Vacuum compatibility of silver and titanium parts made using three-dimensional printing

Three-dimensional (3D) printing has many advantages over conventional machining techniques, and it is particularly well suited for rapid production of prototypes. This Shop Note reports pump-down curves for a small ultrahigh-vacuum chamber loaded with 3D-printed silver and titanium parts. Neither material showed any measurable adverse affect on the ultimate base pressure achieved, which was approximately 5 × 10−10 Torr. 3D-printed metals can therefore be considered suitable for select ultrahigh-vacuum applications.