A few days ago I asked if Shapeways would ever consider offering electroplating services for plastics and one of the moderators replied thusly:
"Electroplating requests: YES! Please make your voice heard so that the community team can prove there's demand for other materials and finishes. Without that, it's very hard for us to champion them."
So basically what I gleaned from that is something like
yes, we will in the very least try it and see how it works out but ONLY if enough people want it and speak out in favor of it. The question then becomes, my fellow Makers, do you want it? Here is my argument in favor of Shapeways offering electroplating services:
1.) It CAN be done! You might be thinking "you can't electroplate plastic! It's not conductive!" No it's not but you can make it conductive with sprays or rinses. If it can hold a conductive coating, it can be electroplated.
2.) Convenience, speed, trust, rapport. I like the idea of being able to have a nice, shiny, plated model straight from Shapeways rather than having to send my model off somewhere else to be electroplated. That would take a lot longer for one thing and I also don't like the idea of shipping my model off somewhere else because they might break it or lose it. I know and trust Shapeways. I feel far more comfortable with them handling my models than some other entity I've not established a rapport with.
3.) Pricing. I can't speak for anyone else here but I have come up with several designs that are, at present, not printable in any of the metals either because the designs are too big, too elaborate, or printing them in metal would be prohibitively expensive. Printing something up in FDP then having it plated would give it that nice metallic look without breaking the bank. I'm aware that plating would add to the price but there's no way plating a 40$ key will come anywhere NEAR the 500$ of printing it up in brass.
4.) Rules, rules, rules. Brass and Bronze appear fairly easy to design for, silver slightly less so, but stainless steel can be a nightmare because of all the rules, especially that pesky sandcastle rule. However, with electroplating for plastics, you wouldn't need to worry about that! The rules for plastics tend to be fairly forgiving.
So to recap:
-It CAN be done.
-It would be more convenient.
-It would be faster.
-You know, trust, and have done business with Shapeways (or presumably you wouldn't be here
).
-It would be a great deal more cost effective than printing things up in real metal.
-Designing for plastic can sometimes be far easier than designing for metals.
And there you have it. That's my argument. I'd love to see a discussion on this topic. Would you want Shapeways to offer this service? Why or why not? Potential pitfalls? Anything I missed? GO! Discuss, my fellow Shapers and Makers.