Metal-Coating WSF Models

I've been designing a camera bracket for the last few months, tweaking the design and dimensions by getting prototypes done in Black, Strong, and Flexible. Once I was happy with it, I ordered a test print in stainless steel. Unfortunately (and as some of you know), the stainless steel process is a thoroughly different beast. The model warped when it was fired and melted in some parts. Even if it had been pristine, however, stainless steel is bloody difficult to work with, and I needed to be able to tap the finished piece to add threads. If only I could have the reliability of WSF with the durability of steel.

I came across a firm in Maryland called RePliForm that specializes in nickel-coating 3D printed parts and models. I sent them one of my bracket prototypes for a sample coating late last week and received it back today.

I'm impressed. The coating is thin enough to leave details and surface qualities in the model, but strong enough to protect the part itself from wear or torque. Because it was just a sample coating, there's no polishing or extra processing, but the results are fantastic nonetheless. Below you can see an uncoated prototype (in BSF), the nickel-coated model next to it, and the test stainless steel print.

Thanks for sharing! This is very interesting.

Even when they are coated, aren't the parts still flexible?

If so, wouldn't the metal coating crack from the stress of flexing?

Lincoln

They are still flexible, but not nearly as much as uncoated WSF models. By and large, the nickel coat makes the model pretty rigid.
Uncoated, my bracket is easily flexed and torqued by hand. Coated, however, it requires mechanical force (though far less than the stainless steel). I have yet to see if the flexing causes any fractures, but the company's website suggests that low-stress applications are entirely within the coating's specs.

You can see a couple more photos of the brackets at my website, www.ahnelson.com.

Thanks for the response. I will look into having some of my art pieces done there. I was going to buy equipment to plate it myself, but I think I should send stuff to them and see how that goes first.

Lincoln

Thanks for sharing !

This is realy great , i see Bathsheba models done there and they look awesome:
https://www.repliforminc.com/RePliKoteApplications.htm#DIGITA L_SCULPTURES


Shapeways, please look into this.. it could definitely be a fantastic addition to the metal materials ...
The fact that the coating thickness is done by a fraction of a mm keeps the model's details yet gives it a mechanical strength as a well as a metal looks.

I can think of my Steampunk Dock for iPhone 4 model made with polished WSF then coated in copper... !

(Render)

I agree. A lot of people would want that.

There's another company, in England, that uses the same process. I think they may have a wider selection of coatings, but it gets pretty expensive for anyone on this side of the Atlantic. The company is 3DDC.

I've been talking to Sean, the owner of RePliForm, about offering the black technical finish that 3DDC has, but so far he hasn't gotten the results he'd like. I'll be sure to post any updates on that.

I am in contact with 3DDC (easier for me in Europe) and I'm looking at plating either Polished WSF or Frosted Ultra Detail.

I asked support at Shapeways to compare the two materials :

"The FUD material does have a very good finish but the polished WSF is the smoother of the two. We are currently not able to polish the FUD as we outsource the parts for polishing and only have an agreement to polish the WSF."

I was wondering about polishing the FUD.

If anyone has questions/comments I would be keen to share experiences.

Regards,
Mark

I polished some of my FUD parts just using progressively finer grit sand paper. Starting at 600.

Then used a buffing wheel with buffing compound attached to my dremel.

Worked great. Just be careful as thin parts of FUD can be brittle.

Lincoln

Hi Lincoln,

Thanks for the information. Good to know. The design I have in mind would be quite difficult to hand polish (lots of undercuts).

The ideal would be some sort of mechanical polishing like that used for WSF. I wonder if a tool like that exists for hobbyists.

Regards,
Mark

If you do the whole thing with buffing wheels on a rotary tool (like a dremel), you can work on some tight spots.

I am assuming that they polish stuff here using a vibratory polisher. You can buy small ones online for under $100, but I think you will have trouble finding polishing medium that is small enough to get into tiny spots.

Best of luck on your search, and please report here if you find out any other options.

Lincoln

for WSF they are using an ultrasonic cleaner. You can pick up a small one for jewlery for about $100. They have something in the cleaner other then water. I doubt this method would work on metal in any reasonable time period.

lol this place is walking distance from my house! I'll be going there this week.

I had heard rumors of a place like this near by, but didn't know how close it was.

I was there today for an hour or so. Pretty interesting stuff! the parts feel like metal, are strong, and are super light! More info to come.

@Baltimore - Yes, please do share. I'm very interested in this too, as mentioned above, for art pieces.

Glenn