MicroFine Metal is the newest technology of our high-quality, precision rapid prototyping services. Exclusively from FineLine, full-strength metal parts can now be produced with the same ease and speed as plastic parts. These production-quality prototypes can be built in stainless steel and aluminum. More specifically, the following materials are available as part of our MicroFine Metal service offering:

MicroFine Metal Direct:
Stainless Steel 17-4PH
Stainless Steel 316L

MicroFine Metal Casting:
Aluminum 6061-T6 (A356.2-T6)
Aluminum 2024-T7 (B206.2-T7)

MicroFine Metal parts are built in micro-resolution (.001” layers), making extremely fine details possible.

The MicroFine Metal Direct process has a working build envelope of 3.5” by 3.5” by 3”. The process is capable of resolving features down to .005”. Tolerances of +/-.002” or better can be expected on features under 1”. Surface finish of the parts as built is approximately 130 microinches RMS.

The current limitations of the Microfine Metal Casting process are a maximum part dimension of 3”, maximum part volume of 1.5 cu. in., and minimum feature size of .010”. Tolerances of +/- .003” can be expected for features less than 1 in. and +/- .005” for features greater than 1 in. Surface finish of the parts as cast is very fine at approximately 32 RMS – similar to die-cast parts.

We offer finishing options to improve on surfaces if needed. In addition to our standard finishes, optional finishing procedures such as anodizing, electropolish, hand polish, and powder coating/painting are available to meet your every need. If tighter tolerances are required, we offer secondary machining operations such as drilling, slotting, milling and reaming. Discuss your needs with our quoting staff and we will help you select the best finishing method for your part.

A typical turnaround time is 2-4 business days for parts built using MicroFine Metal Direct and 5-6 business days for parts built using MicroFine Metal Casting.