I would love to see wax as a material option. Currently I am doing some modeling work for a few people and they really wish we had wax as a material option. Mostly for producing high detail casts and molds for jewelry design. I have looked around on the net and found some commercial 3D printers that can do wax. However it got me thinking why isn't that an option here? I know you guys are always improving your processes and perhaps this is something that was tried before. But I was curious to know if it is even a possibility or just something Shapeways has just written off
This comes up every few weeks here, and so far shapeways' answer has always been that the wax is too fragile to survive worldwide shipping.
Thats a bummer. It would allow so many high detail molds to be made. It would open up a lot of possiblities...I know of some machine shops around town that make a good amount of money making metal molds for people. The molds are cheaper than a 3D printed metal mold but a wax one would work to.
Just as a suggestion, the B9Creator can print with resin that can be used for lost-wax casting. It may be more expensive than you're looking for, though xD
Right now we're in holiday mode, but wax (or an alternate molding medium) has been under investigation for some time. Of course the more interest our community shows, the higher the priority so keep it coming!
For what is worth can you do wax 3D printing was the first thing question I looked for after signing up.
No. It's often requested, but it's not an option yet. Silver/Bronze/Brass are done with a lost wax process, but it's not an option (yet) for us to have the wax shipped to us.
I know I am a voice among many. I do have various wax printing options available to me BUT none of the prints look to be as clean as those printed at Shapeways. The models I receive are mostly printed in blue wax and require a great deal of clean-up after casting. Unfortunately they are too delicate to work on precasting. I know for a model that I would like to reproduce several times having a copy made in metal by Shapeways is a great option. Then a flexible made can be made from which waxes can be pulled for casting. Unfortunately I am often creating custom designs and would like to cast in gold or platinum. Having a high quality wax from Shapeways would be ideal!