its research of Laser Additive Manufacturing (LAM) in 1995. The emphasis has been focused on obtaining excellent mechanical properties for LAMed metal parts through careful control of the material microstructures. The material of LAMed parts include titanium alloys, superalloys, and stainless steel.

http://www.3ders.org/articles/20130118-3-meter-long-titanium-airplane-part-3d-printed-in-one-piece.html