- Material Overview
- Design Guidelines
Available Finishes:
Stainless Steel
Bronze Plated Matte
Bronze Plated Glossy
Gold Plated Matte
Gold Plated Glossy
Ships in: Uncoated: 12 business days, Coated: 16 business days
Handling Fee Per Model: Stainless: $6.00, Bronze Plated: $7.50, Gold Plated: $9.00
Price Per cm3: Stainless: $8.00, Plated: $8.00
Minimum Wall: 3mm
Max Bounding Box: 1000x450x250mm
Properties
Strength
Detail
Smoothness
Flexibility
Glossiness
Transparency
3D printed stainless steel has a slightly pitted surface finish for that vintage, steam punk look. This material can be polished smoother for jewelry, structural parts, and anything in between. Shapeways 3D printed stainless steel is very strong and rigid with similar properties to 420 stainless steel, except it is infused with a bronze content of up to 30%. This gives some Stainless Steel objects a slightly bronze hue.
We deposit small drops of glue onto layers of stainless steel powder. Then a new layer of powder is spread and the process repeats until we have a fully printed tray. Then we take the printed objects out carefully. In this stage of the process, the objects are very fragile–similar to wet sand. After, we sprue the objects together and infuse them with bronze. Items closer to the bronze infusion start point will absorb more bronze. These items might look more golden than other items. We are working on standardizing the colors, but in the meanwhile, there will be some color differences in the models you may receive (see picture above). Then, we cut off the objects from the tree and polish them with a tumbler. Depending on how fragile the printed objects are we use different polishing media. This is why some objects may have a slightly shinier surface than others. After polishing,we spray on a sealant and ship to your doorstep.This material is watertight, is dishwasher safe, not recyclable, and not foodsafe. It is heatproof to 831C/1528F degrees. Higher temperatures may significantly change material properties.
Technical PDFs: Material Data Sheet
Top Design Tips
- 1 Sandcastle Rule: If this structure was made of wet sand, would it break? - There's a part in the production process for stainless steel 3D printing during which the model is fragile and brittle. It's basically like wet sand. When you design, ask yourself this question: if I made this out of wet sand or brittle clay, could I lift the design without it breaking? If the answer is "no," then your design might break in production.
- 2 Hanging structures are more likely to break - Any structure that has a hanging structure is like to break. This includes the end in an unsupported, heavy object, as pictured. Another example of something that would break is a miniature of a person holding a guitar with one frail arm held straight out. The frail arm would break.
- 3 Walls under 3mm might be printable depending on your design’s structure - In general, if your model is well supported (thicker walls weave in with thinner walls), or your thin walls are small relative to your structure (small rings and cufflinks), then you could print down to 1.5mm thin walls. To learn more about this, take a look at the next few design tips.
- Read more Design Guidelines
Please note that the 3D printed products are intended for decorative purposes. They are not suited to be used as toys or to be given to underage children. The products should not come into contact with electricity and be kept away from heat. Our materials, except for 3D printed glazed ceramic, are not food safe.
