A Dutch Engineer Built a Real Metal 3D Printer for Under $10,000

Metal 3D printing has always carried a sticker shock problem. Even entry-level laser powder bed fusion machines start well into six figures. That puts solid metal parts out of reach for most makers, small engineering firms, and prototype shops.

Tom Bakker, a Dutch engineer with a background in LPBF, custom machine building, and semiconductor equipment, thinks that is wrong. His company, Metal Base, has spent the last two years developing the Metal 1.0, a functional LPBF system priced under EUR 10,000. The machine just earned a fresh spotlight in the latest 3DPOD podcast episode, where Bakker walked through what it actually takes to pull that price point down without turning the printer into a toy.

What Bakker actually cut

The biggest cost drivers in metal LPBF are the laser system, the recoater, and the inert-gas chamber. Bakker did not invent new physics. He rebuilt each subsystem around off-the-shelf components and simplified the motion control enough to skip the expensive galvo scanners. The result is a slower, noisier machine than an EOS or SLM Solutions system, but it prints real 17-4PH and 316L parts.

That matters. A machine that prints real metal, even slowly, beats a machine that only prints plastic with metal-colored filament. The Metal 1.0 uses a 100-watt fiber laser, a build envelope small enough to keep the gas volume low, and a modular design that lets users service their own components.

Why the price tag is real

Bakker ran a Kickstarter campaign earlier this year that doubled its funding goal. That is not a flash-in-the-pan reaction. The backers were mostly small fabrication shops and university labs that had been waiting for a metal printer that did not require a capital-equipment budget approval process.

The sub-10k price is achievable because Bakker stripped away the features most low-volume users do not need: multi-laser redundancy, automated powder recirculation, and the proprietary software licenses that pad OEM margins. Users get a raw machine they can learn on, iterate with, and eventually upgrade as their workflow demands.

The catch

There are catches, of course. Build speed is modest. The 100 x 100 x 100 mm build volume is tiny compared to industrial systems. Safety interlocks and gas handling still require the operator to understand what they are doing. This is not a plug-and-play desktop appliance.

But for the price, it is the most accessible real metal printer on the market. If Bakker delivers on shipping timelines, the Metal 1.0 could become the standard gateway into low-volume metal additive manufacturing.

What comes next

The podcast interview suggests Bakker is already fielding interest from universities and small job shops across Europe. If demand holds, Metal Base could expand the line to larger build volumes or faster configurations. For now, the proof will be in the delivered units and the parts that come off the bed.

Metal 3D printing does not have to be a factory-only technology. Bakker is building the machine that proves it.