| Hi [message #30290] Wed, 06 July 2011 16:53 UTC |
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As a new member in the forum I would like to introduce myself to the community: Coming from an electronics industry background I am a hobby inventor with a main focus on lighting applications. ShapeWays was a clear recommendation in the recent issue of the German c't-magazine on 3D print services. Since I am not familiar with CAD at all, I am looking for a 3Dcad designer, who could help me to get some prototypes into the pipeline.
Anyone here?
Hans Dampf
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| Re: Hi [message #30300 is a reply to message #30290 ] Wed, 06 July 2011 19:36 UTC |
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Welcome to Shapeways, Hans! What kind of projects are you looking to make?
Please check your PM.
-Marcus
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| Re: Hi [message #30371 is a reply to message #30368 ] Thu, 07 July 2011 14:14 UTC |
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What about thin stainless steel with glossy gold or silver coating?
Hans Dampf
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| Re: Hi [message #30377 is a reply to message #30373 ] Thu, 07 July 2011 14:42 UTC |
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Thanks Marcus for the link: Yes glossy gold plating looks just fine (however polishing would only be needed on the outside).
Do you know if glossy silver plating is also available?
Hans Dampf
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| Re: Hi [message #30382 is a reply to message #30377 ] Thu, 07 July 2011 15:18 UTC |
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No, no silver as plating on stainless steel, just as a solid silver print that is polished.
Actually, you could polish also the stainless yourself if you need it smoother than Shapeways' process.
-Marcus
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| Re: Hi [message #31916 is a reply to message #31794 ] Mon, 01 August 2011 11:00 UTC |
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Yes Mark,
finish needs to be a highly reflective exponentially shaped hollow horn/cone with 54mm outer edge diameter (with flat collar extention to 60mm) and 36mm round tip depth. Since this is still in the demo prototype phase there is no volume behind yet. The initial challenge is to find the best exponentiality to take care of a most even circular light distribution from a deflected spot lamp beam. With a spot beam diagram (see attached JPG) this could be evaluated in 2D and then just rotated into 3D at minimal sheet thickness as there is no mechanical stress in the spot-deflector application (except for the polishing process of the outer surface). So I agree that sheet stamping should be the method of choice for mass production but spinning probably inferior to 3D printing in laser sintered stainless steel with polishing of the outer surface and gold plating finish. Could you agree to that or do you have any other ideas? Any comment with hands-on expertise is welcome.
Best regards
Hans (HansWDiesing@aol.de)
Hans Dampf
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| Re: Hi [message #31958 is a reply to message #31916 ] Tue, 02 August 2011 09:36 UTC |
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Hi,
I would be tempted to spin this part as the chuck could be made to accurately reflect the profile you need while compensating for the thickness of sheet metal. A quick polish would be all that's required to finish the reflector.
3D printing the part in stainless would be more experimental and would be worth a try but you'll have to file and polish the surface back to get a decent finish which will mean making the part slightly thicker than required to get an accurate surface.
Another alternative would be to do an Objet print in plastic and then get that plated to give you a reflective surface. I'm not sure how much heat you're dealing with in the final assembly but this could work for prototyping.
Mark.
The Digital Gardener. Balancing technology and nature. Planting digital flowers. Manufactured by 3D printing. Customized by you.
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| Re: Hi [message #31959 is a reply to message #31916 ] Tue, 02 August 2011 09:48 UTC |
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Hi Hans,
Another thing to consider, Shapeways stainless is a bronze infused powdered stainless procedure, rather than direct metal laser sintering, There is a fair amount of work invloved getting SW stainless to a mirror finish.
Paul
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