3D printing earrings and pins

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by ByMichaelCPoulsen, Jul 15, 2014.

  1. ByMichaelCPoulsen
    ByMichaelCPoulsen Active Member
    Hi Shapies,

    I have browsed through many pages of earring designs here on Shapeways. It seems that 99,9 % are actual pendants hanging from a pin hook that the customer would need to buy elsewhere.

    Is it not possible to actually 3D print a one-piece earring were the pin is a part of the design? Would it not be strong enough in precious metals. I assume that standard earring pins are made of stainless steel and then silver plated or gold plated. Does ANYONE have any experience in 3D printing (casting) the whole complete item in precious metals? I would like to hear about any experiences you may have.

    I have seen 1 piece on Shapeways where the item is actually 3D printed in one piece, however it is printed in brass which is stronger than precious metals and appears also to be slightly thicker than standard dimension:
    https://www.shapeways.com/model/1548049/rapier-earrings-17th -c-sword.html?modelId=1548049&materialId=84

    A standard earring pin is about Ø0.8mm (diameter) and sice this dimension is possible to actually print/cast in 3D in precious metals I assume it can only be due to strength that no-one is pursuing this way of designing?

    Cheers,

    Mike
     
  2. UniverseBecoming
    UniverseBecoming Well-Known Member
    This designer has several like you are describing. Like this one for example.

    I would think that the precious metals would be strong enough since there is hardly any force applied to the product while in use.

    Might even be a safety feature if too malleable. I once had a car that had automatic seatbelts, a Ford, and my girlfriend's earring somehow got caught on the belt when I turned off the engine. She screamed in pain, but was ok! HAHA! :D It was designed such that when the engine was shut down the belts would move forward about 20 inches and vice versa when the engine was turned on.
     
  3. ByMichaelCPoulsen
    ByMichaelCPoulsen Active Member
    Thanks for replying...

    Yes... but they are also in stainless steel. I have not seem any examples in precious metals.

    But I think I will give it a try with Premium silver which is to so expensive.

    Thanks,

    Mike
     
  4. seriaforma
    seriaforma Well-Known Member
    Just out of curiosity, I did a pair of hoop earrings sometime ago - in plastic.
    But I never printed them in silver. A buyer would still need the earring back.

    Those swords, though, are pretty cool.
     
  5. lensman
    lensman Well-Known Member
    If you're talking about the standard stud earrings, then no, it is not possible. I have tried this. It's not the strength that stops them being designed it's the ever popular "thin wall error" that prohibits this. The post length is too long (11mm) for the thickness of the post, which is itself very thin.
     
  6. numarul7
    numarul7 Well-Known Member
    If it is "impossible" how this one was done http://shpws.me/pVn4 ? Let`s not make it "it can`t be done". Only drawback it is it needs silicone backs and thickness 1 mm.

    Other option it is to order WAX and cast it yourself ?! That will handle 0.8 ..etc
     
    Last edited: Jul 16, 2014
  7. lensman
    lensman Well-Known Member
    Well, I would suggest that those earrings have not yet been printed by Shapeways. The only real photo of the earrings could well have been made by traditional means. I'm simply relating what I have been told (and that many others have found out over the years) that a post measuring .80mm by 11mm will NOT be printed by Shapeways in Polished Silver....


    From Shapeways materials page on Silver:

    1.0 mm thick
    A wire is a feature whose length is greater than two times its width. An unsupported wire is connected to walls on less than two sides.

    For Silver, the minimum unsupported wire is determined by our ability to successfully print your product in wax, create a plaster mold, and then cast and polish the metal object. Wires need to be strong enough to not break during the wax printing and plaster casting process, and to allow metal to flow within the part during metal casting.

    To ensure the successful creation of your product, make sure unsupported wires are thicker than the minimum requirement. If they are not, try making them thicker, or consider a material with a smaller minimum unsupported wire requirement. If you have bulky areas of a model connected by thin wires, these wires will need to be significantly thicker than the minimum to allow the metal to successfully flow within the model.

     
    Last edited: Jul 16, 2014
  8. lensman
    lensman Well-Known Member
    So, I just did a quick test with a pair of earrings. Each post was 11mm long but one was .80mm in diameter and the other 1mm. The .80 post was marked with the "thin wall error" but the 1mm was not.... As to whether or not the 1mm one would actually print I have no idea...
     
  9. UniverseBecoming
    UniverseBecoming Well-Known Member
    I was just sitting and thinking about the discussion and this came to mind. How much do people care what the gauge is? I mean within a few tenths of a mm. Though the standard is 0.8 mm, how much would someone care if the gauge was 1 mm? I'm sure 11 by 1 mm would print without issues, question is, would people buy it?

    Taking a look at Rio Grande the range they are offering is from 0.6858 mm to 0.9144.

    Shapeways ought to R&D this and give a solution that lets everyone design earrings without having any questions about it.
     
  10. UniverseBecoming
    UniverseBecoming Well-Known Member
    I psychically answered your question Lensman! HAHA! :D

    Actually though, come to think of it, there is the guideline for the stone holding prongs on rings advising that they not be too long.
     
  11. lensman
    lensman Well-Known Member
    Yes, I think if the 1mm posts would print then I don't believe a wearer would notice the difference.

    Regarding the post size for stones, I have actually successfully printed some that worked, as have others, I believe.

     
  12. ByMichaelCPoulsen
    ByMichaelCPoulsen Active Member
    Well, first of all thanks to all of you for joining in for this conversation :) I guess I just touched an interesting area!

    I tried to measure 2 different earrings of my wires. One had a post of 0.7 mm and one had a post of 0.8 mm. Even though we are talking 0.1 mm physical difference the visual difference was noticeable. A post of 1.0 mm would appear thick.

    Also there are two important things to consider 1) can a post of 1.0 mm get into the hole in the ear and 2) can the 1.0 mm post actually fit into the back catcher?

    Yesterday I did an earring design with a post of 0.85 mm (as I assumed that metal shrinkage and polishing would make it 0.8 mm). This model was uploaded to Shapeways without any problems... NO thin walls alert! So now I ordered it and time will tell.

    In fact I also did my own design for the back catcher (lock) for the post. I was uploaded to Shapeways successfully without any thin walls alert BUT it was priced €40 by Shapeways in premium silver compared to the earring itself which also came at a base price of €40. I'm quite sure I would sell any back catchers for €40 so that is the main issue with actually printing the complete earring. I might be able to simplify the back catcher a bit and slice a few Euros of the price but it will still be too expensive as I believe that a back catcher in silver plated steel is about €5.

    If the two separate items can be printed in the same file the customer won't be able to tell that the catcher is expensive because he/she is buying the complete set. But still, it would make the price less competitive and you would also have to add the fee to Shapeways + you markup.

    Cheers, Mike
     
  13. UniverseBecoming
    UniverseBecoming Well-Known Member
    Perhaps a design could be done where the back catcher, or ear nut as it's commonly called, could be attached somewhere on the design in such a way that it could be detached by metal fatigue. More specifically, the ear nut would be attached with a very small connection to the main form and it would be wiggled back and forth a few times until it broke off and could then be used as an ear nut.

    This most likely would not work very well for 18k gold since gold is so highly malleable and even alloyed it may be able to be wiggled hundreds of times without breaking due to the high gold content.

    The break would leave a surface imperfection on the two surfaces, but that could be incorporated into the design.

    The main question would be, how small of a junction could we get away with before Shapeways would start complaining about metal flow insufficiency? :)
     
  14. seriaforma
    seriaforma Well-Known Member
    Maybe you could make the ear nut in WSF and have several so the purchaser would not have to worry about losing one or two.
     
  15. UniverseBecoming
    UniverseBecoming Well-Known Member
    That's and excellent idea Seriaforma! :)

    If people ordered the earrings and the ear nuts in the same order everything could be shipped in the same order. I've never bothered to design earrings because of the problems associated with connecting them to the ears while staying within the bounds of 3D printing, but with your idea, maybe I will make something to add to my collection.
     
  16. FabMeJewelry
    FabMeJewelry Member
    Just ordered these and they work great with earring backings(nuts), pins are only 1,15 - 0,95 mm in diameter and 10 mm long !

    Sprued Earrings.jpg

    10472011_883457448335835_1692516469_n.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jul 22, 2014
  17. lensman
    lensman Well-Known Member
    Printed as one piece in metal? Or did you cut off that C shaped black piece after printing?
     
  18. FabMeJewelry
    FabMeJewelry Member
    Yes exactly how you say it, to get around the no (interlocking parts / more than 2 parts) we cut away the black C-shaped sprue with a small cutting tool after receiving the earrings. Diameter of the sprue is only 1,25mm :) saves a lot of startup fees !
     
  19. seriaforma
    seriaforma Well-Known Member
    Nice!
    I've been thinking about trying this but hadn't gotten around to it yet.
    Good to know it works!
    Have you done other pieces this way?
     
  20. UniverseBecoming
    UniverseBecoming Well-Known Member
    This will work in some instances where the volume is not too large as in your example, but if one tries doing a larger volume they will give a rejection regarding metal flow. I know because I've had that rejection before. Of course, one could get around that by just adding more sprues. :p

    You've got them to make the ear posts! Good! Check that off the list!

    But the ear nuts though. The polyamide ear nuts are a good idea for now, but if we could just think of a way to do them in metal along with the rest of the earrings that would free up a lot of designers who would like to design earrings for Shapeways. Something that wouldn't be too difficult to implement by an ordinary consumer.