Hi, I am planning on creating a pendant quite similar to http://www.crystalclassics.com/images/1515873-1.jpg , however I never did such a thing before (the swarovski part, I lost my old account, I am not new to the entire 3d printing business ), so any advice or experiences would be extremely appreciated. Or if you have seen any tutorials out there I would love to hear about those too . Thanks a lot in advance, David Mulder
Hi David, regardless of which material or glue you use, getting both parts completely clean is a must. Once that is accomplished, I would recommend an adhesive that dries crystal clear such as Devcon 2 part epoxies which will also offer max strength. You can also use UV cure adhesive if you have access to a UV lite. Stay away from "super glue" as they tend to be a bit cloudy and/or may frost the crystal when cured. You can also use clear, 100% silicone sealant but only a very tiny dot is necessary. Hope this helps. Alan
I've used some swarovski flatback rhinestones on WSF before and just used superglue, which holds very well. On Stainless Steel or Sterling Silver I couldn't tell you from experience, however I understand superglue would still be fine (as long as you sanded the area where you are gluing the rhinestone first). However, that's mainly been with pieces with one large rhinestone in the center, as opposed to many small ones littered throughout. Take it with a grain of salt.
Hi David, I don't have any experience with printed items yet (waiting on my first print now). However I have quite a bit of experience with Swarovski crystals in helping my wife with her jewelry hobby and years in the hardware trade. 2 part epoxy glues (Devcon etc) are perfect for attaching crystals. Ensure you get glue that dries clear and be sure to mix equal parts. The most problems/complaints people have with 2 part glues stems from incorrect mixing, causing non curing, rubber cure or brittle cure. Cyanoacrylate (Super Glue) has limited shear strength and will break if exposed to a shock. (dropping item on a hard surface sending shock waves through the piece this is usually enough to break the bond. Thick (gap filling) CA's are more resilient to shocks than their thinner counterparts. Also beware of "frosting" on surrounding surfaces this happens when CA fumes evaoprate (although this is a good way to bring out fingerprints ) Clear general purpose (UHU glue) are a good choice but the stringing effect can be a pain to work with if you're using small parts/crystals. My choice would be 2 part Devcon. Malc.
Hi Maic, By now I already finished the pendant for quite a while ( https://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&th=1212 4&goto=59094 , I wrote some very basis stuff about my experiences as well with the glueing ) , but thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge . I used E6000 which did (so far) a perfectly fine job, as I haven't heared about any of the crystals getting loose or anything along those lines. Thanks again, David