Electroplating 3D Prints | Miniatures
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 มิ.ย. 2024
- This quick guide helps #electroforming and #electroplating 3D prints like resin miniatures , such things like #warhammer figurines or other small prints. I explain using conductive paint and the metal plating process; also introducing the cool rotary jig.
▶ Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:27 3D Printing Resin miniatures
01:37 Making the miniatures conductive
03:03 Electroplating/Electroforming the prints
05:04 Results and Conclusion
▶ The rotary jig from @xeno_arch9887
• Electroforming - Secre...
▶ Things are:
www.myminifactory.com/object/...
www.thingiverse.com/thing:603326
www.myminifactory.com/object/...
For the Conductivity I used
* Tifoo Conductive Copper Paint
! Make sure that it can be used with your copper electrolyte.
For the galvanic bath:
* a container
* acidic copper electrolyte
* optional nickel electrolyte
* one or two copper anodes
* banana plug & alligator clips
You may need:
* Degreaser
* Distilled water
Have fun. Try it. 🧡
Have a look to my other Videos
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Hejhej Bro, thanx for using/linking my rotajig! Very nice result youre gettin there, maximum respect 👍
Thanks, this tool has to spread a lot. Noticed I modified the alligator clamp? That works wonderfully for me.
@@hen3drik yepp, that aligator is a very nice idea. Doesn't it grab onto the wire too much so the servo has a hard time to rotate? 🤔 Ill have to try this and maybe ill update the design for aligator clamps 😉
No, I use the same servo and it‘s no problem at all. I had to secure the clip with tape, as it moves up and down on the wire. I think there‘s a more elegant solution to this. But swapping pieces with the alligator is way faster than unravelling the wire.
@@hen3drik absolutely! Ill have a look. 👍 The alligator is pretty cool because it is available everywhere and its specs are similar everywhere on the planet 👍
After Nickel you can pen plate gold. I just bought a kit from spa plating, I can't wait to try it out. Gold is not that expensive for small amouts.
Just watched five of your videos in a row! Thanks for the content!
Wie gewohnt beste Video Qualität! Steckt bestimmt viel Arbeit dahinter..
For mini's and props if your just after a silver metallic look, then its easier just to use tollens reagent (two part spray). Its commonly used on movie props when a mirror like finish is needed.
That is so awesome..thank you for showing this
You doin Magic nice information an demostración I been wanted to learn n find all the equipment so I can chrome plated all my RC 1/10 scare car parts !! This is a different level from chrome painting 👌🏻😎
excellent video !!
Really cool!
Superb video!
Thanks, Stefan!
Great video as always!
Thank you!
You have inspired me to make a gold and palladium chess set for my dad
Great content as usual. Do you have a table explaining what voltage to use for what metal? Can all metals be used… like stainless steel?
I actually don‘t. There are some calculator for different metals and max current but I don’t trust these. You can use a good variety of metals, but some require certain metal to be plated on. Not sure it there is stainless steel, but there is chrome, which is robust and does not oxidate.
Would it be possible to print and electroplate vehicle emblems? Would the coating last outide?
Nice work! A question for you, if you don't mind...
I have just bought a resin printer with the ultimate aim of casting items in precious metals, but I think electroplating will be a fun distraction and your videos are some of the better available on youtube.
Questions I have on your process:
1. You mention you work with Voltage, rather than with current. My assumptions (as an electrician) is that it is the current that is the important factor here, and that any variation in solution concentration and electrode separation will alter the voltage needed and those playing along at home will find your settings will likely be unsuitable for them.
2. Would two more cathodes on the sides of the container (or using a large diameter copper pipe) remove the need for the rotisserie?
3. Do you think a conductive paint made with gold nanoparticles (which are easy to make chemically) be a suitable base for the coating?
Hi, sure:
1) Basically, there are two basic rules there: Stay as far away from the anodes as possible, and don't set above the maximum specified voltage. You don't really have any influence on the current flow (unless you would limit it), but I usually handle it by starting at 20% of the voltage and then gradually increasing it to 75-100% depending on the size of the piece being plated.
2) The anode shadow would be reduced, yes. Preferably one more at the bottom and one at the top. But that then becomes impractical. The copper process is very geometry dependent, meaning patterns will form on the print. Turning is absolutely the best idea. i.e. with nickel, this matters less.
3) Yes, that could work. Gold is the best plating base I know of. However, because the print is placed in the strongly acidic electrolyte, the base is attacked and partially dissolves; unfortunately, I cannot say what effect this has on the gold color.
@@hen3drik Thanks for the reply, one of the advantages with gold is that it is resistant to most acids, I'll let you know how I go :)
Nice video! How resistant is the layer against scratches if you play with the miniatures, for example.
Thanks, the nickel coat is pretty thin, so can wear of after some time when you touch it (what you don‘t want because of nickel). Besides that it‘s a 25 micrometers metal coat, and this is pretty resistant. You cannot create scratches on like with your fingernails etc: it‘s pure metal copper.
@@hen3drik Super cool! Thanks!
@@hen3drik What would a professional toy company do to make it more wear resistant? Is it possible to coat the metal with something like a clear coat or somehow harden the metal -- or just more layers of plating? With gold, aren't lessor metals like zinc and silver mixed into rings and jewelry to make them stronger?
Ei gude wie? Natürlich aus Hessen😂 sehr gute Videos und toll erklärt! Meine Frage: um meine Modellteile zu vernickeln, was nehme ich als Anode? Höhere Spannung oder geringer? Danke und weiter so!
Nickelanode nehmen, nimm 2V im Abstand von 5cm im Bad.
Are there any other conductive paint brands available, They are hard to find.
Hi Hendrik :)
First of all, thanks for all those wonderful tips and techniques ! All your videos inspire me so much ! I do 3D printing for fun, as well as bronze casting (jewellery and other art small statues).
I have two questions if you don't mind (I am not sure that you have answered similar ones in other comments of other videos, so don't hesitate to redirect me to it in case):
1. So far, I am only going to buy the equipment to pen plate my jewellery (for money and practical reasons). Is it possible to skip the bath plating step to achieve a similar result on 3D resin prints ? Would palladium and gold pen plating stick directly to the spray paint, or would I have to maybe add another layer of copper with pen plating?
2. My main goal here is to add plating on small areas of my bronze statues, to get a mix of textures and colors (green and blue patinas, gold or silver platings etc...). If you plate only a small part of a metal or metallized piece, would the added layer of metal stick correctly, or would it be damaged through time due to oxydation? I am thinking that maybe uneven spread of added metal would oxidize faster?
Thanks again and have a great day :)
Hi, thanks!
1) you'll need a conductive layer, but the bath essentially creates a thick (>100µm) layer of copper on which you can plate on. Pen plating on conductive paint is very tricky an will end up in a very very thin layer of metal. no recommendation.
2) i have no experience in that special technique but yes, you can just spot it to some points and it will stick quiete well.
@@hen3drik thanks for the quick answer :)
1) I understand :/ I might give it a try and will adapt my technique according to your videos !
2) Sounds great ! thanks a lot, i'll try and will send you a picture when I'm done 🤙
take care
Was the nickel layer protection against oxidation or just decorative? Could you have plated nickel from copper paint and skip copper plating?
Both decoration and against oxidation. You can chrome or gold plate from here if you want further protection against oxidation. You can skip copper plating and do nickel instead, but copper deposits easy, thick and safe. 😃
been trying to figure out how to plate it in brass.
i know you can plate in copper, then plate in zinc, but to get them to mix into brass you need to heat it and i don't think the plastic could handle that, and i don't think the metal is thick enough to ignore the plastic melting.
unless you packed it in flour first, that might keep the plastic from deforming while letting the copper and zinc get to know each other...
there are some plastics that resist some heat , but not sure if the resistance is enough for it
Dude! You need to gold plate an Adeptus Custodes! Then send the golden boy to Squidmar for painting! All us 40K nerds would lose our minds
I'm running into an issue with the finish and timing of my plating. It seems to take a very long time ( 2 hours) to fully plate the piece and when is plated is a very dull copper. I made my own solution using copper sulfate, sulfuric acid, distilled water, and miralax as a brightener.
Okay, it should have a light solid coat after 0.5-1 hour. Try to calculate the correct current for you item and use constant current on your power supply.
What kind of motor did you use, what voltage, and does it have speed control? I would assume you would want it to rotate very slowly to achieve the best coverage. Did you make that rig yourself?
Also, what rpm does yours rotate at?
Check out this video: th-cam.com/video/Ag_NQ9KbKc8/w-d-xo.html
There’s a link in the description.
You, Sir, are epic!
Where to get all my electroplating supplies some of the stuff that you used in your video
I provided some links in my more recent videos.
For a conductive paint, would graphite/acetone work as well?
Basically yes. For graphite all that matters is that you can measure a resistance
Hey, i have a question: if i decide to print some rings with it and start using, the metal shine / coat start peeling off or something like?
its ok to do that in wearables?
That would be okay. The copper layer is quite thick. You should apply a top coat of palladium or gold to prevent irritation, as nickel is allergenic. Depending on the thickness of the top coat: due to sweat etc. this will wear off after some time (like regular plated jewlery). Thicker top coat = longer lasting.
meine kupfer electroplates oxidieren immer also sie werden dunkler oder grün nach einer zeit(fängt so nach einem tag an). liegt das an mir? bei deinen videos ist das nicht so, dort sehen sie immer gut aus.
Would it be possible for things like miniatures to just plate the metallic parts of the miniature like blades or armour by just making those conductive and not the whole print?
Absolutely. But it’s easier to just plate the whole thing.
Hey! Which exact fabric do you use with your electrodes in this video?
(I tried unwoven PP fabric like you but it didn't work, bad copper smeres always made their way out of the fabric, they were brown swirls)|
Thanks!
I do have that smeres, too. I use tomodachi 25um.
@@hen3drik I tried to google that and the only results I get is fish food
Thoughts on using different conductive paints? In Canada I have access to carbon(37$), nickel(47$) and copper(70$). All in rattle spray cans. Supplied by MG Chemicals
☹️. I have ordinary conductive paint here that diluted last forever. Carbon for 37$ (CAD?) is too expensive; 70 CAD is the price we pay in ger for rattle can copper as well. It might be worth a try. But that’s why I switched to the other paint.
@@hen3drik I’ll look into getting the paint you typically use. I’ll need an airbrush also but overtime will pay for itself
does acetone vapor smoothing produce smooth enough prints with fdm printing?
It smoothed it, yes, but for a mirror finish you‘ll need an „even“ surface. Right know I’m producing a FDM video and how to smooth it. But for small figurines acetone smoothing will be good!
Would you do a video on plating a print from an extruder type model?
you propably mean FDM? Yes look up his video for the Mando helmet for example... basically its a hell lot of sanding, primer/filler, sanding, primer, sanding.. million times until you have a smooooooth surface. if you plan for nickel over the copper layer: nickel (the glossy one) excuses a lot and creates a VERY polished look and creates a plating barrier to strenghten the plating! keep in mind to polish with metal polishing after every step and clean it with degreaser!
Does a metal plating serve to enhance the structural integrity of the print? What if this is applied to mechanical prints such as gears?
Absolutely. I increases strength a lot. Haven‘t measured it, yet though.
@@hen3drik maybe this could be worth a collaboration with Stefan from CNC-Kitchen. I would be really interested in how that changes the stress profiles. Furthermore, the abrasion resistance would be something I am interested in.
@@TJ13062010 in case of the abrasion resistance I can tell you there is no abrasion 😅 at least if you don’t rub it 24/7
@@hen3drik yes, of course. But every surface has an abrasion resistance. And there is a change from plastic to metal. An engineer probably has a table for it, but I would still be interested for CNC-Kitchen to make a real life test. Anyways a clan between you and him would be very interesting to see. Essentially asking the question: is there a nice way to improve the technical performance of parts.
Ah, the three classes: Warrior, Cyber Soldier, Italian Plumber
I was under the impression that the current is all that actually matters when electroplating and you're just setting voltage to reach a desired current. If that's the case, why do you usually decide to mention your voltage levels instead of your current levels?
Love the videos -- I'm on attempt #3 of getting my conductive paint to electroplate now
The current matters regarding accumulation rate of metal.
When you do something wrong, the resistance of your setup could drastically change, thus resulting in you needing to crank up the voltage (to achieve for example 10mA) sometimes by about 10V, which is FAR too much! The voltage matters for the electrolyte and copper paint decomposition.
By providing the voltage, one can be sure to have a great starting point. Current of course follows with voltage when having nearly constant resistance
You are right. Back then I tended to regulate voltage but current is actually what you want. The comment of Sinan is also right, as you have to ante up the current carefully. You can compensate this by making the thin conductive layer extremely conductive from the start. pickle it before setting the current at 50% for the first 30minutes.
I can't get my servo to do anything. I followed the plans.
You mean for the rotary jig?
@@hen3drik yes, I soldered the wires and copied the code and lib folder over to the trinket but it does not spin. I'm not sure what to do now. The trinket led is flashing twice in red. I look that up and it means "Code ended due to an exception."
can you do that on Iron man model?
I guess. Good idea.
@@hen3drik try this model th-cam.com/video/awZY1HHfTCY/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=Did3D
Dieses Thema würde mich mal auf Deutsch interessieren.
Ich habe die subtitles alle mit hochgeladen, dadurch kann YT sehr akkurat auf Deutsch übersetzen. Es ist so, dass der deutsche Teil der Zielgruppe bei mir sehr gering ist, weswegen ich auch dem Rest der Welt ermöglichen möchte die Prozesse zu verstehen. Die auto translate Funktion kann, ausgehend von den englischen Texten in alle Sprachen übersetzen.