Quick note on copper anodes : you're supposed to use phosphore doped copper to ensure proper anodic dissolution. Your commercial solution most likely include trace amounts of chloride which are used, in conjunction with proper CuP anodes to produce a black film on the copper surface. This black film is CuO, which allows Cu2+ to form and replenish the metallic ions. If you do not use CuP anodes, you run the risk of forming Cu2O, which will not work as well to put it simply. The black film is not to be brushed off.
@@asianmarshemellow My andoes never leave the copper bath ; however, for smaller containers, taking in and out anodes should not pose any problems, and the black film should not be rinsed or brushed away. Having anodes in a small bag like he shows is good practise. The thing is this film takes some time to form. We're talking a few minutes to an hour, but during this time, there's a phenomenom called "polarisation" that's happening, and it's causing the pH and the composition of the electrolyte to go off balance. The generator will also struggle to keep a constant current as the voltage will need to fluctuate a lot to "fight" it. To answer your question, yes, just let it dry out. When you need to use the copper bath again, just put them back inside a small bag and you're ready to go.
What is "proper" vs "improper" annodic dissolution? Isn't the point simply... dissolve the annodes? As for myself, I use a small annode bag I made from a titanium mesh and wire, and put it all inside some Dacron material to help catch some of the slimes, as TH-camr Sreetips does for his silver cell.
@@travismiller5548 Polarization is. Just to clarify, I'm referring to the phenomenom that prevents current from flowing due to "something" blocking it (i.e : high resistance somewhere). It causes efficiency drops, chemical unbalance and a bunch of other things. General rule : you have to maximize your anodic surface, to minimize anodic current density. If your anodes don't dissolve with a 100% efficiency, it means something else is oxidizing. This something else, in copper acidic bath, is water. As water is oxidizing, it's creating 2 problems : - O2 formation, which can cause your copper anode to form some kind of oxyde film, and probably the wrong kind. You might think that the acidic nature of the electrolyte will dissolve this film, but keep in mind it's constantly being created and thus causes polarization. - pH unbalance : water oxidizing creates H+ ions, which are not consumed. It will drop the pH given enough time, and your copper deposited layer will not look at good. It's not that it will not work using general grade copper. It will. It will work using just your titanium mesh ; anodes don't need to dissolve per say, they need to oxidize something. The point is, it will, given enough time unbalance the chemistry of your solution. Because I don't think you have access to the proper chemicals to correct this chemical inbalance (and no way of quantifying how much of an inbalance it is), I'm just trying to give some advices on how to make sure everything runs smoothly in the long run.
For those outside the EU (Australia here), if you go to paint stores that specialise in automotive & industrial paints and ask for a spray can of copper or zinc "weld through" primer you should have some decent success in finding a conductive primer. these products are basically used to assist in increasing conductivity for welding and I've personally found that they work well
Zinc primer, assuming it contains actual zinc metal will not work. It will give your print a conductive layer, but because of vastly diffrent galvanic potentials, an undesired spontaneous reaction will happen when you will try to plate it using a copper or nickel acidic bath. If you want to get a good layer using metal based sprays, I would recommand only using metals "more noble" than copper or no lower than 400 mV relative to Cu2+/Cu (+0.34V/ESH)
these projects continue to blow my mind. This one actually seems a bit easier than the others... but maybe I'm wrong. I really really need to try one of these projects
Superb results. I love people taking an idea, creating a product and then coming up with another idea and another product and so on. Adds to the spirit of making and innovating.
Agree. The narrator’s English is perfectly adequate. Except for his accent you wouldn’t know it isn’t his first language. English lessons would be a waste of time. He’s plenty good enough.
@@lebojay only reason it wouldn't be a waste of time is if it saves him time when filming. I am guessing he may do multiple takes to get it right and that would cut the amount down.
To avoid the incompatibility problems between the graphite paint and the automotive filler you just need to find the right primer to go between them. There is also a product called “weld-thru primer” which has zinc in it to make it conductive. Maybe that would work better than graphite? I’m no expert. Just offering suggestions.
That's a phenomenal result. I'd love to see you experiment with making optics this way--maybe one of those toys that uses two parabolic mirrors to create a 3d mirage of a small object? (A telescope would be more impressive, if the optics are of higher quality, but I suspect that won't be the case initially.)
Moin! Thank you for another great video. As others have mentioned already, it can be hard to source the conductive paints for cheap in North America. We do not have the shipping for the copper spray paint you've used in previous videos and I have a hard time finding affordable conductive graphite spray paint as well. Graphite powder however is quite affordable and I've seen people say they've made their own paint by combining it with water, acetone, modge-podge, etc. I've also seen Canadian's reccomend Jig-a-Loo. It would be very neat to see a comparison between these alternative products and recipes for the base conductive layer! I think if a cheap alternative is presented with good results then electroplating becomes more approachable for hobbyists.
Your english is awesome, man. No need to feel self conscious. I had no trouble understanding, and didn’t really realize you had trouble with English until you’d mentioned the English lessons. Keep up the awesome work 😊
If I can pull this off you have taken my 3D printing world to the next level. I am absolutely obsessed with print finish to the point that I have more in my recycle can than most.
There are WAY easier ways to do this. But. This works and your tech is absolutely spot on. You even gave a formula! So much better than 99 percent of the instructional videos I see out here. 5 stars.
Another awesome electroplating tutorial! Could you run us through how you clean and reuse materials and how you know it is time to dispose of chemicals?
Wow. I've been looking for a plastic plating instructional video for a couple of months that yields high-quality results. I guess I just needed to wait till 4 hours ago. Outstanding work👍
Massive thank you for showing this brake down on plating i enjoy every video, you even have a Fan of uncle Jessy that shows how good your videos are my hat is off to you Thank you again
The holy grail of electroplating TH-cam channel. Amazing what you are doing! Is there any shop in DE which sells starter packages for plating 3d prints?
😅, yes there are some. I get my stuff from tifoo. They also sell starter kits, not necessarily for electroforming 3D prints but for electroplating. Try to start small. When you gain confidence continue bigger.
Wonderful video! As someone just getting started in this interesting field I really appreciate the option to use cheaper and more available materials/techniques. Hopefully soon I will be turning one of my 3d prints shiny copper 😁
I NEEED to come back to this when I have the space to do all this! this is mental and changes what I do so fucking cool. Making parts for bikes or making rings ect. hell even with miniatures for Table top. This changes everything
Do not remove the black coating from the anode every time. This is a normal behavior and its the result of the brightener slightly passivating the anodes, they are indeed supposed to be black like that. If you are worried about the contamination, active filtering should be added.
This is interesting, thank you for the hint. It makes sense. I’m filtering in a regular basis and managed to keep it nice and clean with the coffee filters.
I think the polishing part is just letting your multimeter probe to make a better contact with the surface. You are effectively reducing the contact resistance between the probe and the graphite layer.
I would guess it also pushes projecting particles oriented in all directions, down into a flat layer. Also providing a smoother surface for plating. If in doubt, seems like an experiment would be in order. I wonder whether the presumably slight surface texture before polishing will show up in the plating?
Oh yeah! I'm always excited to see a new upload :D Have you thought about starting a discord for your channel? Possibly too much effort, but I feel there really isn't a great established community for electroplating 3D prints, so it could be a good opportunity!
I've done electrolysis to some stuff I've found with a metal detector like an axe head for one. But now I want to do this to the skids for my fpv drone.😮😮😮
In looking for conductive paints there is a difference between consumer level paints whereby the amount of metal in the binder is quite low. More for decorative purposes. Industrial paints have high loads of metal or graphite for heat and electrical conductivity. The grains of metal in the binder are more closely packed and form a better conductive path.
Yeah man, your English is very good. I have an accent too, it's awesome!!! Makes us all unique. Great videos too, very cool. Going to try that on my 3d prints.
Your English 100% adds to your charm.
100%
Your Q&A-Section was absolutely gorgeous and on point. Loved it!
Quick note on copper anodes : you're supposed to use phosphore doped copper to ensure proper anodic dissolution. Your commercial solution most likely include trace amounts of chloride which are used, in conjunction with proper CuP anodes to produce a black film on the copper surface. This black film is CuO, which allows Cu2+ to form and replenish the metallic ions. If you do not use CuP anodes, you run the risk of forming Cu2O, which will not work as well to put it simply.
The black film is not to be brushed off.
Thank you for the info. I really appreciate these hints and will consider in the next videos. ❤️
Does that mean that you let the black film dry on the copper after taking them out of the bath?
@@asianmarshemellow My andoes never leave the copper bath ; however, for smaller containers, taking in and out anodes should not pose any problems, and the black film should not be rinsed or brushed away. Having anodes in a small bag like he shows is good practise.
The thing is this film takes some time to form. We're talking a few minutes to an hour, but during this time, there's a phenomenom called "polarisation" that's happening, and it's causing the pH and the composition of the electrolyte to go off balance. The generator will also struggle to keep a constant current as the voltage will need to fluctuate a lot to "fight" it.
To answer your question, yes, just let it dry out. When you need to use the copper bath again, just put them back inside a small bag and you're ready to go.
What is "proper" vs "improper" annodic dissolution? Isn't the point simply... dissolve the annodes? As for myself, I use a small annode bag I made from a titanium mesh and wire, and put it all inside some Dacron material to help catch some of the slimes, as TH-camr Sreetips does for his silver cell.
@@travismiller5548 Polarization is. Just to clarify, I'm referring to the phenomenom that prevents current from flowing due to "something" blocking it (i.e : high resistance somewhere). It causes efficiency drops, chemical unbalance and a bunch of other things.
General rule : you have to maximize your anodic surface, to minimize anodic current density.
If your anodes don't dissolve with a 100% efficiency, it means something else is oxidizing. This something else, in copper acidic bath, is water. As water is oxidizing, it's creating 2 problems :
- O2 formation, which can cause your copper anode to form some kind of oxyde film, and probably the wrong kind. You might think that the acidic nature of the electrolyte will dissolve this film, but keep in mind it's constantly being created and thus causes polarization.
- pH unbalance : water oxidizing creates H+ ions, which are not consumed. It will drop the pH given enough time, and your copper deposited layer will not look at good.
It's not that it will not work using general grade copper. It will. It will work using just your titanium mesh ; anodes don't need to dissolve per say, they need to oxidize something.
The point is, it will, given enough time unbalance the chemistry of your solution. Because I don't think you have access to the proper chemicals to correct this chemical inbalance (and no way of quantifying how much of an inbalance it is), I'm just trying to give some advices on how to make sure everything runs smoothly in the long run.
For those outside the EU (Australia here), if you go to paint stores that specialise in automotive & industrial paints and ask for a spray can of copper or zinc "weld through" primer you should have some decent success in finding a conductive primer. these products are basically used to assist in increasing conductivity for welding and I've personally found that they work well
curious what brand do you use and work without any issue?
thanks again for the info mate, can't find Graphite paint anywhere in my place too
Zinc primer, assuming it contains actual zinc metal will not work. It will give your print a conductive layer, but because of vastly diffrent galvanic potentials, an undesired spontaneous reaction will happen when you will try to plate it using a copper or nickel acidic bath.
If you want to get a good layer using metal based sprays, I would recommand only using metals "more noble" than copper or no lower than 400 mV relative to Cu2+/Cu (+0.34V/ESH)
@@KaitoKaze why not just add your own Graphite ?
@@keymaster2108 so basically make my own paint? do you have some tutorial how to do that?
@KaitoKaze my most recent video is exactly about that
these projects continue to blow my mind. This one actually seems a bit easier than the others... but maybe I'm wrong. I really really need to try one of these projects
I know thats why i an Buying a Electro plating kit, Plus thanks for the Elegoo neptune 3 plus profile on your patrons page how the massive print going
It’s hard to source the graphite paint in the US
I watched it twice, just to see these beautiful parts again
Electroplated Magneto helmet for your statue Yes!!
Oh hey fancy seeing you here!
Presenting them on thier original supports just looks fantastic! Very clever
Thanks, yeah, I liked that and thought it was funny :-)
@@hen3driktry painting it on the supports next time. If you get any on the support, you can just wipe it off before you start plating.
@@hen3drik *Can explain that current formula? What is I subcase 3D?*
The amount of expertise and knowledge in such a short video, this is incredible and has changed everything for my plating plans!
These are remarkable. what a way to put 3d printing into quality use
Electroplating 3D prints is such a cool project that still feels incredible niche. Thank you for all the information and options.
The finished pieces on top of the original support material look soooo good!!
Superb results. I love people taking an idea, creating a product and then coming up with another idea and another product and so on. Adds to the spirit of making and innovating.
Your english might not be perfect, but trust me it is decent enough, don't be too self-conscious about it.
They speak English better than I do their language.
Agree. The narrator’s English is perfectly adequate. Except for his accent you wouldn’t know it isn’t his first language.
English lessons would be a waste of time. He’s plenty good enough.
Yeah certainly better than my German!
Certainly good enough for me to like & subscribe!
@@lebojay only reason it wouldn't be a waste of time is if it saves him time when filming. I am guessing he may do multiple takes to get it right and that would cut the amount down.
To avoid the incompatibility problems between the graphite paint and the automotive filler you just need to find the right primer to go between them.
There is also a product called “weld-thru primer” which has zinc in it to make it conductive. Maybe that would work better than graphite?
I’m no expert. Just offering suggestions.
That's a phenomenal result. I'd love to see you experiment with making optics this way--maybe one of those toys that uses two parabolic mirrors to create a 3d mirage of a small object? (A telescope would be more impressive, if the optics are of higher quality, but I suspect that won't be the case initially.)
Moin! Thank you for another great video. As others have mentioned already, it can be hard to source the conductive paints for cheap in North America. We do not have the shipping for the copper spray paint you've used in previous videos and I have a hard time finding affordable conductive graphite spray paint as well. Graphite powder however is quite affordable and I've seen people say they've made their own paint by combining it with water, acetone, modge-podge, etc. I've also seen Canadian's reccomend Jig-a-Loo. It would be very neat to see a comparison between these alternative products and recipes for the base conductive layer! I think if a cheap alternative is presented with good results then electroplating becomes more approachable for hobbyists.
My mind is blown and hats off to you good sir! Favorite 3d printing video of the past year
That’s some of the best plating I’ve seen yet on 3D prints!!! Outstanding! Subbed.
Omg the result is perfect. Even without polishing
Your english is awesome, man. No need to feel self conscious. I had no trouble understanding, and didn’t really realize you had trouble with English until you’d mentioned the English lessons. Keep up the awesome work 😊
If I can pull this off you have taken my 3D printing world to the next level. I am absolutely obsessed with print finish to the point that I have more in my recycle can than most.
There are WAY easier ways to do this. But. This works and your tech is absolutely spot on. You even gave a formula! So much better than 99 percent of the instructional videos I see out here. 5 stars.
Care to share a link? I love doing things easyer.
Same here, I'm intrigued.
As an additional safety step, have some baking soda handy in case you spill some of the Electrolyte.
You can neutralize the acid that is in it
Another awesome electroplating tutorial! Could you run us through how you clean and reuse materials and how you know it is time to dispose of chemicals?
Will think about it. 🙂
What an incredible project! Well done sir! Idk if I can do this myself but I absolutely loved learning nonetheless
Wow. I've been looking for a plastic plating instructional video for a couple of months that yields high-quality results. I guess I just needed to wait till 4 hours ago. Outstanding work👍
Massive thank you for showing this brake down on plating i enjoy every video, you even have a Fan of uncle Jessy that shows how good your videos are my hat is off to you Thank you again
One of these days! I’m always so impressed with the outcome. I need to start gathering materials and tools!
I bet you‘ll figure it out so fast. It‘s just practice. 🙂
Awesome!
This gives me idas to restore rc cars.
Some of old projects may have bad chrome. This method we could repair that 🙂
This is also actual chrome. Not just silver paint.
this is the coolest thing I've seen since like hacksmith's iron man thrusters. dang!
Mind blown! Now I just have to trawl through all your other videos for tips and tricks :D Best electroplating video I have seen in many years.
Richtig geiles Video! Unreal result and perfect edit and videography 😊❤
Thank you for introducing me to electroplating. It has brought me so much more joy with 3D printing
This could be fun for my large scale RC’s
That's amazing, these prints look great with the metal plating!
bro that is sick! saved video for future reference
that graphite look is awesome
Impressive how you synced up the segment about media polishing to the background music
I think there are only few that actually noticed it. Glad you did. 😊
Very cool! There are dozens, if not hundreds, of etsy sellers going through this video.
🤭
The holy grail of electroplating TH-cam channel. Amazing what you are doing! Is there any shop in DE which sells starter packages for plating 3d prints?
😅, yes there are some. I get my stuff from tifoo. They also sell starter kits, not necessarily for electroforming 3D prints but for electroplating. Try to start small. When you gain confidence continue bigger.
Beautiful, i can only imagine car parts plated like this.
To stop the graphite reacting put a few mist coats on first before a solid
Will try that!
My friend, your accent adds just enough mad-scientist flair to your English to make your videos perfect.
Awesome video I've been looking into this process for a bit.
0:29 hahahaha! Your English is perfect 😊
You're very good at this. I'm totally unable to reproduce your results lol
Fantastic video!! thank you, will try this on FDM printed Poly carbonate parts!
The start was funny. Im looking forward to this.
Perfect video! What TH-cam should be.
this video is great! I believe your process of polishing the benchy with the rock tumbler is key for mirror finish plating in the bath.
Wonderful video! As someone just getting started in this interesting field I really appreciate the option to use cheaper and more available materials/techniques. Hopefully soon I will be turning one of my 3d prints shiny copper 😁
you did it dude, you managed to removed all of that polishing phase. cool to see the techniques improving as time goes on. incredible work as always
Subscribed within 30 seconds! So glad I found this channel
Your English is fine and your videos are inspiring.
Seriously beautiful.
Great job!
This is a game changer! Gonna start doing this!
Moin! Danke DIr für das Video, da habe ich lang nach gesucht :-)
I NEEED to come back to this when I have the space to do all this! this is mental and changes what I do so fucking cool. Making parts for bikes or making rings ect. hell even with miniatures for Table top. This changes everything
wow wow wow !!!
impressive !!!
Can we talk about you matching the video sounds up to the music at 3:32 and prob also elsewhere 👏
The English class joke got me. That deserved the thumbs up! 😂
omg this looks amazing! far easier than the dremel route
I love this guy! Good job!
Your videos and methods are always amazing, i truly want to try this one day
This is a brilliant video. The tools for creation now are amazing! Can't wait to try this!
Amazing video, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experiments in English !
Es sieht echt klasse aus 👍 mal gucken ob ich es irgendwie für meine 3d Prints nutzen kann
Viel Erfolg!
Basic prints, but the results are great. Keep up the great work!
Amazing! Fantastic results. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
I reconice the sinsajo 3D design, my brother did it for me and shared it for free a few years ago. I like the gold result! 😊
That is amazing - way above the scientific level I am at, but crazy good results!
thanks for the video , very instructive and well made !
Do not remove the black coating from the anode every time. This is a normal behavior and its the result of the brightener slightly passivating the anodes, they are indeed supposed to be black like that. If you are worried about the contamination, active filtering should be added.
This is interesting, thank you for the hint. It makes sense. I’m filtering in a regular basis and managed to keep it nice and clean with the coffee filters.
this is the most interesting vid ive seen in a while , super cool
English is very good, like B1 or 2 on the grading scale, you're damn near fluent my guy ❤
Your English is amazing! Very easy to understand as an English speaker :)
Really nice work! Not sure I'm up to giving this a go myself.... but defo gonna check out your other vids too...Bravo!
Absolutely amazing! I’ll go into oppoplating just because of your work!
Wow! Mind blown!
Moin aus Bremen, schaut schon echt gut aus! Hast n Follower dazu bekommen. Btw. dein Englisch ist sehr gut zu verstehen ;)
Great job! You are the Best! Congratulations!!!
Very useful and inspiring information. Thanks for the informative information, likely coming back to this and others in your channel!
I think the polishing part is just letting your multimeter probe to make a better contact with the surface. You are effectively reducing the contact resistance between the probe and the graphite layer.
I would guess it also pushes projecting particles oriented in all directions, down into a flat layer.
Also providing a smoother surface for plating.
If in doubt, seems like an experiment would be in order.
I wonder whether the presumably slight surface texture before polishing will show up in the plating?
Oh yeah! I'm always excited to see a new upload :D Have you thought about starting a discord for your channel? Possibly too much effort, but I feel there really isn't a great established community for electroplating 3D prints, so it could be a good opportunity!
thank you, yeah, too much effort 😃
Mal wieder ein Top Video von dir.
Danke!!
Benzotriazole can be used to protect the copper surface if one wants to plate copper on the surface and keep it shiny.
Really wonderful results
Very cool . Can't wait to see more
You speak English better than most of us Americans, but your joke did make me chuckle. Great video!
This video was amazing. Thank you!
This looks fantastic!
I've done electrolysis to some stuff I've found with a metal detector like an axe head for one. But now I want to do this to the skids for my fpv drone.😮😮😮
Very good results
That looks so cool!
In looking for conductive paints there is a difference between consumer level paints whereby the amount of metal in the binder is quite low. More for decorative purposes. Industrial paints have high loads of metal or graphite for heat and electrical conductivity. The grains of metal in the binder are more closely packed and form a better conductive path.
Great video! Is it possible to electroplate with aluminium?
That is just awesome. Nice tutorial!
This is a genius idea
Ah the ball mill. Takes my back to my pyro years.
Bro… THATS SICK
Fantastic finish!
Yeah man, your English is very good. I have an accent too, it's awesome!!! Makes us all unique. Great videos too, very cool. Going to try that on my 3d prints.