“There are machines that can print stainless, Inconel and Ti alloys with excellent material properties.”
Wouldn’t the metal grain alignment of a hammer forged barrel still be superior to a printed one?
I guess they could make some printed 4140 or 4150 barrels and do some c.u.p. testing on them.
I’m not a metallurgist (my area is automation), but I would imagine there would be differences in the grain structure and properties. I don’t know if those differences would preclude there use in high pressure applications like barrels, or if those differences could be mitigated by some type of post processing. Still - it is possible to print fully dense metal parts, and that’s a start.