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| Re: Stainless Steel - Polished (post production) [message #7302 is a reply to message #7299 ] Fri, 16 October 2009 16:09 UTC |
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Very nice! But an hour a ring, wow.
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| Re: Stainless Steel - Polished (post production) [message #7304 is a reply to message #7299 ] Fri, 16 October 2009 16:12 UTC |
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That extra polishing made it look extra good! There's got to be an easier way, tho.
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| Re: Stainless Steel - Polished (post production) [message #7307 is a reply to message #7299 ] Fri, 16 October 2009 16:47 UTC |
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An hour per ring is not that bad. When I make silver or gold rings it also takes me between 1 and 2 hours to do the final polishing.
As this steel is much harder and rougher I was pretty happy with 1 hour.
I did this the classical way:
1. rough sanding (machine)
2. fine sanding (by hand)
3. pre-polishing (again machine)
4. final high gloss polishing (machine)
Although with step 4 you don't get the real high gloss like you get with silver or gold. Maybe I don't have the right polishing material/fat for this kind of steel. I will look into that.
I think the only thing that would make this process better/easier would be a higher resolution print. And that will come, I have no doubt.
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| Re: Stainless Steel - Polished (post production) [message #7308 is a reply to message #7307 ] Fri, 16 October 2009 18:12 UTC |
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The second one especially looks beautiful - great work! I tried grinding the pieces I had a little, and was pleasantly surprised how easily it ground. Mine were a bit fiddly though, and I don't have any special cutting stuff, so my results were uninspiring. I just used a grinding wheel in a dremel. Do you use files for the hand part, or paper/cloth?
Thanks for sharing!
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| Re: Stainless Steel - Polished (post production) [message #7310 is a reply to message #7307 ] Fri, 16 October 2009 18:26 UTC |
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Thanks for this post -- very valuable. Would you mind sharing the technical details -- like, what exact grade/brand of sandpaper, which machine?
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Elytra on Shapeways: http://www.shapeways.com/shops/elytra
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| Re: Stainless Steel - Polished (post production) [message #7313 is a reply to message #7299 ] Fri, 16 October 2009 21:25 UTC |
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Just to clarify.
The photo's are taken at different times. But the before and after picture is taken from the same ring.
[Updated on: Sat, 17 October 2009 08:01 UTC]
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| Re: Stainless Steel - Polished (post production) [message #7314 is a reply to message #7313 ] Fri, 16 October 2009 22:43 UTC |
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Nice work! gives me more confidence about ordering in SS myself
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| Re: Stainless Steel - Polished (post production) [message #7321 is a reply to message #7314 ] Sat, 17 October 2009 17:13 UTC |
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Thank you so much for sharing and explaining how you did it!
Joris
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| Re: Stainless Steel - Polished (post production) [message #7335 is a reply to message #7312 ] Mon, 19 October 2009 01:55 UTC |
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Thanks for sharing these details. It's ok to say, "Hey, I'm an artisan, a lot of what I do is not something you can buy at a store." The bits about the used sandpaper are particularly helpful. All the help is appreciated!
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Elytra on Shapeways: http://www.shapeways.com/shops/elytra
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| Re: Stainless Steel - Polished (post production) [message #7337 is a reply to message #7299 ] Mon, 19 October 2009 02:11 UTC |
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Mahalo for the great info and pics.
Is there a shrinkage factor going from the 3D model to stainless steel and then post processing?
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| Re: Stainless Steel - Polished (post production) [message #7352 is a reply to message #7299 ] Mon, 19 October 2009 14:19 UTC |
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Yes there is. If you want to get rid off all the little dents it will probably cost you about 0.1 - 0.3mm. This is also the reason why I don't do the inside of the rings (or just very roughly). You want to keep the right size.
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| Re: Stainless Steel - Polished (post production) [message #7369 is a reply to message #7312 ] Wed, 21 October 2009 01:12 UTC |
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3M manufacturing makes a special wet/dry finishing paper called MicroGrit. Other manufacturers probably produce something similar. It is available down to VERY fine grits like 2000g! The backing is plastic, it is very durable and works very well on all metals. Also, there are many diamond based abrasives that work extremely fast on hard materials like stainless steel. These cost more but the time savings often justifies the cost. If you have a rotary tool like a Dremel or a flex shaft you can use small felt wheels with various metal finishing compounds. These come in stick form. World wide you can look for products known as "Emery" "Tripoli" or "Diamond White" these are coarser compounds with a noticeable cutting action. Final polish on stainless is usually done with "White Rouge". Or spend a few bucks and use diamond paste compounds.
Also there are silicone rubber based polishing wheels. These small wheels are impregnated with various abrasives. Available from coarse to extremely fine. The coarser wheels have a distinct cutting action. The finest grits can produce mirror finish.
Just keep in mind no matter what system you use, you will need to do fine finishing in several steps. If you jump from 200g to a "polishing" wheel it will leave scratch marks that just won't go away. The rule of thumb for polishing metal is not coarser than a 600 grit finish before final polishing starts. At a minimum I 'd go from 200g - 400g - 600g or even to 800g before using polishing compounds.
No way around it polishing is laborious but if you take care in developing a system you can optimize your time. OHH, WEAR A DECENT DUST MASK!
-G
"Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art."
Leonardo da Vinci
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| Re: Stainless Steel - Polished (post production) [message #7371 is a reply to message #7369 ] Wed, 21 October 2009 02:14 UTC |
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Super-useful! Exactly the kind of detail that I need. Cheers.
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Elytra on Shapeways: http://www.shapeways.com/shops/elytra
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| Re: Stainless Steel - Polished (post production) [message #7441 is a reply to message #7299 ] Fri, 23 October 2009 15:21 UTC |
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OK probably I am just cheap that I am using used paper 
GlenG thanks, I wil give MicroGrit a try.
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| Re: Stainless Steel - Polished (post production) [message #7445 is a reply to message #7441 ] Fri, 23 October 2009 16:36 UTC |
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Actually! The 3M abrasive is called "MicroFine". There is another similar product called "MicroGrit" by another manufacturer. Hobby/Modeling suppliers are a good source for these type materials.
-G
"Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art."
Leonardo da Vinci
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| Re: Stainless Steel - Polished (post production) [message #7446 is a reply to message #7299 ] Fri, 23 October 2009 16:48 UTC |
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How about sand blasting?
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| Re: Stainless Steel - Polished (post production) [message #7459 is a reply to message #7299 ] Sat, 24 October 2009 13:11 UTC |
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Bryson79,
I would be very interesed to find out what sand blasting would do to SS. Has anyone tried this?
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| Re: Stainless Steel - Polished (post production) [message #7626 is a reply to message #7441 ] Thu, 05 November 2009 18:53 UTC |
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Sand blasting eh?
Lots of variables here in terms of equipment and blasting media.
None will actually polish metal. As the name implies, blasting is an impact process with a distinct peening effect. All blast media produce some level of a matting effect. Glass beads or Zircon beads produce a smooth satin surface. Which feels nice to the touch and can look very nice too. Sometimes you can mask off some polished areas then bead blast other areas for contrast. Coarser medias, like silicon carbide or aluminum oxide have a distinct cutting action and will leave surfaces rough to the touch and dead flat in color. This is great for preparing surfaces when you intend to paint or glue parts together but it ain't real attractive otherwise. There are other much finer and softer medias like corn cob, walnut shells, even cornstarch. These media can be used for a burnishing effect on previously polished surfaces.
The pre-polished surfaces provided on some shapeways parts are put through a barrel finishing process. This is similar to a "rock tumbler" where batches of parts are sealed up in a rubber lined barrel along with various abrasive medias. The barrel is rotated for a length of time and the rough places become smooth. This is repeated in several steps, each barrel containing finer abrasive media. Presto, polished parts! The only problem is that these media can not reach into deeply fissured surfaces and tight corners. really the only way to do this is by hand. A rotary tool really helps but still, it is time consuming filthy work. It's one of the reasons i gave up being a goldsmith!
"Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art."
Leonardo da Vinci
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| Re: Stainless Steel - Polished (post production) [message #11262 is a reply to message #7626 ] Tue, 30 March 2010 23:05 UTC |
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this is very helpful. your metal abrasives guy here is doing some research too. thanks much.
[Updated on: Tue, 30 March 2010 23:07 UTC]
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