Electroplating is still the only solution that will work for me. Here's a few reasons:
#1. Parts often have overhangs or interiors which are still visible, and yet impossible to reach. This is part of the fun of 3D printing, is to produce objects that are impossible in Real-Life. But as a side effect, leafing is not an option.
#2. Plastic printing offers stronger models. Support structures could be added to metal, but then they have to be removed and sanded down. All at the expense of extra time and cost. And some pieces would offer no way to remove these support structures, making their creation impossible with the current method of metal printing.
#3. The cost of plastic printing is 1/6th the cost of metal printing. I doubt metal printing will ever be on par with the cost of plastic printing, I would go as far as to say that it's doubtable the cost would be even be on par with plastic parts that have been plated. It's costly and so far limited to steel and copper. So even for jewelry, the selection of metals is a problem. With plating, silver and gold finishes are possible.
Plating would produce a strong, lightweight, inexpensive model. And as you have pointed out, they wouldn't even have to put 1mm of material on there. So parts wouldn't have to be redesigned to fit, making plating a great alternative to painting. And the cost of plating, once the setup is up and running, should be low per model.
Metal printing is interesting, and if strength issues are fixed in this "Green" phase, it might be useful. But for now, plating is the clear winner.
When I have some time and some money put aside, I intend to test out the process myself. Hopefully within the next month. Of course, I can't do the same quantity or quality of plating as industrial machines. That's why I'm hoping that Shapeways will eventually provide this service for us.
Also, I'm no fan of battery acid. :laughing: