Greetings Shapeways community! I'm thinking about a project that I would want to print in full colour sandstone, but I have no real experience with this material. I read on the material page the maximum temperature shouldn't exceed 60 degrees Celsius. In your experience is this correct? What happens if you go over it? Does it get soft/deform or break apart in chunks? Does the ink transfer when it gets too hot? My understanding is also that the ink is only a few millimetres deep so potentially chipping and sanding the piece can remove the colour from the piece. Has anyone tried coating it in anything to protect it? Thanks!
It's coated with a super glue like material when it arrives to you. I had a piece that came out slightly too large, and I took my dremel to it. So to answer your sanding question, I gave up on trying to get a tiny amount of material off. And I think the 60 degrees is for the super glue coating, as it'll burn. Once the coating is gone, the pieces become very fragile.
Thanks for the quick reply. The reason I was thinking about this was I wanted to make a custom coffee coaster for someone and wasn't sure how it would react to a hot cup. I know ceramics are available which I would love to use, but one of the coaster parts would need to be red for it to match the idea and Shapeways doesn't offer red ceramic yet Appreciate the info, it didn't really click that it was because of the super glue binding. I was just worried about it's durability (hence the coating question) as it would be having a hot cup put on it all the time and wouldn't last long in terms of durability or the ink would transfer to the cup or it would stick the cup to the coaster!
I know sandstone has been used for coasters, but I can't say they would hold up to the heat of a hot beverage cup as I haven't tried it. You could do it in dyed WSF Which can handle an additional 20 degrees (80 degree listed) It's available in red, and you can check out the post production section for painting and finishing tips. It's also possible to add glaze to ceramics after you receive it (over the existing glaze).