Metal plate your 3D prints at home.
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- Опубликовано: 11 сен 2024
- Learn how to coat your 3D prints with copper at home, with copper electroplating.
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I forgot to add a few things to the video.
- The conductive paint is called "Leitsilber L100"
- The voltages used during the plating process are 3 to 6 Volts DC
- Hydrogen Peroxide percentage I use is 3-6%
![Chlöe - Shake (Feat. Jeremih) [Official Visualizer]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/aDs_1ufpfv8/mqdefault.jpg)
It's nice to see that Thom Yorke has hobbies outside of Radiohead
No droopy depression eye though...
He should 3d print a green plastic water can
Nah, he looks nothing like Yorke.
Pretending to be Australian?
PERFECT. Pleasant, chill voice, no music or flashy graphics, everything needed to know in less than 10 minutes. Thanks!
Indeed. The performances can get tiring.
Just a heads up: I bought graphite lubricant from the hardware store, and the particle size was enormous. So it wouldn't really mix into the ethanol, and wouldn't stick to the part. I went online and found powdered graphite with a specified particle size (50 micron). In other words, be careful what you buy for graphite.
I've heard sources differ saying that graphite paint should be sanded before electroplating and copper paint doesn't need to be sanded (but is more expensive much like the silver paint here). Did you have good luck with the graphite paint without having to sand it down?
@@ImBenGraham no. I attempted sanding and different substrates for the graphite. I only had partial success. That is to say, the part would only plate in certain areas, and eventually those areas stopped growing. I resorted to measuring resistance across the part and found that I could only plate areas where resistance was consistently below about 5kOhm. Since it was so unreliable, I gave up. I did end up with a lot of copper dust. I considered trying to use it, but don't have time to continue the project.
Thanks!
@@ImBenGraham your not supposed to sand it you should polish it
At 4:23 he mentions grease with graphite to display one of the uses that graphite has in modern day, and doesn´t suggest to use GREASE with 1% graphite as your main source for graphite-powder-PAINT (that is up to 100% graphite, by he way). How can you go and buy a lubricant to use it as a paint?
An excellent "how to". I'm definitely going to try this on a print.
I would like all the people who make videos on DIY conductive paint to test the materials by exposing them to temperature changes such as 5ºC to 40ºC, scratches, resistance measurements, shocks, etc. just to see the resistance of that or this particular method. Excellent video, I'm saving it and my like!
Excellent Video! Simple process, easily obtained materials, clearly explained. Beautifully elegant!
Thanks for your kind words!
@@BrodieFairhall Kind, yes; but also very true
Nice tute. Quick, direct, no timelaps musak. 👍
Made my first attempt to plate a 3D print today. Got all set but when I lowered the part into the bath I discovered 3D prints FLOAT !
How did the parts turn out when you figured that part out?
@@nczioox1116 I was aiming to get a textured surface like pitted bronze and that's more or less how the test parts turned out. Main problem i had was uneven plating with thick copper forming in some areas and none or thin in others. Unfortunately I've not had time to have another go due to illness in the family.
@@ColinWatters Oh I see. Thank you. good luck
Floating is likely a property of density. Pure plastic won't float but a lot of 3d printing is *not* pure plastic they have a lot of air in them and simply build the center with some scaffolding to save plastic and weight. In theory you could end up making copper coated floating parts that might end up being really kinda strong, since the copper shell would be pretty strong.
@@davidolsen1222 Yes definitely a density issue I was only using something like 25% infill so lots of air inside. Just caught me by surprise. I'd been watching people plate metal objects suspended from hooks and had my own hook all ready to go when I really needed a boat anchor :-)
I never thought about copper acetate. The result is pretty cool.
Not as good as copper sulphate, but far easier for the average person to get and safer for kids/schools etc
Wow! Amazing work Brodie! Thank for teaching us this.... You've basically unlocked the secret of alchemy for us. I wish I could buy you dinner for that! :D
Very cool! Thinking about doing this for PCBs
Thanks Brodie, been looking at a few methods fo doing this, including electroless but this looks like the best all-round. Liked and subbed :)
Pretty cool for an aged copper look. Because if you're gonna varnish it to protect it, why bother and use paint and varnish instead. Great video!
Awesome video! You just blew my mind away with this! Definitely going to try this with my prints at some point.
Glad I'm not the only one who saved the Go Pro plastic packaging for re-use, hah. Waste not, want not!
Great video, just what I was looking for. Thanks!
AWESOME! Please, do more videos like that!
Hello! Thank you for recording this, this video is extremely informative. I'm trying to estimate how expensive electroplating is in practice. Let's take this silver conductive paint as an example: could you estimate how many models of the size of the on in video can you paint using such bottle?
Looks great! Hiw durable is the metal layer though? Is it easy to scratch off even with thicker coats?
I wonder the exact same thing. If it's sitting on that layer of graphite which doesn't seem to be bound by any adhesive at all...how scratch-resistant could the graphite/copper two layer coating be?
Awesome demonstration!
Man, your videos are really good, thanks for sharing these ideas!
Thank you 😊
Ah ha! One side of the chess set can be finished. Great video!
If you have a look at my other plating video, I plate with copper and nickel. So you could do both sides of the chess set 😊
Came back here because this became very useful for my pebble wiper :D instead of applying annoying tape all over it i'm gonna try this :O
Thanks! so hyped
also I wondre if the graphite powder solution can be used to make low-wear self-lubricating prints!
Chemical depostion of Cu is best way to go.
Reativly simple reaction, chemicals are relativly simple, Cu suphate is main.
Nylon plastic is superior, epoxy is ok.
Just plastic has to be sentized by Sn ions.
On nylon you get a shiny Cu surface
This is excellent. Can't wait to try it out.
Not really what Im looking for (im searching for a vacuum metalizing alternative for vacuum formed visors), but still pretty cool.
Great video, but why cover the expensive and beautiful silver paint with copper?
Excellent work Brodie, watching update vid next. Cheers, JAYTEE
Sweet work, thanks for the edification!
I had a great deal of luck with the copper plating on the nickel spray paint mentioned (i believe from MG chemicals?)
I used copper sulfate crystals in bath of distilled water and muratic acid from a pool supply store.
However! I have had 0 luck getting nickel to plate to it- even though it readily plates on to other metals (even my copper anodes!) - it refuses to stick to the surface of the print, even after it's been plated and sanded. The resistance on the surface of the print is
The MG Chemicals nickel spray paint is fantastic!
If you're trying to plate with Nickel, you'll need to make an electrolyte suitable for Nickel. I make one in my other electroplating video, but if you're already using Muriatic/Hydrochloric acid (Sulphuric Acid works best overall as it conducts electricity better than most electrolytes). You wont want to use the copper sulfate crystals, Instead you can put a small amount of Nickel in dilute acid and leave it until it goes a nice green colour. If you're impatient, you can put a nickel anode AND cathode into the acid and run some current through it until it goes green.
If I plate with metals other than copper, I still plate copper on first, kind of like having a good undercoat.
@@BrodieFairhall yeah- I've got two different electrolyte baths. for the nickel, I'm using nickel chloride solution (made with current passed through nickel tabbing in HCL/distilled water)
I also added some Epsom salt to increase the conductivity. It plates onto most metals very cleanly - but it won't touch my plated copper part -and I can't figure out why.
EDIT: I should add that I've also sanded the copper down so the surface is not oxidized - the resistance is phenomenally low, AND the nickel electrolyte happily plates onto brass, pennies, and even the copper wire I hang parts from.
I can only assume it's something I have overlooked this far !
this is so smart bro.. :O and its a 4 year old video.. knowledge is pawa... i beed weak so far... but now... im even weaker :D
Truly creative...
Very cool. Thanks for the fun project.
Very helpful! Thank you!
Very interesting. I shall have to try this.
Thanks! This is cool!
you gave me a an idea of what i can do with the used vinegar/peroxide etchant from when I do PCB's :P very nice
That's a fantastic idea! I bet it works better than Ammonium Persulfate too.
Nice one! Hope to see more content like this from you in future :)
so good ...may you share ratio of material. first liquids especially. vinegar and what mixed for electrolyte :)
Also what concentration is the hydrogen peroxide? 3%? 14%? Does it have to be good grade or is normal hydrogen peroxide from the store fine?
Excellent video! Congratulations!
I really enjoyed your video! I have a question as well: Your electrolyte solution method seems very easy and straightforward compared to other DIY electrolyte videos I've seen. Is there any downside to this method, such as reduced purity? Also, do you recommend adding a brightener to prevent rough surfaces and large crystals on 3D parts when using your method, or is that not needed?. Thanks in advance!
The electrolytes used in both of my plating videos are made using cheap and easy to acquire chemicals and are a little safer than some other options.
The main differences in the use / results will be;
- using Sulphuric acid instead of vinegar makes the electrolyte more conductive, which means more metal will deposit in hard all the little hard to reach places. You can counteract this by moving the part around.
- brighteners do exactly what they say, make the metal deposit in a smoother and more even coat. You can try adding a very small amount of sugar as a brightener.
Something that will have more of an impact on the plating quality is the conductive coating. I now use a conductive nickel spray paint made by MG chemicals. It's far cheaper than the silver paint, sticks to a print better and gives an amazing result. Both of the paint options deliver far better results than the graphite mixture.
@@BrodieFairhall Thank you much for your detailed answer!
@@BrodieFairhall I’m thankful for finding this material, even this updated comment.
Brodie, you’re master. Your way to copper plate without sanding is the thing I was searching for. Without this method I would berely into it, but now I’m motivated and starting to prepare materials.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Won’t get the graphite coating dissolved by copper sulfate, if it’s exposed to water ? Even for a minute ?
Graphite isn't water soluble, you can make a "suspension" with graphite, which is exactly what I do to paint the graphite onto the print, but if you leave it sit for a little while the graphite and water will separate again. If you were to sit your graphite coated part in water for a long time it will eventually come off.
BRODIE YOU SWEET BOY
Thank you. great video.
To confirm, you used conductive silver paint "before" applying the graphite and then copper plated? Graphite isn't conductive is it? I'm confused how the copper plated onto the graphite. Also, wouldn't copper conductive paint be a better choice over silver conductive paint as far as cost or does the 7% increase (I think it is) increased conductivity worth it?
You use graphite OR the silver paint (I actually use a nickel conductive paint made by MG Chemicals for my plating now, it's cheaper than the silver paint and works very well).
Graphite is conductive, otherwise it wouldn't work at all. It's not as good as the conductive paint, but it's cheap and generally more accessible, but I'd suggest going with the conductive nickel paint I mentioned before, you'll get a much better result.
@@BrodieFairhall Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a try.
Well Done !! And i was looking for something like this
I followed the steps as you outlined them. I painted a part with graphite, but it did not plate. I put a steel nail in the place of the plastic part and it plated right away, so I know that the solution and power supply are working. I also measured the conductivity of the graphite powder I am using and it is fine. So what am I doing wrong? Any suggestions? Thanks for the video BTW.
The graphite coating (or other conductive coating) must have a really low resistance. I've found anything over 1k ohm / sq cm just wont plate at all and ideally it should be below 100 ohms/sq cm.
Brilliant. Thank you
Hi Brodie, sorry to keep bugging you, I tried the second method, I just have a question, are the bubbles suppose to be constant in the 12 hours? Reason why I am asking is that the first 2 hours was fine but then it slowed down quite a bit, does the amount of copper have to do with anything?
That's amazing ... and how to make this in larger scale to build many pcbs ?
Does the copper layer add to the tensile strength and heat resistance of the part by a significant percentage? Thank you for this video.
No. The thickness of the deposited layer is in the order of a few microns, so this does not add to the tensile strength in any meaningful way.
Have you tried this with gold plating? Do you think it would work directly on the graphite or would it need to be done as a second coat on top of the copper? Gold seems like an interesting option as not only does it look great, but it also doesn’t oxidize. Seems like it could be great for 3D printed jewelry especially.
I've never done any gold plating, I did see that Cody's lab has done a few gold plating and reclaiming videos. I'd probably start with a copper base though.
@@BrodieFairhall Thanks, I'll give it a shot! If I have any success, I'll post my results.
@@einsteinx2 did you try? I am thinking of 3d printed jewelry with a silver plate.
@@audone5551 unfortunately I never got around to trying this. Most of my 3d printing projects are on hold right now. If you try it and have any success (or failure!) please reply with your results!
@@einsteinx2 will do. I'd like to make some intricate earings.
Coating a non-conductive part in metal is like the holy grail of manufacturing techniques to me. There's so many cool things you could do with this. Sadly, having to apply graphite powder makes it far less versatile. I guess i'll have to figure out how to do thermal evaporation after all.
Nowadays I use a Nickel conductive paint from MG Chemicals as my conductive coating before plating.
You could also look into "electroless nickel plating" as another potential option, manufacturers are pretty tight lipped about what goes into their electroless plating kits though.
Vapour deposition requires a bit more in the way of equipment, the main 2 being a vacuum chamber and a high current supply, but I can't see why it wouldn't be achievable in a home lab. If you do it, I'd love to hear about it.
Couple questions (sorry if they've been asked before but too many comments to read them all).
What do you recommend for cleaning the plastic parts before you paint them?
I separated the copper oxide. I got blue liquid and sediment at the bottom. Am I mixing it to include the sediment for the plating process or discarding it? What is the sediment?
Thank you!
I just use ethanol / isopropyl alcohol to clean the plastic.
The sediment will just be contaminants in or on the copper you used to make the electrolyte, best to remove them, you can filter the electrolyte through some filter paper/paper towel/some cloth.
My second electroplating video has a bit more detail that isn't covered in this video too.
Also, many people have had issues with different types of graphite, I don't use graphite anymore, I use a conductive nickel spray paint from MG Chemicals. It's much cheaper than the silver paint and works really well.
Good luck with your plating!
@@BrodieFairhall Thank you, not only for replying, but for taking the time to share your knowledge. I just became a new subscriber. Your videos are everything I like in a video. They're clear and concise, without a lot of time wasting fluff. Great work! You are a valuable contributor!
Very cool.
Thank you for the video. Does this process give the part a hard, metal like feel? I have some small knobs that I'd like to have them have that really hard feel to them, not plastic feel.
Yes, it's real metal after all. If the part you're plating is really light, the plated part will still be quite light which can ruin the illusion, but the surface will feel the same as a solid metal part.
@@BrodieFairhall Thank you for the reply, Brodie! Do you have any tips to adding weight to 3D printed parts?
@@gracebyseven I've printed parts with cavities and have filled them with metal scrap and epoxy. You could print parts with a grid infill at a low percentage and pause it before the top layers print to fill it with sand or something else. Printing with metal filled filaments (eg colorfabb copper fill) also makes rather heavy parts.
@@BrodieFairhall brilliant, thanks again for the feedback and support!
Hey, great video! I was wondering, can I do this on larger parts, and if so what container do you recommend? (I will a large enough amount of paint/graphite mixture but I'm not sure what container would be viable)
You can absolutely plate larger parts! I'd practice on smaller ones first.
Also I recommend using a conductive nickel spray paint made by MG chemicals now instead of graphite, it works so much better and is much cheaper than the silver paint
Are there any special requirements for the environment like air conditioning? I don't know if there are some explosive/toxic gases as a by-product of electroplating with the chemicals you used.
And how do you dispose your used electrolytes?
These are all great questions and something I should
Environment wise, there aren't any special requirements within the plating environment itself.
A very small amount of Hydrogen gas is given off during the creation of the electrolyte and the plating process.
As for disposal of the electrolyte, copper acetate is aquatoxic so it's not good to go into waterways. There is a lot of literature online stating that a small amount of these chemicals is fine to wash down the sink. Personally I evaporate the liquid and dispose of the remaining crystals in the trash.
@@BrodieFairhall Thanks for your reply. How long does the evaporation take? Since you have quite a lot of electrolyte I think it would take a while and since it contains a lot of vinegar I guess it doesn't smell very good. Maybe it is possible to fasten the evaporation by boiling it, but that would increase the vinegar smell :D. I am just thinking of the woman acceptance factor.
@@Nazrim90 I live in a warm and dry climate, so I generally leave the container outside for a few days and when I check on it again it's normally dry. You could boil it if you wanted, I imagine it would still take a number of hours to evaporate. If you put it in a flat pan rather than a tall bottle it will evaporate faster too.
this was great. You should have millions of subs.
I have a question. I do not know anything about plating, can aluminum plating be done? what about steel? or other silver looking metals? what about brass plating? thank you and sorry for so many questions!
Nickel, Zinc and Tin will be your best option for silver colored metals, Brass plating also works in pretty much the same way, you will likely end up with a more red colored brass as the copper ions transfer more easily than most other metals. I have another electroplating video where I work with Nickel and use a different method to create an electrolyte.
Very cool...but you never said what power source? How much voltage... can i use a car battery charger? set to 6 volts 2 amps or 12volt set to 2 amps or 6 amps... very cool where can you buy carbon powder to make paste? also once its plated can it break off since you said carbon cracks easy... thanks
What was the voltage measurement amounts on that example & was it AC or DC?
R.I.P mic
love it!!!! Thank you so much!
:O coooooooool! that's so awesome!
and it looks like it hided the layers a little too to me! Which is something i hate a lot about 3d printing! the uneven layers you sometimes get.
It absolutely does fill layer lines, you just have to make sure you plate it for a reasonably long time.
It's a double edged sword though, because it also fills in fine details.
The Raven skull was printed in ABS and acetone smoothed first, it did still have some layer lines, but I put almost 1mm of copper on it which filled in all the remaining layer lines.
The graphite paste also fills in a lot of the layer lines too.
Very cool. Will you show us the Chroming process so we can make them silver and reflective?
I don't do Chrome plating personally, the chemicals are very toxic. You can buy chrome plating kits online though.
@@BrodieFairhall Thank you for the reply! Would you say that the process outlined in the video, will work on most 3D prints? Are there any plastics it won't work on? I'm asking cause I want to do many of the trim pieces in an old truck interior.
@@enermaxstephens1051 it will work on most plastics, I would definitely use something better than graphite for that project, I use a conductive nickel spray paint from MG Chemicals which works really well and make sure all parts are cleaned and primed.
can you use charcoal powder in place of graphite?
Thanks, Brodie, nice how-to. What voltage and amperage did you use in this video?
I forgot to put all those important details in the video. I always start with 3 Volts, if it's plating really well, but slowly, I'll increase it up to around 6, but you get a higher risk of burning. If you use graphite, you will probably want to use around 6 volts because the surface resistance isn't as low as the paint. If you have a fixed power supply, moving the part closer or further from the anode has just as much of an effect as a voltage change.
@@BrodieFairhalldo you know how many ohms of residence you get on the graphite paint? Thanks! Great tutorial 👍
@@ToFeliz if it's over about 500ohms measured over a space of 25mm it's very hard to get anything to plate at all. Ultimately, I would try something different if you've got a resistance of 100 ohms. Some people have commented that the graphite they've purchased is barely conductive at all, so check it before you go to the effort of painting it on.
Now I use a conductive nickel spray paint made by MG Chemicals, it is much, much better than the graphite and way cheaper than the silver paint.
@@BrodieFairhall great tips 👍 thanks 😊
I tried this process with graphite powder on my PLA prints but could not get the graphite to bond to the model. The graphite would just dust off when it dries. Looking at another you-tube video I used Mod Podge glue mixed with graphite, this almost worked as I could see some copper dust form after some hours in the solution using 4.5V and two copper plates on each side of the model. Have you successfully used graphite powder before?
I used to use graphite powder all the time, some of the models in both of my plating videos are coated with graphite.
With graphite I generally get copper visibly starting to deposit to the model in a couple of minutes, you could try thinning out the modpodge with some alcohol and using less of it if you're finding it helps keep the graphite on.
I would measure the resistance of your coated part with a multimeter if you have one. I have found that if I put the probes 10mm apart and measure anything over 1k ohm, the part is almost possible to plate decently,
I will have to try this again. My first attempt failed. There was no copper forming on my pla printed part coverd with graphite/acetone. The graphite also washed off and contamimated the coper solution. Maybe the graphite will stick better if I mix it with acrylic paint.
The acetone will degrade the PLA pretty quick - try a different solvent. Or goto ABS and the surface will dissolve and mix with the graphite a bit giving a stronger bond.
Love the video! Def gonna try this. What solution hydrogen peroxide did you use? There is several different solutions available.
I used a 3% solution
Would it work with water and salt instead of the electrolyte solution you prepared?
No, but then yes. If you look at how I make the electrolyte in my other plating video (ruclips.net/video/HWBwebWAT9c/видео.html), you'll see what I mean.
Whoa someone is ripping you off a bit. The MSRP on Kemo L100 is 10€ and mail-order prices are usually slightly below that.
When i bought some a while back, it was labelled "rear window defogger repair liquid", so maybe you'll find something suitable. It seems like there are some on Aliexpress for $10 shipped worldwide, not sure if they're as good.
Everything in Australia costs more (and I was dumb enough to mention the price in AUD rather than a more common currency).
I've been using MG Chemicals conductive Nickel spray paint for everything since about 2-3 months after I made this video. It's better all around and you get much more for your money.
Silk pla Devil Desigin... looks metal. But i like Your approach.
Can you make graphite powder by drawing on a piece of paper with a pencil?
I tried doing this with a pencil and found the result was barely conductive at all. I've since found out there are a lot of polymers in pencils, not just graphite.
@@BrodieFairhall Ah it seems graphite content varies with hardness of the pencil. The softer the higher the graphite content. But getting specific pencils probably isn't any less effort than getting graphite powder in the first place.
@@PhaTs00p I got the softest pencils I could locally (not that soft, they were 2B) and couldn't get a resistance below about 50k ohms.
I tend not to use graphite at all now, I use a conductive nickel paint made by MG Chemicals, it's so much better and much cheaper than the silver paint.
Great Job..
Thanks!
Can graphite from pencils be ground into powder to made the plating paint?
I tried this and the resistance was too high, but I only tried one brand of pencil, it could be totally different with others.
Most pencil lead is actually a polymer.
Just don't. Running graphite gouging electrodes from the welding store thru a pencil sharpener is ok.
I don't have access to conductive paints where I live, I tried to make a layer of graphite to make it conductive, but it didn't work, what am I doing wrong?
I've been finding that some graphite powder isn't just graphite and it isn't very conductive. So you may have to try a different brand of graphite powder.
You can also apply multiple coats of the graphite to see if that helps.
If you have a multimeter, you can check the resistance of the painted surface and it should be at most a few hundred ohms between any two points or it won't plate well.
if you want a metal 3d print build a foundry for ~50 bucks and make a mould with the print, then proceed to cast the metal of your choosing.
Hi Brodie, quick question, the part where you mix the vinegar and the peroxide, you add a 3rd liquid, what is it? Thanks
I added 2 small bottles of hydrogen peroxide and then vinegar. Only 2 liquids overall.
I've got a totally different way to make an electrolyte in my other plating video too
@@BrodieFairhall thanks for the quick reply.
How did you manage to get copper in the eye socket of the raven skull?
Would tucking some wire inside work?
A mixture of plating for a long time and moving the anode around the skull.
If you're careful not to touch the anode wire to the part you're plating you can move it into pockets like the eye sockets if you're having trouble.
What type of filament are your parts printed in? I assume pla wouldn’t work because the ethanol would melt the pla?
They're printed in PLA and the raven skull is printed in ABS and vapour smoothed.
Ethanol won't greatly affect most plastics, I'd even go as far as to say, with the exception of PVA and PVB, basically any other plastic you can FDM print will be fine with ethanol.
Hi again,I’m wondering if I could use a 9v battery instead of a power supply?
You absolutely can! You only require a very low voltage, depending on your part size and your electrolyte it could be between 2V and 5V, if you have a fixed voltage you can move your part closer or further away from the anode to get a nice even metal deposit. My original plating setup was using three D cell batteries in series and it worked fantastically.
@@BrodieFairhall thank you so much! Really enjoy your content and presentations!
It looks like metal, but how does it feel? Does it have that cold to the touch feeling that real metal has?
It feels like metal to touch, but it's missing the weight of a solid metal object.
@@BrodieFairhall Sweet perfect for making a shifter knob for my Logitech H shifter.
Does it wear off if you touch it too much?
@@antjones2281 it will eventually wear, both because copper is very soft and through the acids in your skin. You can just plate it for a longer period of time to build up a thicker coating. If you look at my other playing video, it also shows nickel, which will last longer with that kind of use than copper.
If you do decide to do it, instead of using graphite, I now use a nickel conductive spray paint (most commonly the one made by MG Chemicals), it gives a much, much better result and it's far cheaper than the silver paint.
Trying this out now. The copper wire is plated with nickel, but the part is not. When measuring with a multimeter the resistance of the part is around a 100 kOhms while on the copper wire it is 0.1 ohm so I think the graphite is not conductive enough. How do I make the graphite ethanol mixture more conductive?
You're likely going to have to try a different source of graphite powder or a conductive paint.
I now use a conductive nickel spray paint from MG Chemicals which works fantastically.
How much voltage do you recommend setting it to to start with?
With this electrolyte, I'd start with around 2.5V to 3V and increase it if you need to.
I also recommend using a nickel conductive paint now, instead of the graphite or silver paint. MG Chemicals makes a nice conductive Nickel spray paint, which ends up being much cheaper by volume than the silver paint and it works so much better than the graphite.
@@BrodieFairhall Thank you so much!
I dried my graphite painted part overnight, but it is still non-conductive
I've had some similar comments over the years where people have found that their graphite powder is barely conductive, which means it's not just graphite.
I now recommend a conductive nickel spray paint made by MG chemicals. It works as well as the silver paint, sticks better and you get more for your money.
Why didn't I think of this?
2:00 50% H2O2 does sound neither safe nor cheap and definitely not "rather mild". And it's probably not safe to microwave. So I guess you started with a much lower concentrated solution and mixed that with vinegar, which I'm assuming is the normal ~5% used for cooking. But my first thought there was "WTF? 50%?".
Oh yeah hydrogen peroxide is 3% diluted mix. 50% would have had a lot of undesired effects on my equipment and myself 😅
I've learnt a lot about being very clear in videos since making this one!
@@BrodieFairhall I just watched this video as youtube suggested it and I had watched a few other plating videos in the past. I find them really relaxing.
In chemistry, clear instructions on concentrations are really important. As H2O2 isn't usually available over 30% (and even that may be impossible to buy without some kind of licence), getting it to 50% would have been the stuff for a video on its own. I saw a video about that on Explosions&Fire a few months ago (might have been on that guys other channel, Extractions&Ire, both are fun to watch).
@@danielschuett you're absolutely right! My other plating video is 1000X better, but is still missing important information (the number of angry comments on the hackaday post about killing everyone with chlorine gas was enough to show I wasn't as clear on details as I should be).
Anyway, I absolutely hate both of these videos, but they're the first 2 I ever made and it was a massive shock as to how much work making a video takes, especially getting it right. I've got some fun new videos on electrochemistry planned (an electroforming 3D printer, some decent diy batteries and cutting metal plates with a weird anodising technique). I'm very short on time, but I'll eventually get around to making them.
Thanks for watching and thanks for the channel suggestions!
@@BrodieFairhall I'll take a look at that other video. I've been trying to make some videos myself (just some gameplay), and though they're still unfinished after months later (and not relevant anymore), I have more respect for people managing to create some proper videos.
Why does your model look metallic before entering the bath?
The Raven skull was painted with the silver conductive paint before plating. Also the graphite coated prints when rubbed smooth get a very dark metallic look to them. Graphite is often used by cosplayers and prop makers to make things look metallic.
Well, so what coating did the twisted example have that you plate in this video?
And, I tried the graphite 33 spray on some dried tree leafs. It doesn't work, it just seems not to be conductive at all. While in the same bath a piece of silver becomes plated with copper in no time. Same power source and method. So now I am thinking of silver paint, is that the better option?
@@Streamcatcher I have been using a conductive Nickel spray paint made by MG Chemicals that works brilliantly, other companies make similar Nickel or Copper paints too. I haven't had major problems with graphite but I know of some people who have found that their graphite has a very high resistance.
Thank you, this is very helpful!
Brodie, great video. What is the concentration of the hydrogen peroxide?
I generally use Hydrogen peroxide with a concentration of around 5%, I've had no problems using a concentration as low as 3% though.
And the vinegar?
As for what can be found for normal consumers in my area; 3-5% for food, up to 20% for cleaning, and anhydrous for creating a petina on steel.
can we use silver on our 3d printings???
Absolutely, the electrolyte will be different to what I made here, but the information on how to electroplate with silver is not too hard to find.
If you do it, I'd love to hear how it went!
i got reminded of this again today after printing an espresso tamper. could this make my parts food safe? I wonder how it'll affect temp resistance and all that. or even strengh (I think it'd weaken?)
If you can plate it in a metal that is ok to use with food and it has no holes in the metal layer, I guess it might be ok ( have no idea what is and isn't ok to use and you'd have to make sure whatever metal you used as the anode didn't have anything it shouldn't in it). If you put a thick metal coat on, it does increase the strength, it wont stop the insides from going gooey if it gets too hot though, so maybe printed in PET-G or ABS it might last long enough, or just put a metal layer a few mm thick over it.
But you are not shown copper plated on to the graphite and alcohol painted?
The silver based paint works faster for the video, the graphite does work well though, but I would highly recommend a conductive paint like MG Chemicals Nickel, much cheaper than the silver paint and it's more robust than the graphite.
Can the blue liquid be used again after eletroplating?
It absolutely can.
I use the same batch for years, just filter it and don't contaminate it with other chemicals etc and it will essentially last forever
What have you used to polish the copper after it is plated? My copper layers seem to be very delicate and darken easily once they come out of the solution.
Hi John,
I use a brass polish called "Brasso" to polish my plated parts. If I want them to stay shiny and cope with being handled, I will clear coat them.
It sounds like your copper plate might possibly be a little thin, you can plate for a longer period of time to build up more copper. I have on occasion left my parts to plate overnight and they end up with a very thick coating that can be sanded back and polished. If you would like to leave your parts to plate unattended, it is a good idea to agitate the solution, I use an aquarium air pump to do so.
If your parts are darkening quickly, I would make sure that when you remove them from the electrolyte you rinse and dry them immediately.
I've finally done some copper electroplating. It comes out chalky and dull. Have you found a good method to polish it? Should I wet sand it lightly and then go straight to buffing compound on my bench grinder with a bonnet wheel? So far, I've tried using green bar compound but its taking forever and I'm wearing some of the copper off. Not great shine either. Thanks!
If it's coming out chalky I'd say there is something wrong with the plating itself.
It should come out bright red/orange, so there might be impurities or you may need to lower the voltage / move the part further away from the anode.
Copper polishes very easily, but depending on how thick you've applied the copper plate, it's very easy to buff off the layer of copper
I tried the graphite method and it has too much resistance.
I've found that different graphite brands seem to vary wildly in resistance since filming this video.
Now, most of the time I use a conductive nickel spray paint from MG chemicals, it works beautifully.
@@BrodieFairhall i'm using graphite that was made for an sinker EDM. i got a chunk from work a few years back and just ground it down with sandpaper.
what voltage is best? usually with copper plating low voltage is key otherwise it flakes off.
Edit: i have it at 1.5v 0.11A and its very slowly plating i dont want too high a voltage and risk it flaking off.
thanks for the video.
What power supply/voltage?
I forgot to put this in the video, 3 Volts is where I start, and if it is plating well and I want it to plate faster, I will turn it up until I hit about 6 volts. Moving the part closer or further from the anode also gives you a lot of resistance control if you don't have a variable power supply.
I did not get the power supply part. What did you use to be able to provide electricity to the copper and the 3d print? Thank you!
I just used a basic benchtop / lab power supply in this video. My original plating setup was 2 D cell batteries, you will only need 2-6 volts for plating, depending on your electrolyte, the resistance of the conductive coating and a few other variables.
Whatever you use won't need to provide much current.
@@BrodieFairhall thank you!