[rottndog]

I believe this is sintered metal...they form the parts out of powdered metal and then “cook” it. It’s also been around a few years, but I haven’t seen it get real big.

[lesser_satan]

That's correct. Sintering is used a lot for tungsten carbide tooling, but the powdered metal is compressed in a die before they sinter it. There are also some connecting rods made from powdered metal, so it can be made very strong, but I don't know how you'd compress it prior to sintering in a 3-D printer application.

[skepsel]

I believe Ruger pioneered the use of the sintering process in firearms manufacturing years ago (not that they were the first to sinter, just to use the process in firearms).