Making a blank from scratch.

[mhmh]

I agree, but also it's amazing how much progress 3D printing has made recently.
At Shapeways.com you can get cast brass, or printed bronze-infused steel at decent prices, both of which could be as strong or even stronger compared to the original Norman blank.

[fdew]

Well if you can do it I would definitely give it a go as you'll know exactly where your at with machined and filed brass. 3-D printing is undoubtedly amazing technology but strength for something like a working key might be an issue. Keys are subject to a lot of overlooked abuse in terms of torque, twisting, thermal shocks, being dropped etc. you won't have any worries with a traditionally made blank but anything printed may raise issues for anything other than a display key purely for show

There are some materials that are available that are up to the task. Among them are

Stainless Steel
Inconel
Titanium

Here is a article about a test of 3D printed Stainless Steel
https://blog.solidconcepts.com/indus...-torture-test/

[Huw Eastwood]

It does sound amazing mh. I didn't know that level had been reached where companies offering printing services had that level of machine. I knew that quality of build in metals was capable at the top end in the industry, used by the military etc, but didn't know it had filtered down and was available to everyone. If they've reached the stage where the process doesn't carry the weaknesses in the end product then it's got to be way-to-go on complicated projects like you say.

After years of doing everything the old fashioned way- manual turning, milling, hand shaping etc I was on the point of going down the CNC route and getting a small CNC milling machine. I built my own metal injection caster some years ago and also a crude system for high pressure plastic injection moulding, but having to manually mill, cut, file and polish the negative moulds and dies is a seriously time consuming and tedious drawback. And without any moulds, the machines are of course useless! One mould in particular- with about 6 interlocking sections and sliding dies plus ejectors took me 5—600 hours spread over about 8 months. This is where the CNC machine seemed like a good idea, but seeing the growing number of 3-D printers becoming available I thought it might be possible to elimate the old fashioned donkey work and simply print the end-user parts. Well, for the plastic ones anyway, I realized that printing the negatives for moulds in metal would need either a miracle or a lottery win and a £500,000 machine, and the back-up that goes along with it...Perhaps it's not as far off as I thought though..

At the top end Of the industry with the level of printers that companies like Shapeways now have it would definitely be possible, but for the average small shop the level of machines available is sadly no-where near. Machines capable of just prototype parts that are thin, complicated, smooth and durable in just plastic alone are still at the sell your house, car, wife and kids level of cost. And the pre-builts and kit-form consumer models aimed at the masses are mostly laughable- most can't deliver a smooth intricate part on many shapes let alone one that's tough and durable. They are decades behind the level of machines that the likes of Shapeways have. But i'm sure all will change with time and it'll reach the stage where we'll all have one in the workshop eventually. For now though, unless I'm prepared to spend a fortune asking companies like Shapeways to do it I can only dream of printing my own plastic parts or even better- printing negative moulds in steel, brass or aluminium!

Its certainly a very interesting subject and amazing in that it's a link between such cutting edge technology and old locks and keys!

btw apologies for any mistakes or bits that don't make sense as I've left the comfort (and hassles) of a Windows laptop and proper qwerty keyboard, and am now on an iPad doing everything with a pointer one key at a time

[mhmh]

What surprised me was the cost: Shapeways charges USD 5.00 per cm^3, plus USD 6.00 handling, for a steel part (and USD 9.50 for shipping to Germany or UK).

For a small part, that's not a fortune anymore, like it would have been some time ago.

[Huw Eastwood]

That's surprised me too mh- I thought it'd be much more expensive.

fdew- yes if they can print those metals to the same spec as a machined Part, then the World is definitely going to change over the next decade. All 3 are pigs to machine let alone work by hand. I've only turned a small amount of titanium, but made some Parts from Inconel 600 a few years ago- very tough alloys.

Stainless is a daily used material though, and because it's use is so common and widespread it's probably overlooked by many as to how difficult it is to work. It might not be an exotic super alloy but it's still tough stuff. Being able to generate these parts by the 3-D process will change everything- and probably put a lot of people out of work sadly, but then that's technology and progress I suppose