How to Metal Plate 3D Prints | FULL TUTORIAL
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 มิ.ย. 2024
- This is a step-by-step tutorial of #metal #plating #electroplating #electroforming 3D Prints. I explain the basics of electroplating as well as painting a with conductive paint using an airbrush. PLA Print Amulet from "The Witcher". This is about #DIY metalplating #3dprints.
* Bright Copper Electrolyte: amzn.to/3YUX7Cy *
* Copper Conductive Varnish: amzn.to/3IhsfVU *
* Galvano Degreaser: amzn.to/3XGa4Pv *
* Palladium Electrolyte: amzn.to/3YKEfpY *
(*) These links are affiliate links. From time to time, I recommend products I know well and use, and, as a result, I may receive a commision if you purchase them using the affiliate link. Puchasig from affiliate links is at no extra cost to you.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:32 Creating the 3D Print
01:05 Super Smoothing 3D Print
01:46 Apply Polyurethane to the Print
03:25 Best Conductive Paint to airbrush
05:05 Electrolyte Considerations
05:44 Basics of Bath Electroplating
06:40 Filtering Electrolyte
07:35 Bath Plating Process
08:40 After Copper: Palladium + Nickel Plating
09:45 Conclusion
Thing by variablepenguin: www.thingiverse.com/thing:403...
For the galvanic bath:
* a container
* acidic copper electrolyte
* optional nickel electrolyte
* one or two copper anodes
* banana plug & alligator clips
For the galvanic pen plating:
* Palladium Electrolyte
* Graphite Anode
You may need:
* Degreaser
* Distilled water
Have fun. Try it. 🧡
Have a look to my other Videos
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DIY Electroplating 3D Prints ... (the shiny way) 🧪
• How to Electroplate 3D... - บันเทิง
My wife makes very delicate fine electroplated jewelry from live plants and one day I was like "wouldn't it be cool if you could electroplate my resin prints?" She just looked at me like I was dumb and said "You can..." I now have electroplated skulls everywhere.
This made me giggle.
link?
Bad to the bone.
Leave us a link
we wanna see your wife's jewelryyy
Wow! That's a lot of equipment. I think I'll stick with rustoleum chrome spray paint! Thanks for showing this, it's very informative!
Same, the investment and also the time it takes to produce a single print is not worth it, I’ll stick with Alclad, Green Stuff World Chrome paints.
Totally fine! Alclad also does good effects, I use it a lot!
@@hen3drik how does plating effect the structural integrity vs a basic chrome spray paint?
Think of it as if someone had put a 0.2 mm metal layer on your whole skin. I makes every structure very very stiff and strong.
@@hen3drik I understand the concept, but do you have any numbers? I'm wondering how it works for linear rails
I'm a chemist. I'm incredibly impressed with your work. The chemistry is sound, and I really love that you inform your viewers to wear proper protective equipment.
This is one of the coolest things I've seen done to one of my models.
Another small youtuber who does amazing work. With amazing production quality. Appreciate it!
I have been looking for an instructional like this for ages. Thank you sir! One day I may be able to put it to practice.
Electroless metal plating, using chemical reactions on the surface to plate metal, could be a thing with 3d printing.
Infuse the printing material with nickle or chromium ions; immersing such a part in the plating bath covers the exposed areas with metal in little time with no heating.
For reference, 'plated through holes' in PCB manufacture use this process to build up substantial metal without plating current.
By selectively plating metal only where needed, direct manufacture of PCB's from 3d printers is possible.
Imagine a printing resin sensitive to multiple wavelengths of light: UV will harden the resin, but only certain colors can activate the metal-plating ions.
I haven't started electroless metal plating, yet. AFAIK it's very difficult, and I already tested with metal filaments (electro plating) but the amount of metal in there is too low. I then tried graphite conductive filament, which kind of works, but takes ages to plate. Maybe this is a topic for future videos, thanks.
Great video! I can’t wait to try this! 😀
Thanks for sharing this information. As a special effects prop builder. I’ve always wanted to do my own electroplating now I have somebody to teach me, so thank you.
Great video, I have to try this with some of my projects in the future. Thanks for sharing
Thank you for sharing this with us.
Wow nice job, the final product was amazing.
Very interesting, but seems very involved. I would have just spray painted it, but if I ever have to get such a high quality result, I'll consider this approach. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for such a great tutorial!!
The final result is amazing! But very pricey :( For similar effect I use nail chrome powder and UV top coat for nails
Yeah while electroplating is admittedly cool as shit and is probably preferable for really big models or models with lots of tiny detail, I bet for the average person nail powders would be *much* easier, cheaper, and all around *safer*. Like why spend a good few hundred dollars on stuff online and from the hardware store that only comes in bulk when you could just, go to your local nail salon and grab some nail powders for like 10 bucks? It obviously works best with nail polish but with a bit of experimenting you can totally get a similar effect using primers and UV resin. I mean nail polish is basically just skin-safe resin after all.
Also nail powders have way more options than just standard metallic colours. You can have Holographic prints! Duochrome! Obscene amounts of glitter!
This looks so awesome... Might give it a try on day! 🤔
Really cool technique, i love the care that you take with each step
He sounds to be German! That explains it.
Not much choice, electroplating is demanding as there are several steps and each has to be correctly executed.
There's nothing quite as frustrating as admiring your piece only to have your plated surface peel off because you missed a spot in step one..
Absolutely. For me it was a journey. I had to fail so often to realize the importance of working correct in each step. That’s the game I guess.
Brilliant!!
Moin, schön zu sehen, dass man nicht alleine so bekloppt ist. 😂😂
Ich habe vor ca. 4 Jahren eigentlich das gleiche gemacht, nur das ich SLA gedruckte Sachen genommen habe.
Meine Schritte waren mit Silberlack (Kupferlack) und Grafit, und dann in ein Kupferelektrolyt Tauchbad und mit anschließendem vergolden mit Tamponsystem ;-)
So habe ich übrigens auch organische Sachen versilbert/vergoldet, z.B. ein Eichblatt und eine Rose (vorher natürlich getrocknet).
Das ist das beste Video, das ich zu dem Thema bisher gesehen habe
The potential here with resin printers is astounding
Eben noch eine Runde Gwint gespielt und jetzt dein Video - passt 😀
Amazing
wow what a great video
So cool 😎 👍💪
Great video
Pretty cool for car emblems
I’ve been watching all your videos. I’m definitely going to be trying this myself! Can you list all the tools you used in the description? Or maybe make an even longer tutorial, that goes into more depth on parts that have different options for the process and so on. A painfully detailed video would be fantastic for everyone, I think. I hope you’ll do it, I love your work! Cheers!
love this 🤠
Good content 👌!
Thanks a lot for the link in amazon
Amazing work :D
Thanks man! Hey, I saw your neuralyzer video before making my tutorial for that, good work! 👍🏻
@@hen3drik That's awesome. I have to say yours look way better than ours :D
Thanks
Thank you so much! 😊
Can you please provide links to all the materials/equipment used to do this entire process? You've been a huge inspiration to me & i really want to get started on doing my own stuff!
All these idiots saying "[just use/ill just stick with] chrome spray paint" or whatever else they're saying dont understand all the benefits that come with this process. If all you're trying to achieve is a certain look/finish on an object, then yes, chrome spray paint would be all you need or whatever... but doing this actually makes the 3D printed objects much, much stronger & tougher, more rigid... it just reinforces the print, which is exactly what I want/need for my future/soon-to-be done 3D projects & I'm excited to see the finished results & also test the strength of the prints compared to prints that aren't electroplated. I'm excited to share the results on TH-cam as well, as it may change the game in what I'm trying to do & hopefully inspire others to do the same!
I will be giving credit to you on my channel as you gave me the idea & have been my inspiration for this! Even if i cant get it done right, i foresee it inspiring other, more skillful individuals to do the process & get it done right & then hopefully they can share how with others if I can't. Im a complete noob lol but I am very good when it comes to things that are done by hand. I can learn & master anything that can be done by hand so im also excited to become a master at this lol
Great vid, I would add that plating delicately and slowly requires careful control of the current, more so than the voltage. The plating current density is what matters, the voltage is usually left to float. ASF and ASD are the common terms to quantify plating current density.
You are Absolutely right. I corrected this in my newer videos.
I made the original wolf for the witcher I worked on season 1 budapest. I made 4 for the show and still have one.
That's a great video, could use some help with the supplies though. I understand most of that stuff is made by tifoo, is the galvanize power supply thing the same for the copper and paladium steps ?
I see they have several starter kits, but they don't seem to bundle together the pen thing and the regular bath electrolyte process thing together, so I am a bit unsure of what to purchase.
Geiles Tutorial danke man^^ bin gerade dabei mir eine Rüstung zu drucken und habe lange überlegt wie ich das ganze lackiere aber auf sowas währe ich nie gekommen aber werde es mal ausprobieren^^ achja grüße aus der donau gegend und danke für dein tutorial
warum nicht mit Graphitpulver behandeln? sieht sehr geil aus
😁Moin ! Ich habe das gleich am Dialekt erkannt... Grüße und Abo aus dem alten Land
+1 for the " OOH! "
Thanks for the video. But that was so complicated I'll never do it. Still, good to know.
Nice another one of those things I want to do and will have to invest hundreds just to get started haha
yep, when i started this i felt the same. but if you only want to copper plate, a controllable power supply, some copper and electrolyte is enough to start with.
Think this is spendy? Become a mechanic. It'll be fun they say. You'll save money they say. 50 years and 100 grand or so later.... sure! :)
It would be easier to cast it with silver! Wow I had no idea electro plating was so convoluted. Thank you for making and sharing, very informative 👏
that's the future of costume jewelry right there.
can you giver me an idea of how much equipment I need do you do this inside or out in a garage just trying to find basically everything doesnt matter the price better to keep it low on price but anything you can think of for someone that knows how to 3d print but need to learn how to finish prints I never quiet learned out to finish the 3d prints like you can
Subscribed! This video is gold. Or at least it can be 😂. Can you also do silver/gold plating in the future?
Yes, gold plating is the best, I already did some. I will do a silver plating video in the future!
Is there link to get the palladium brush and power supply? I would love to do this someday lol
Which grit do you use for the emery fleece at 01:07?
Hi - great video! I noticed that the copper paint goes on really smooth with no finishing required before palladium brush plating the item. There was a lot more work required for the neuralyser - did you use a different copper paint?
Thanks, yes, I improved some things. I now use highly diluted copper paint and airbrush it very thin, then I used a very clean copper electrolyte bath. But, to have these mirror-like effects, you either have to electroform on a very even surface or sand/polishing it later on. Movement of the part is important, as well.
This was a great video very informative. I was thinking about doing this but I think all that equipment from scratch would be over $2,000? I feel like there’s gotta be an easier way to achieve the same results but watching lots of videos I see there isn’t. Sadly I’m just going to stay with what I’m doing. This was very informative and saved me a ton. Thank you
25$ 1l acidic copper electrolyte, copper sheets 5$, regulated power supply 65$, palladium + gold electrolyte 50$, graphite conductive paint 5$. Start small. Also watch my newer videos, especially these with graphite paint.
For some reason Tiffoo Conductive Copper Paints are not available in Australia, I have just got my self a eletroplating kit together to plate some 3D printed items, using water-based graphite carbon conductive paint for Electroforming.
Great video HEN3DRIK!
I was wondering what the effect of the impurities caused by anode consumption is on the plating?
It's severe, that's why i keep them in anode bags :-) But there are several factors that influence the result.
Bro's representing House Stark
Actualy a great idea! i think i will give it a try in the future. I print some props for my collection but THIS is the little extra mile :) How dureable is the Metal coating on a medalion? Thanks for your passion and the great videos!
It‘s durable as metal is durable. Palladium is extra hard, sitting on a 0.2mm copper layer. So it‘s very stiff, scratch resistant and feather light 😉
If I want to plate a print in nickel, do I need to plate it in copper first? or will the nickel bind to the conductive paint?
Great video! Is it possible to coat nickel on to the copper paint or do you have to do a copper coat first?
This is possible, but I wouldn’t do that. Create a thick copper layer first: super polishable and cheap. You need do add around 25mikrometers. Then a thin top nickel layer.
i can't get conductive paint in my country (south america), would conductive ink markers would be a viable option?
but where to buy all the chemicals and metals? :D i could not find liquid palladium anywhere
Great video! Always wanted to know how to plate plastic. One question, is it possible to gold plate using this method?
Yes, different metals require different base. You can plate gold on copper but want to put a barrier layer between (nickel, palladium). You also want to use a galvanic brush but the bath ($$$) 😄
nice interesting video. for a larger surface what are the calculations to be made
When you go higher surface area, ampere goes up a lot. There are some calculators, but you have to be careful with these: www.tifoo.de/berechnungstool/bedarfsrechner.html
Love this! Are there companies that will electroplate products like this on demand?
Chroming plastic is a thing in automotive... it's also super expensive.
I would include more example trinkets in the cover pic :)
Next tutorial I’ll do :-)
Hallo Hen3drik, Danke für die tollen Videos! Woher hast du das non-woven PP Filtergewebe? Ich kann leider nichts vergleichbares finden (außer bei aliexpress). Schöne Grüße aus Österreich!
Ich hatte auch das Problem. Habe mehrere durchprobiert und bin mit diesem hier zufrieden: Tomodachi Filterbeutel aus... www.amazon.de/dp/B0089MYF20?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Je feiner, umso besser.
Would you have links to the product you are using to do the electro plating? As in the where to get the sprays from, plating kit, liquids, plates used in the process to help plating? As id love to try this for myself
I buy many of my stuff from tifoo.
Moin! Danke ersteinmal für die Mühe!
Hast Du nen quicklink für mich bezgl des Polypropylen stoffs?
Ich suche wohl mit den falschen Begriffen! Besten Dank und Gruss aus HH!
Tomodachi Filterbeutel www.amazon.de/dp/B0089MYF20?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share … but I’ll try alternatives next time.
Once the peice is finished, do you think it could support the weather environment? I ask because I would like to print the numbers of my house and add led light to them, and place them in the wall out side of my house, but, not sure if will support the outside conditions, and also, how much al these materials cost? maybe I should just purchase the numbers in some store, but I would like to make other shine stuff too, I just wonder if this could be more cheaper. Thank you
Good question, I would buy the numbers. You can print with a tough filament, then do a thick copper layer and a nickel finish. This should work, but it‘s not as easy as buying. Nevertheless if you planning to electroform prints a small batch of acidic copper electrolyte serves good to play around with an learn how to handle that stuff.
How much stronger does it make the 3d prints?
moin, super Video, aber eine Frage hätte ich... Kann man auch eine dickere Schicht damit aufbauen, sagen wir so etwa 1mm?
Das kommt auf den Elektrolyten an. 1mm ist schon sehr dick, 0.5mm habe ich schon mit Kupferelektrolyt gemacht, das funktioniert gut.
wow lemme run and grab my galvanized electroplating brush and Palladium electrolyte from my dressing table drawer
Thank you for your video. I have a question about your airbrush. What nozzle size do you use? And how do you get the airbrush really clean afterwards?
I use a dedicated 15€ 0.5mm nozzle airbrush from Amazon for these. I clean it with acetone afterwards.
@@hen3drik Danke dir!
Fantastic video. Though you can't find literally any materials from your video in Japan, with exception of power supply and 3d printer 😂
I‘ll do some research!
@@hen3drik Don't worry. I think I might get around with battery solution, or vinegar+salt or bicarbonate.
Hardest to find is palladium plating and graphite pen...
@@hen3drik I think I might be better off using your services for 3D printing and plating for now. If you have any pricing, it would be interesting to have a look!
What are you using for your anode handle? I found some vaguely $100. Also, any recommendations for power supplies in terms of voltage/amperage range.
I use a commercial one from tifoo. These things are pretty basic. You should look for the right one that fits the diameter of the anodes. There are at least two different types. Power supply: I use a simple 30V/5A laboratory power supply. I never exceeded 4amps.
Where did you get your galvanic Pen? I'm looking for the one you're using but unable to find it. Yours seems a lot more heavy duty then the ones I seen on amazon..
Replying so I'll see if he answers you. I've also looked extensively and cannot find one.
He gets all his supplies from Tifoo. They seem like they are based out of Germany, or somewhere nearby, and they sadly do not ship too much internationally. I have to figure out a lot of U.S. alternatives to the stuff he mentions. In one of his later videos, he just hooked the power supply straight to the graphite anode with a bunch of copper wire and an alligator clip, so I believe the galvanic pen is just a quick and easy way to connect power to whatever anode you are using. In the end, it looks like a metal tube with some kind of tightening bit at the end to bite the anode and make the electrical connection
Altar'ın madalyonu. Sen Altar'n oğlu Tarkan'sın. ⚔
would it be possible somehow to burn out or solve out the 3d print material later to be left with a very thin metal wall.
Yes, I‘ll do a video on that topic
Is the color appearance like this on all the videos?
wow, that copper paint seems like something i never realized how much I need :)
How durable the plating on plastic is? can you scratch it off with a finger nail? would casually brushing against aluminium rub it off? steel? And last is the paladium plating separable from copper, i.e. does rubbing first uncovers copper or does it come altogether? I'm seriously considering stepping up my prop game up from those pain(t)s to something more real like this. Thanks! Great vid
Moin, thank you for the kind words. You can not scratch it off, it's a thick metal layer, that won't go off if it's bonding to the print well. Speaking of that, ich had some platings with graphite that were flaking off the print fairly easy. That's why I nearly always use copper paint. For your second questions: The nickel layer is thin and won't "mix" with the copper. So you can sand it off and expose the copper. If you plate gold on copper it will blend after some time, creating rose gold. My platings usually have a 200micron copper layer and a 5micron nickel/palladium layer. cheers
@@hen3drik Thanks! this is more than I wished for. I'm eager to start, there will be so many effects to try out except that it will be all natural :) I just need to play around to develop some intuition around it and see which metals lend themselves well to this process (Im sure a good deal of it will revolve around nickel). I wonder just how to achieve a "dark metal" plating effect (Graphite was my first guess but you saved me some time - thanks)
I'm currently in the middle of making a polycarbonate metal armor. I'd try plating but I already lacquered a good deal of it and I'm about to lay Alclad's Black Chrome in a moment so maybe next month :)
Anyway thanks for being such a Godsent, take care!
How do you put paint on the part where it is holed by the alligator clip?
I try to hold it with the clamps on a less visible spot. After that I apply that thinned paint carefully with a small brush on that point. It‘s tricky, since you will never apply it as even as with an airbrush.
Time to go shopping
Can you use a different metal anode for the galvanic brush?
Every electrolyte requires a specific anode, so this counts for the brush as well. I use copper for copper, nickel for nickel, graphite for palladium + gold. You can use stainless steel for some cases, too.
is it not smooth bca you are not using resin printer or the process of layering is just cant be smooth even i print smoothly on resin printer?
Amazing, but i like when you say : you should stay dust free, and you use steel whool on the wire above your part ;p at around 3 min 5 ;p
🙈
I'm having a very difficult time getting the Tifo Copper paint in the states 😕
I see. Try to search for acetone based „conductive copper paint“. This paint can be easily diluted with acetone and the sprayed. Or you go for graphite spray: this needs to be polished when dry and can be plated slowly afterwards.
Can you laser engrave on these after this process? Or should those details be in the print prior to, similar to the Lord of The Rings piece you did.
Good question. I have no experience with laser engraving at all. It‘s a 250um thick layer of pure copper so I think it should *work*. But honestly: no idea. 😉
what if you used abs and smoothed with acetone? that could save you a bunch of sanding? or is ABS incompatible with this process?
ABS is okay, but it‘s also about making it even, not only smooth. I figured out that a resin print provides the best start for plating because it already is that smooth and even.
Where did you buy the galvanic brush btw?
I bought mine from tifoo. You can search for galvanic pen, too. It‘s basically an anode holder.
@@hen3drik Pretty good video btw. Thanks a lot for putting it together.
Would you still need a conductive pain layer if you used a conductive printing filament?
Yes. I tried plating on conductive filament and it‘s working but I don’t recommend this. Copper is depositing very uneven and very slowly, if at all.
What can I use to insulate parts that I don't want to be plated during electroplating process on metal?
I use tape to cover the parts before applying the conductive paint.
@@hen3drik Thank you very much
Does electroplating 3D prints add a bit of weight?
Just a safety note:
All palladium compounds should be regarded as highly toxic and as carcinogenic. It has been shown to cause bone marrow, liver and kidney damage in laboratory animals.
How about a fiberglass surface, can we do this on a fiber glass surface? I need the surface to reflect the light spectrum, and be conductive to electricity. Do you have an email to contact you for consultation?
6:30 - Was the brand new Tifoo copper electrolyte dirty?
Oh no no, I used to pour my used electrolyte back in the container without cleaning back than.
@@hen3drik ok, that's good to know. Tifoo just massively increased Cu electrolyte price so in the end (after a few weeks of researching all the stuff I need to get started electroplating) I decided to order from Betzmann instead. I hope their stuff works as well as Tifoo. I have no experience and find zero info online comparing the results using one or the other so it's basically a toss of the dice for me in choosing a supplier although as far as I can tell the product descriptions are about the same. Any reason in particular you went with Tifoo?
@@perspectivex hi, when i started investigating in electrolytes and stuff I ended up for betzmann and tifoo. It was just coincidence that i chose the tifoo products; I think their lineup and documentation was what convinced me, but i this that betzmann does good stuff as well. The cu electrolyte is very long lasting btw. It regenerated by the anodes and needs very few maintanance, like adding brightener every once in a while. Electroforming/plating is always a little bit hit or miss for me. I still make fails and cannot find the cause. So, don't give up to fast, it's a bit of a learning curve and you have to get a feeling when things are working (or not).
How well do these things hold up outside in a hot sun?
The metal isn’t affected but the underlying material is. This has to withstand these temperatures. Also, the different temp coefficients can cause flaking off or partial separation of the metal shell.
What airbrush did u use? What nozzlesize do you use?
15€ Ebay airbrush with 0.5mm needle. Make sure to use a dedicated airbrush, that you‘ll use only for spraying this stuff ;-)
This isn't very cost effective for just a shiny surface. But it sure worth it for an industrial application in which the surface is under severe corrosive and wear conditions.
Could I use graphite-based paint?
in my city I can't get copper-based paint
Yes, I works too. When it‘s dry rub/polish it to make it more conductive.
@@hen3drik thanks.
Love the videos but could you put a list of supplies on Amazon ? You could make extra $ as well. Thank you
Does plating a 3D printed item, make it more durable? Also, thank you so much for these videos, they are super interesting and informative.
It does. Once you pair the copper with i.e. nickel it’s super durable
Thank you.@@hen3drik
So does this make it feel like metal or just look like it? I'm kinda new to this stuff.
It does feel like metal. Cold and polished. Hard to explain, yet very light.
@@hen3drik WOAH! DUDE THAT IS SICK. Thanks for introducing me to this stuff!
@@hen3drik Oh also can some of them conduct electricity? (I know you kind of showed something like that in the video.)
Can you thin with water the copper varnish?
Acetone works for my conductive paints.
@@hen3drik witch works best copper or a graphite conductive paint?my part doest seem to pull in the copper I have only used graphite powder tho and not sure about my 20gauge copper wire