Metal Additive Manufacturing

3D Printing Metals

Laser powder bed fusion in aluminum, stainless steel, titanium and copper. We review your geometry first, then tell you whether printing or CNC machining gives the better part.

Get Instant Quote Talk to an Engineer

±0.005 mm post-machiningNo minimum order quantity15 years in metalISO 9001 / IATF 16949

15 yearsMetal manufacturing since 2011

3 plantsDongguan and Singapore

127High-precision CNC machines

99.99%Qualification rate

Where printed metal parts go wrong

Four Failures We See Every Week

Most metal printing problems are decided before the build starts, in the model and the orientation.

The part prints, then warps off the plate

Long thin sections and full-plate builds cool unevenly. The job scrapes off the recoater or bows 0.5 mm across a 100 mm face. You pay for powder and machine time and get nothing usable.

Support removal marks the critical face

Downfacing surfaces need support. Cut it away and the witness marks sit right on a sealing face or a bearing bore. Now the part needs finishing that was never in the plan or the budget.

Tolerance is looser than the drawing

As-built laser powder bed fusion lands around ±0.1 mm on a good day, and worse on tall thin walls. A bore that must hold ±0.005 mm will not come off the plate at that size. Engineers who expect as-built fits end up reworking every part.

The quote never comes back

A model goes out for pricing and sits for a week while someone asks what alloy, what orientation, what post-processing. Powder cost and machine time cannot be estimated without those answers, so nothing moves.

Our approach

Print the Geometry, Machine the Fit

Additive handles the internal channels. Subtractive handles the interfaces.

Design review

We Read the Model Before We Quote It

Every file gets a manufacturability pass before pricing. We check wall thickness, overhang angles, trapped powder volumes and the faces you actually need to hold tolerance on. If a part will not survive the build, we say so and suggest a change instead of printing a failed job.

That review takes hours, not days. Quotation and a free DFM analysis come back within 12 hours, and production can start within 24 hours once the drawing is agreed.

1
Orientation chosen for functionWe place critical faces up or vertical so support never touches them.
2
Powder removal planned earlyInternal channels get drain paths so no powder stays trapped inside.
3
Alloy matched to serviceCorrosion, temperature and weight decide the material, not habit.

CNC Lathe Technical Specifications Terminology

Hybrid workflow

Printed Near Net, Then Machined to Fit

A printed boss comes off the plate with a skin that is rough and slightly oversized. We leave 0.3–0.5 mm on any face that has to mate, then take it down on a 5-axis center. Bores, bearing seats, o-ring grooves and threaded ports end up at ±0.005 mm with a finish between Ra 0.8 and 1.6 μm.

This is how printed metal parts become usable hardware rather than display models. The same shop that prints the part also machines it, so there is no shipping a half-finished component between suppliers and no argument about who owns the tolerance.

1
One setup for critical featuresMating faces are machined in a single setup where geometry allows.
2
No minimum order quantityOne prototype and a 10,000-part run use the same process route.
3
Inspection before shipmentEvery part is checked. Reports are available on request.

Get Instant Quote

Material selection

Which Metal for Which Job

Start from the service condition, not the alloy name.

Alloy	Typical use	Watch out for
Aluminum (AlSi10Mg, 6061)	Housings, brackets, heat sinks, drone frames	Low hardness; wear faces need inserts
Stainless 316L / 17-4PH	Manifolds, pump parts, food and medical hardware	316L is soft; 17-4PH needs a heat treat step
Titanium Ti-6Al-4V (TC4)	Aerospace brackets, implants, lightweight arms	Cost per part; poor thermal conductivity in machining
Copper C110 / CuCrZr	Heat exchangers, induction coils, busbars	High reflectivity makes laser melting slow
Brass C36000	Electrical contacts, fittings, instrument parts	Not a standard powder alloy; often better cast or machined

What we run

Services Around Metal Parts

Additive is one route. The rest of the shop covers what it cannot do.

Custom 3D Printing

Laser powder bed fusion in aluminum, stainless, titanium and copper alloys, with support removal and stress relief included in the route.

5 Axis CNC Machining

Sixteen simultaneous 5-axis centers machine printed near-net shapes and solid billet alike, up to 4,000 mm.

CNC Milling & Turning

Milling and mill-turn centers produce round parts, threads and bores that printing cannot hold on its own.

Rapid Prototyping

One-off housings and brackets in days, so a design can be tested before tooling money is spent.

Metal Die Casting

When the printed prototype proves out and annual volume climbs, casting takes over the housing.

Part Surface Finishing

Anodizing, plating, black oxide, bead blasting and laser marking finish the printed and machined surfaces.

Scope

Capability and Tolerance at a Glance

Item	Range
Build alloys	Aluminum, stainless 316L / 17-4PH, titanium TC4, copper
As-built tolerance	Around ±0.1 mm, geometry dependent
Post-machined tolerance	±0.005 mm (±0.0002 in)
Surface finish after machining	Ra 0.8–1.6 μm high, Ra 0.2–0.8 μm fine
Maximum machining size	4,000 mm
Order quantity	One prototype to 10,000+ parts

Why GreatLight

Metal Parts Under One Roof

15Y

Metal manufacturing since 2011

Fifteen years of cutting and forming metal, with additive added to the same quality system.

±0.005

Machined tolerance in millimeters

Printed near-net shapes get machined to ±0.005 mm on the faces that carry the fit.

127

High-precision CNC machines

Sixteen simultaneous 5-axis centers, twelve four-axis mills, sixteen mill-turn centers.

99.99%

Qualification rate

Every part is inspected before shipment, with reports available on request.

12 h

Quote and DFM turnaround

A manufacturability review and price come back within 12 hours.

Minimum order quantity

No minimum. A single prototype and a 10,000-part run use the same route.

7,600 m²Manufacturing space

3Wholly-owned plants

150Technicians

4ISO certifications held

Industry fit

Where Printed Metal Earns Its Cost

CNC Machining Services Online — Aerospace brackets
Lightweight geometry with internal ribs that would need many setups to machine from solid.
Titanium TC4
±0.005 mm interfaces

6011 — Heat exchange hardware
Copper and aluminum bodies with channels that cannot be reached by a cutter.
Copper C110
Ra 0.8–1.6 μm

Forge ahead with determination and create the future together. — Automotive and EV fixtures
Stainless manifolds and brackets for test rigs, printed then machined at the ports.
316L / 17-4PH
3–5 day shipping

FAQs

Questions Engineers Ask About 3D Printing Metals

What tolerance can printed metal parts actually hold?

As-built laser powder bed fusion lands around ±0.1 mm on simple geometry, and it drifts on tall thin walls or long unsupported spans. That is fine for covers and brackets. It is not fine for a bearing bore or a sealing face.

When a feature carries a fit, we leave stock on it and machine it afterward. Those faces come out at ±0.005 mm with a finish between Ra 0.8 and 1.6 μm.

When should I print a metal part instead of machining it?

Print when the geometry has internal channels, lattice structure or organic ribs that a cutter cannot reach. Printing also wins when the part would need five or more setups from solid, because each setup adds fixturing cost and stack-up error.

Machine when the part is mostly prismatic, when the lot size is high, or when you need a specific wrought alloy that is not sold as powder. A printed part that is then fully machined is usually the most expensive way to make a simple block.

Which alloys do you run, and which are a poor fit?

We run aluminum, stainless 316L and 17-4PH, titanium TC4 and copper grades. Aluminum covers housings and heat sinks. Stainless covers manifolds and pump hardware. Titanium is for weight-critical brackets. Copper is for thermal work.

Brass is a poor fit for laser melting. It is better cast or machined, and C36000 machines fast on a lathe. If your drawing calls for a brass fitting, we will say so rather than force it into a printer.

How does support removal affect the final part?

Overhanging faces need support, and removing it leaves witness marks. If that face is cosmetic or sealing, the marks matter.

We orient the part so critical faces point up or sit vertical, which keeps support off them. Where a downfacing sealing face is unavoidable, we leave stock and machine it after the build.

What post-processing can follow a printed part?

Anodizing in clear, color, hardcoat or conductive versions. Electroless nickel, zinc, silver and gold plating. Powder coating and black oxide. Bead blasting, tumbling, brushing and polishing.

Laser marking and engraving are available with a minimum character height of 1.5 mm. Finishing choices depend on the alloy, so we confirm the sequence before the parts reach the line.

Can I mix printed and machined parts in one order?

Yes. The same shop prints the near-net shape and machines the critical features, so both operations sit under one inspection record. That avoids the usual argument when a printed blank arrives at a machinist and does not clean up.

Mixed orders are common on prototypes, where a housing is printed and its shaft is turned from bar stock.

How do you keep my design confidential?

Uploads are secure and confidential. We can work under an NDA on request, and the agreement is available before any file is shared.

We hold ISO 27001:2022 for information security, alongside ISO 9001:2015, IATF 16949:2016 and ISO 13485:2016.

What lead time should I plan for?

Quotation and a free DFM analysis come back within 12 hours. Production can start within 24 hours after the drawing is agreed. Parts ship in 3–5 days.

That covers standard alloys and routing. Heat treat steps and special powder orders add time, and we flag that in the quote rather than after the fact.