Metal pastes for additive manufacturing

A method of creating a three-dimensional maraging steel structure by additive manufacturing comprising:

• providing a non-Newtonian, shear-thinning metal paste having a first majority-phase structural metal, the first majority-phase structural metal comprising maraging steel in an amount from approximately 75 wt. % to approximately 90 wt. %, the first majority-phase structural metal being in the form of particles having a particle size of approximately 1 micron to approximately 100 microns;
• a second binder-phase metal, the second binder-phase metal comprising silver, copper, silver alloys, or copper alloys, the second binder-phase metal binding together the first majority-phase structural metal particles and comprising approximately 3 wt. % to approximately 10 wt. % of second binder-phase metal particles having a particle size of approximately 3 nanometers to approximately 100 nanometers;
• an organic binder having a weight percentage of approximately 2 wt. % to approximately 15 wt. % wherein the metal paste has a sintering temperature of less than approximately 300° C.;
• ejecting the metal paste from a nozzle;
• depositing the metal paste in sequential layers on a deposition stage to create a three-dimensional structure;
• sintering the deposited sequential layers of metal paste at a temperature of less than approximately 300° C. to create a solidified three-dimensional structure of the first majority phase structural metal component bound by the second binder-phase metal component.