Electroplating 3D Prints: the Symphony of Plastic and Metal

We’ve shown you already quite a lot of means of postprocessing, some including sanding and polishing, others including filling, sanding, and painting, and even chemical postprocessing. This time, we’ll bathe the models in chemicals again but with a completely different approach. We will try to make 3D-printed parts look like solid metal pieces with a shiny gloss.
Before you try electroplating 3D prints, don't forget to read our article:
blog.prusa3d.com/how-hard-can...
Music:
Peter Spacey - Grumpy
Ian Post - Dance Club
prusa3d.com
printables.com

[@IAmGuiltless]

Medstudent here: Don't use nickel for jewelry you're gonna wear. A lot of people are allergic to it which is why it is heavily regulated/banned for jewelry or anything that comes into contact with your skins for a long time in the EU. Yes having another layer on top of it will work but once it wears through that you have the same issue

[@throwawayaccountm1325]

“Jessy, we need to electroplate”

[@UncleJessy]

I agree!

[@johns_craft8582]

​@@UncleJessyyoooo

[@josephkerstetter1162]

I've been working on this for several months, and I gotta say. As hard as it is, when it works.....it is beutiful.

[@bunni3140]

this was the same result i got a couple of years ago. i thought i was just bad at things lol, im happy to see it is just that hard i guess. i found that buildup of gasses influenced surface quality and oxidation, and uneven current across poorly conductive coatings led to vastly uneven plating. upon looking into professional electrochemical processes there are many ways to improve this but none were in my $0 budget at the time. baskets, pumping/stirring electrolyte, ultra sonic agitation, and other methods could be employed to reduce these effects. i may try this again with my new tools. fyi i was able to plate ABS by making an ABS-acetone-graphite paint and by vapor polishing and dusting with graphite too. seeing a magnet stick to a print was cool

[@clausbecker9350]

thanks for the warning at the end

[@stephenthomas2311]

Nicely done. Considering the parts that were plated are original and 3D printed, I'd say this is a complete success. You video is the best I've seen on this subject thus far. Thank you...

[@rheller_82]

That looks really hard lol. It also looks fun.

[@BitSmythe]

*Finally, a Prusa video WITH description instead of porn music!*

[@noviceartisan]

Wasn't really sure I was watching a Prusa video at first. Still made me hard tho ;)

[@timstockl427]

Even if this is a great tutorial, for everybody that wants to try this out, you might wanna check out the channel from HEN3DRIK - Electroplating 3D Prints.
He has some great tutorials in that regard and managed to succesfully electroplate large and complex parts like a lightsaber or the helmet from the Mandalorian

[@josephkerstetter1162]

Hendrik is how I got my start.

[@glp.1337]

I said the exact same thing. But my comment got deleted? The guy is a pro at electroplating. He also tells you the formula which he used to calculate the amount of current he's using. Which he claims is the most important part.

[@josephkerstetter1162]

He's right. Dialing in the Ampere's is the tricky part.@@glp.1337

[@tiestofalljays]

Hmmm ok hang on a second, lemme come back to this once I finally learn how to properly sand my prints lol.

[@noviceartisan]

Copper sulphate pentahydrate mixed with the sulphuric acid can and will eat and damage qutie a few types of resin, so beware and coat over them with a PU layer before the conductive paint layer.
I've been doing this for over a year now, with reisn prints mostly, so I've the experience to know the issue.

[@noviceartisan]

The size of those TWO anode is way way way too large for the print haha You'll dissolve more copper in the solution than the print will have deposited on it. This will cause the solution to become rapidly oversaturated and need diluting frequently, and topping up with acids..
second issue, it's amps not volts you need to set with a Constant Current supply, 0.1 amps per square inch of surface volume (can use software to see what that is)

[@mvadu]

The airbrush one was a new thing I haven't seen that in many electro plating videos I had seen

[@PhilippeLacoude]

This is very interesting!

[@PCPointerDE]

Great video.

[@brezovprut4431]

How to coat evenly complex parts (out of the reach areas) with conductive ink? (eg. lattice structures)

[@copper_knight]

Copper plating on 3d prints is really hard. I've been doing this for almost 2 years. There is lots of of variables and if you are not a chemist you will need to do a lot of research when you have problems. The hard part is to get that perfect shine. If you use commercial solutions it's not that hard but if you want to plate large things then you go with homemade solutions and that is when the headaches starts. I am still experimenting when I can, I am having difficulty getting consistent results. I try also to get the greatest plating adhesion wich is another hard thing to do on it's own. Good luck !

[@heathenxyt]

A couple of things...you can use graphite (not graphite lube) or nickel spray paint instead of copper spray paint. Just be sure to shake well before use. If you want your parts shiny right out of the bath then add brightener to your solution. Finally, fine steel wool and brass/steel brushes do a great job of bringing out the shine before a paste polish.

[@HeadCannonPrime]

I wonder if the resin surface needs any kind of etching or adhesive primer for that conductive paint to really stick to.

[@josephkerstetter1162]

Like most things with paint, it depends on the two surfaces. Since you need a very smooth surface I use a filler primer and smooth it as much as I can.

[@thomasdickson35]

I know this video is about the concept of electroplating, but I can't help thinking it would be easier to just make the ring out of metal. 😅

[@wehavefun3433]

No air bubblers? 🤔

[@supermomandj]

1:56 I’m noticing that on the gold
version of the ring, some detail seems to be lost on the lettering. Is there any preventing this or improving it post plating?

[@Prusa3D]

This was caused by several mistakes we made during the process, such as uneven metal deposition. It surely would be much better with the whole process done right. Jakub

[@powersprouter]

Better to cast from a resin print?

[@HeadCannonPrime]

You could cast in copper and electroplate from there.

[@joehimes9898]

What would happen if you used electrical conducting filament?

[@vergil-__]

i think that would work

[@valent_t]

Where did you buy copper paint and electrodes?

[@jakubkoci4626]

From Tifoo. You can find Everything in a blog article linked in the description. Jakub

[@stanpittner313]

✊Make elecroplating great again!
create easy working process and sell it like product ❤🎉🙏

[@civiltronics]

Gold leafing 3D prints also works great, I recently made a how-to video on the topic.

[@Enjeenier]

Hmmmmm…….interesting

[@onjofilms]

That ring looks terrible.