Durability, archival materials.

I am an artist who does some work mathematically. I want to generate the forms through printing, but I have no actual idea how long models hold up for. Can they be improved by backing up with, or impregnating with other materials? What changes do you see over time, do things get brittle, disintegrate, or yellow for example?

The plastics will likely degrade per their "natural" limitations. I have no idea for the sandstone, other than the dyes will fade eventually. The metals are your best bet for longevity, though all but the gold plated will corrode eventually. The other option for the metals is to take them to your local plating shop and have them flash chrome the item. What most people think of as chrome plating is actually nickel plating for that white/silvery colour and a flashed layer of chromium as an anti-odidizing agent. The flashed chrome is so thin as to be transparent.

Outdoors, ultraviolet light from the sun will be highly detrimental to Shapeways' plastic materials. Indoors it would be oxidation that one would worry about. Colors will fade over years, but I think physical degradation would be minimal indoors. The metals will easily last for thousands of years indoors with little degradation in arid regions.

As for post process treatments that could be done to improve longevity we would need to know what material. What Shapeways material did you have in mind?

Hi, thanks for your responses. I'm a novice at 3D printing, but you can see my work online at annpreston-sculptor.com, but anyway, I've begun to work on it a little, Do correct me if I get this wrong.

First of all durability and archival are different properties. Durability is if you wack it, drop it, grind it etc., what will happen. Archival is how long and perfectly will a material last under good conditions. The second is what I'm most concerned with here. For art objects, the problem is that we are using a new material here with no significant track record. So anyone who has been at this awhile, what do you see? For example, are things yellowing, using flexibility, becoming more fragile with age?

All I've done so far is review the basic materials on a simple level , and begun to think about the structure of those materials while being printed. In a couple of weeks I should be able to talk with people and NASA JPL who are using 3D printing for space going parts. They will have done some thorough research.

STRONG and FLEXIBLE and ALUMNIDE are sintered nylon, and sintered nylon with aluminum. Nylon has good toughness, high strength, good flame retardant. On the other hand, it oxidizes, and is susceptible to acids and bases, and absorbs water with a related dimensional instability. In landfills nylon lasts 30 or 40 years. The sintering involves "melting" each particle so that they join with their neighbors, much like wet ice cubes refrozen. This makes the material very porous, which is why they can dye it. The small particle size and exposure to air probably accelerate any degradation over time to an unknown degree. I am wondering if saturating and painting it with acrylic gesso might stabilize it, but suspect that this might shrink and warp structures as they dry. One way to find out.

DETAIL PLASTIC is acrylic. Acrylic is used in archival artist paints so it is very long lasting, possibly centuries. . It has good weather, and chemical resistance, good UV, good toughness. It has good transparency, and is flame resistant and does not bad chemical when burning (good for lamp shades) On the other hand it is susceptible to solvents stress, it is not flexible, and can crack on impact. The 3D printing is not sintered, so it is a solid material. This looks like a good bet for longevity. I note that Golden paints recommends a UV resistant final coat, probably to protect pigments, but not a bad idea.

STAINLESS STEEL, and the bronze it contains are also very long lasting. However, in 3D printing, the metal grains are glued together. I do not what this glue is, or how permanent it is, or if it survives the next step, which is flooding the porous structure created with bronze. I believe that is a question to find out about.

Colored dyes are frequently very fugitive.

Anyway, that's it for now. Thanks for your responses they were quite accurate. Ann

First, I wanted to say a little about why look at what's permanent and not. 3D printing is a new concept in the art world. The object need not be permanent, it can just be reprinted. That's exciting, and appropriate to our times, and these materials and process are wonderful. However there are cases where instant reprinting just doesn't work:. For example, if you are putting a lot of work into post-process, such as doing paintings, drawings or sculptural additions on the surfaces (which is what i'm doing) or if you are working larger and each print costs a lot. So I, and probably many other people, could use more information to appropriately use these materials.

Anyway, I spoke with a friend who has been into this for a long time. so here's a little more information.

The ceramics and stainless steel are the best bet for longevity. I was wrong, there is no glue left in the finished stainless product. There might be slight rusting in wet or salty environments like a beach house., Passivating with phosphoric acid to prevent rust is a good idea. Plating was considered likely to wear off and look bad. Silver is lost wax and has no problems.

White, Strong and Flexible, shows some slight yellowing after 10 years kept in indoor light, but otherwise seems pretty good. Dyes are suspect if you are looking for longevity.

Sandstone dies do fade. Otherwise the models have lasted well for 15 years. The cyanoacrylate bonding is something to be suspicious of .

The transparent frosted has longevity problems. It will absorb water and deform in moist environments. It yellows quickly in normal room light. So it is not at all like acrylic or lucite.

Good info Ann, thanks!

The thanks should be to my friend. I'd love to hear other people's experiences. I'll post any new information I get. Ann

There's always the option of finding a place that does accelerated life testing for objects so you have a better idea of what happens to the materials over time in various environments.

The folks working on the 10,000 year clock have put a lot of thought into this subject and they are trying to make a machine that will continue to function over that time span. Interesting stuff! http://longnow.org/clock/

See this old thread for how the "stainless steel" holds up
to the elements. (IMHO this info should be collected and put into the faq and/or on the material pages)

It's a shame the glass process was discontinued. Since it was slightly porous it may not have held up as well in wet and freezing conditions, or with acid rain, but potentially it could last longer than ceramics.

The patina on that little crab is beautiful. I never would have thought of putting stainless steel outdoors. I wonder if bronze patinas would work at all. Ann

Thanks Mr Nib!

I didn't know about the Long Now project. I'll be following its progress.