Electroplating 3D Prints | Rings Tutorial

[@gkalenaki]

Honestly, out of many versions of the One Ring out there, this looks like it is literally one replica to rule them all!

[@UncleJessy]

Holy heck this is amazing. Seriously stunning results!

[@hen3drik]

Thanks, kind words from the resin master! 😅

[@Dexterbostic]

U should do a video on this lol

[@austinadventures7388]

You need to do this dude.

[@agepbiz]

The result looks absolutely beautiful!

[@hen3drik]

I got a good video advisor!

[@rmahr1988]

I've been looking for this channel all my life. Thanks for sharing this process with us.

[@copper_knight]

I just received my pen plating kit + 25 ml of gold plating solution today. Perfect timing !

[@hen3drik]

Oh nice, is it this fine pen?

[@eazyonewiththeforce]

A shopping list would be awesome! Thank you for your videos

[@adamwilliams5372]

Im amazed at how good that finish is! Thanks for posting this

[@noviceartisan]

Stunning results dude! I do a lot of copper electroplating of my 3D prints, eager to move onto trying other metals atop it.

[@northstarjack]

I've been wondering if this was possible forever now lol thank you so much for your input on it. Also love your content

[@hen3drik]

Thanks!

[@WorKoHolik84]

Moin, ich wusste gar nicht bis Anfang des Videos dass sowas überhaupt möglich ist danke Bro hast mein Horizont erweitert

[@hen3drik]

Kein Problem

[@cathyomalley2772]

That's a fantastic process. Thanks for explaining it.

[@SuperMakeSomething]

Beautiful end result! The ring looks fantastic!

[@hen3drik]

Thank you, Alex!

[@joseph7858]

thank you for taking us along! really great!

[@FunDumb]

I'm on love with the outcome. Wish I could accomplish this in minutes.

[@aniketkajrekar4828]

I am speechless, good detailised explanation. Thank you very much👍

[@MakenModify]

Awesome. Thx for explaining your process. Tried that some years ago but seeing this I know now where I went wrong 😅 will give it another shot. I belive this channel is about to blow up 😃

[@hen3drik]

Good to hear your‘re giving it another try! Don’t think this channel will blow up, I think it‘s still too niche 😅

[@fredcastor1]

this video by itself is gold bro

[@AnnikaCoyucoCutecats]

It’s precious!

[@PartySlothy]

Hi, do you have any experience applying a sealant to increase durability as a last step instead of increasing the gold layer thickness? Also, have you ever gotten into titanium plating with ethanol solutions? I'm curious if it could be anodized afterwards for colorshifts - but I guess the oxide layer would probably be too thin?

[@zumuvtuber]

That looks fantastic! Great work! 🙌

[@hen3drik]

Thank you so much!

[@user-mi9vh7fx7u]

meeega. extremst gut gemacht, sowohl den Ring als auch das Video. Würde mehr Sterne geben, wenn ich könnte ;)

[@luciddelusions1786]

Huh that's an ingenious way to electroplate a plastic surface!

[@storogdvornik377]

Продуманно, технологично и внешне очень эстетично... Лайк...

[@ace1122tw]

This video is almost invaluable

[@BeefaloBart]

Question: Shouldn't you soak the steel wool in acetone prior to using it? Steel wool is steel and to prevent it from rusting, its normally coated in oil. So to keep the parts to be plated cleaner, soaking the steel wool in acetone then letting it dry before use seems logical.

[@hen3drik]

No, I don’t like acetone that much. What I actually don’t show in the video is that I degrease the sanded parts before electroplating. This removed almost any residues from the print.

[@UnratedPlayer21]

Would be interested to see the support settings. Been trying to get this one right for a while

[@hen3drik]

45°, a lot of support. Also flat + a lot of support works good

[@Coltography]

So cool!!!

[@laura-hr2rj]

Super cool!

[@phimolenacukh]

Hooly grail, this tutorial is just what i need

[@hen3drik]

Always at your service

[@stefanguiton]

Excellent!

[@NerdRebelArt]

amazing 💯

[@MrGTAmodsgerman]

Ich kanns kaum erwarten bis dein Video zu dem Filament auflösen kommt um nur ein metallisches Objekt übrig zu haben.

[@andymuzzo8568]

Damn that looks awesome. Great job

[@oooMin]

OMG 😮 this blow my mind. But I heard that resin will be brittle by time even we use the toughest resin because the UV of the sun. Do you think we should spray an UV resistant layer to help it stronger before electroplating?

[@hen3drik]

Don’t bother. Just get the resin really smooth and electroform over it. It gets strong as hell.

[@andgio1]

Great result !! any change to have the setting of your Elegoo Mars to obtain the same result ?

[@hen3drik]

It works out of the box with default settings. 50microns, elegoo or anycubic standard resin. 45° angle, use very rich support.

[@av1dgamer]

This is fantastic! I have the same printer! What settings do you use to prevent layer lines?

[@abdullahyurtoglu]

Very very good. Amazing!

[@TheHadi545]

Aight got me subbed. Alles top, mag wie du betonst welche Sachen wichtig sind. Bisschen heitere mucke wäre cool so ist’s n bisschen sehr chillig

[@DiegoPerez-wv6go]

Hello, excellent video, could you make a video with a hardness test please?

[@matpearson9711]

Das ist schön! Danke!

[@stomptheelites]

So cool.

[@awild93]

Oh I definitely can't wait to do this, Need to replace my cheap one that doesn't fit

[@59LRover]

Question: If I have been cold-casting brass buttons (brass powder mixed with polyester resin), then do I need to coat them with the conductive paint before plating? Will the brass in the mixture be sufficient for conductivity?

[@hen3drik]

I guess not. Is it already conductive? If so measure Ohm for about 1cm. Should be max 1.2 kOhm.

[@XY3D]

Simply wonderful work, thanks for sharing. Cheers!

[@humandisorder3962]

You are my GURU !

[@cranorsworkshop992]

Love this video! I have a question. After coating with the metals is it possible to size the ring?

[@hen3drik]

Unfortunately not

[@Vizenzo187]

Awesome! Where can we find the .stls and plans for the rotary jig?

[@Indianscout1967]

could pls add where to buy the copper paint and niickle etc :) great video!!!

[@junz4057]

amazing !!, I would like to make one of these someday

[@PinBoy9x]

The level of perfection is truly astonishing, it shines and is smooth like a real piece of jewelry, so beautiful, I really want to try this process.

[@zpbeats3938]

Totally impressive

[@voldem273]

Tolles Video, danke dafür. Was mir allerdings nich gefällt ist das Nickel eher schlecht ist bei Schmuck. Palladium dafür zu teuer. Was macht denn diese zwischenschicht? Das Gold müsste doch auch so auf dem Kupfer halten?🤷‍♂️

[@hen3drik]

Hi, nickel acts as a diffusion barrier to prevent mixing of copper and gold over time (alloy would be rose).

[@Classicmodeler]

Have you made a video or put up plans for your spinning plating tool?

[@Ucci73]

First of all, congratulations for the excellent video! Could you tell me a brand of conductive paint to cover PLA and see if it exists in my country? I have a 3d printer and I would like to try what you tell us. Thank you so much!

[@hen3drik]

I use this stuff. They send to many Europe countries: amzn.to/3JimuYK

[@Ucci73]

@@hen3drik Thanks!!!!

[@KroMagnum4]

Amazing!

[@fakumadda1632]

"I can't believe how simple it is" Define simple.

[@Leap24]

Hello again. Another question from me. I'm slightly confused about when to use a bath and when to use a galvatic brush. For example, after airbrushing the conductive paint, can you do the initial copper plating/forming with a galvanic brush rather than.a bath?

[@hen3drik]

No. It’s not depositing enough material.

[@Leap24]

Brilliant, thank you so much.. That makes sense.

[@DanFlynn]

Would love to see you do an electrical plating treatment to an iron giant 3D print!

[@hen3drik]

Like „iron giant“ iron giant?

[@DanFlynn]

@@hen3drik YES! Well, miniaturized of course haha, but yes "The Iron Giant" 1999 movie Iron Giant

[@DanFlynn]

@@hen3drik I've seen other make 3D prints, but never a metal version

[@GaryMcKinnonUFO]

Lovely finish :) What type of stone is the ring on at the start of the video ?

[@hen3drik]

It is carbonaceous quartzite 😃

[@GaryMcKinnonUFO]

@@hen3drik Thank you :)

[@DFMurray]

That's amazing

[@JoshuaDAngelo-i8h]

Do you dilute the copper conductive paint in your airbrush or do you apply it straight from the container? If so, what do you use to dilute it? I purchased the Tifoo brand of copper conductive paint.

[@hen3drik]

Use acetone 1:2

[@nekonimeindonesia6774]

your chanel so great brooo..

[@TheFutureisTheFuture]

great stuff but isn't palladium almost as expensive as gold these days? How do we keep nickel from being so toxic or is there another alternative where palladium/nickel isn't used?

[@hen3drik]

Palladium elektrolyte is about 3-4 times cheaper than gold electrolyte when applied with an galvanic pen. Unfortunately there is no alternative to nickel/palladium afaik.

[@Vatsek]

Nice ring.

[@limebulls]

What is the best method to ensure the longevity of the gold plating? With which product can I preserve the gold?

[@hen3drik]

While gold is a highly corrosion-resistant metal, it can still experience wear over time, especially when it comes into contact with substances like sweat, oils, and chemicals. You can deposit a thicker layer of gold. Over time, any gold surface will naturally undergo some level of wear, even with additional protection. Regular cleaning and maintenance are still recommended to keep gold items looking their best and to minimize any potential issues.

[@limebulls]

@@hen3drik Ive heard that crystal clear coat aerosol sprays can preserve it a bit. But I can’t find a good manufacturer in Germany. I’ve read, an insider tip is ceramic coating but can only find it for cars and not to wear it on humans skin.

[@hasanverinc2712]

great content!

[@newtron1980]

Awesome video! Can you recommend a tifoo alternative available in the USA?

[@hen3drik]

Actually no, because I don’t know these products. It‘s kind of hard to get stuff like caswell. These seem to sell kits in the us.

[@Zedward84]

That’s cool!! I always want to electroplate some of my prints, but I got this nagging question since the ones like the ring & bracelets I want to electroplate, it’s it safe in for the skin?

[@hen3drik]

Depends on what material are deposited. Thick last gold layer is safe, so is palladium and platinum. Nickel is what it is, contact allergen.

[@fly-fpv]

Richtig gut 👍🏽

[@outdoorios2315]

Wow amazing job on your electroplated ring. Is there a possibility it can be done with pla , or maybe Abs instead of resin ?

[@hen3drik]

Absolutely. It‘s the same process. Make sure to get the surface even and smooth before applying the conductive paint.

[@outdoorios2315]

@@hen3drik So nothing changes with different materials wow 😍 thank you so much for the info whats the best material to use for the most gold like feeling ?

[@hen3drik]

@@outdoorios2315 doesn’t matter, as long as you polish the copper layer (which already feels awesome after) gold shines super nice.

[@Alkerion73]

Hi! Nice video (like the others) and amazing results. I've tried to follow your steps but I'm not able to obtain anything looking good. My 3D printed part is 0.23dm2 (determined with your Blender trick), so I set to 0.23A (result to ~0.5V/not been able to set current and voltage, at least no idea how to and if it's even possible), after 1h the result is matte, no shiny at all, but worse, the copper wire is embed with the plating of the part, removing the wire damage the plating, I can't imagine the disaster after 4h. The galvanic degreasser from Tifoo doesn't works with current, so I let the part few min as in the product before washing it with water. Not been able to plate anything with graphite layer, so I use the copper paint and degreasser from Tifoo and copper shiny acid from Dr Galva. I don't know what I missed. Any help appreciated

[@hen3drik]

Some quick comments: 1) apply 2-3 coats of copper paint 2) don't degrease the copper paint 3) set your power supply to CC mode and set the current to 0.24A, let the voltage regulate by itself 3) Move the Part after 30 mins to avoid welding the wires into the plating 4) keep 10-15 cm distance from the anodes. 4) looked up drglava electroylte. pH is 1 which is fine. 5) double check your wiring 6) check again

[@Alkerion73]

@@hen3drik Thanks for your answer and tips, will try again (and again....). It's Tifoo who told me I've to degrease the copper paint as the copper layer was peeling on my first tries. Will try more thin layer of paint with airbrush as I actually apply it with the aerosol spray I bought, I also apply a primer layer before. I use a round container of 12cm with magnetic agitator.

[@Alkerion73]

@@hen3drik Hi! Very bad results when copper paint applied with airbrush (and awful to clean it afterwards), much better results with spray. Also much better results with 3A/dm3 instead of 1A/dm3. But it's still not really shinny, stay quite matte. Perhaps due to bad electrolyte quality or something I'm still missing.

[@maverick7291]

To save on money is there an equivalent to the liquid gold that does the same gold appearance but for less money?

[@SUPPASK8A]

What's the advantage of the copper coat? Can you go straight to using nickel as the base?

[@hen3drik]

You can, but copper is softer, better to polish, cheaper, faster depositing… all in all better.

[@limebulls]

What Compressor & Airbrush are you using? Thank you for this wonderful video!

[@hen3drik]

I use a generic compressor without a reservoir (I wish i had one).The Airbrush itself is one of the cheapest i could find (15€). I use it only for my copper paint mix. Make sure to get an airbrush with larger needle (mine is 5).

[@mesharialsharari2289]

Awesome!.. Usually, what is the electrical resistance of the part after the first plating step (copper electroplating)?

[@hen3drik]

On that ring it‘s 0.1 ohms.

[@mesharialsharari2289]

@@hen3drik cool.. keep up the great work, thanks.

[@andrewwebb6270]

Your videos on electroplating have given me a new goal in crafting. I have one question though, could this be one with any shape? More specifically would this work with a set of RPG dice??

[@hen3drik]

Absolutely. With copper electrolyte you‘ll need a direct „way“ between the anodes and the surface, but you can prevent these anode shadows by rotating it.

[@justinoliver77]

@@hen3drik any information on your rotojig? Wondering what motor you used.

[@rolandmine6693]

How would someone know the difference between a 3d printed electroplated gold ring between a actual gold ring? Like if you were selling it how would they know the difference? Wouldn't it come up as gold on the tester etc?

[@hen3drik]

It‘s way lighter

[@SinanAkkoyun]

Hey! I use the exact same setup as you, the airbrushing works and looks flawless, however when I apply 0.2v at the beginning for 1h the surface becomes rough and uneven. Is more voltage required for the brightener to take its effect? I used extremely small parts btw, around 2cm² area. Or it it best to lower the voltage even more? I just wanna ask before wasting even more electrolyte, because somehow it got contaminated very quickly in my run

[@hen3drik]

Hi, filter your electrolyte with i.e. coffee filter. I'm not sure what rough and uneven means. Rough is okay, because you should increase current to the appropiate Amp (use dm² = A) which will result in a voltage around 0.7V. Then the brightener will work.

[@SinanAkkoyun]

@@hen3drik Thank you very much. In another comment section you recommended me some aquarium filter, I bought it, it's very thick but I suppose it should be fine. With rough I mean an uneven non shiny surface with a grainy texture after 0.2V for very small parts I will try a higher voltage, thanks!

[@SinanAkkoyun]

​@@hen3drik I got it working, thank you so so much! Now I only have to deal with the copper anode residue, the "dirt" always goes through the filter...

[@MrBaskett]

This is literally alchemy

[@chamarystigers8731]

Do you use 24 K gold plated on ring ? Will be great

[@hen3drik]

It‘s 24k gold. A thin layer though, because it is very expensive stuff. But the gold looks fantastic and it doesn’t oxidize at all.

[@chamarystigers8731]

@@hen3drik cool

[@jenzicam]

this is fantastic! is there a way to selectively electoplate specific areas on a model with different metals?

[@hen3drik]

Yes, mask off certain areas, then use a galvanic pen to deposit metal on the exposed parts.

[@jenzicam]

@@hen3drik very useful. Thank you! I intend to buy some stuff to get started with this soon. If it was something small like a ring, what medium would you recommend to masking?

[@michaelsalatioan1232]

Amazing work, congratulations! Can you reuse the copper electrolyte? And also can you electroplate more objects into the same bath at the same time?

[@hen3drik]

yes, the copper electrolyte is reusable for many times. i do some maintenance like filtering or adding brightener from time to time, but it's the same since 2018. you can electroplate as much parts that fit in your bath at the same time. also your psu should be capable, too.

[@michaelsalatioan1232]

@@hen3drik Thank you! I appreciate your work, looking forward for more amazing videos! 🤩

[@UNVIRUSLETALE]

I want to try this with epoxy dices

[@hen3drik]

It will work 😃

[@Stroobants-solutions]

I'm looking to buy a setup. Do you recommend a kit or something? Thanks

This is the most unbelievable project I’ve seen. I’ll make this my craft and perfect it throughout my life. 😮😲🫨

[@alexdiaz8259]

I have a question, does the print HAVE to be copper plated to be able to gold plate it or would the copper conductive paint be enough ?

[@hen3drik]

Copper + gold is cheaper. You get a 200microns layer instead of a 2microns gold layer

[@alexdiaz8259]

@@hen3drik would i achieve the same result if i plate it with silver instead of copper ?

[@hen3drik]

@@alexdiaz8259 I never did and I doubt it would work. Why would you do it with silver??

[@alexdiaz8259]

@hen3drik i just figured silver might be better against tarnishing lol

[@soy1de3aztlan]

This is a real awesome work 😎👍🏼 !!! Where are you from?

[@SWATDRUMMUH]

how easily would that electroplating rub off if one decided to wear is a lot?

[@jdel1976]

I have an issue where the wire that holds the ring gets coated quicker than the ring. Copper deposits quicker to the copper wire. Trying to polish the ring more to see what my outcome is. Using .12 amps. Maybe its too high😢

[@hansvanwyk5740]

WOW. can you share link to buy equipment online?

[@hen3drik]

I‘ll try to make this for the next videos.

[@VitchoDK]

Hello Hen3drik! This looks so amazing - so I had to try it myself. I bought the Dr. Galva sour copper electrolyte and the tifoo copper conductive paint for airbrushing. I replicated your setup as good as I could (the bath is smaller (13*13cm) and I dont have the tech cloth pouches for the anodes) but otherwise they seem the same. I resin printed the same ring you did. I copied your voltage and made a small arduino to rotate the ring in the bath. But my ring is not shiny when it comes out. It is a hazy copper colour, that needs to be sanded to shine. Is this a problem with my spraying? Or do you sand the conductive copper spray before putting them in the bath? Your conductive paint seems to gloss more than mine which is a little dull in comparison. Any tips would be greatly appreciated - I sort of already promised my kid we were going to put gold on all of our 3d printed stuff, so I am completely pot comitted ;-)

[@hen3drik]

Hi, this could be multiple reasons: 1) make sure to use constant current on you power supply (not voltage). I switched to this method lately. See my newest video for the calculation of the current. 2) use more diluted copper paint. It should shine. Apply some layers. You can try to carefully polish it a bit when totally dry. OR use graphite paint (latest video). Does the dr galva sour has a brightener in it? - keep on trying. You‘ll succeed!

[@VitchoDK]

@@hen3drik Thank you for answering! Very much appreciated. I had 0,2 v but the current was changing constantly. I will check the newest video - I primarily used this one, the tutorial and some of the older ones. The electrolyt is the same glanzkupferelectrolyt that you use. I actually tried to copy your setup as much as possible to minimize error sources. Now that I think about it - even the raw kobber wire the ring hung on had the dull coating which actually is a little weird. Maybe it is not my airbrushing that is the problem. hmmm. I will try the method on the newest video and see where that gets me. Thanks!

[@marksullivan7766]

love it

[@prontosinistri2939]

Hi, have any of you managed to get such a shiny result? I tried 14 times, being more and more careful but I can't get a super shiny product like yours when I extract it from the blue liquid after 4 hours, it comes out clear but opaque

[@diy_wizard]

Sehr schön Herr Kollege ^^ sehr schöne Idee, tolles Ergebnis und auch echt gut gemachtes Video! Würde ich gerne auch mal Probieren aber dann müsste ich zu viel anschaffen ;) aber das Gold ist nicht Gold in flüssiger Form, sondern irgendeine Goldverbindung?

[@hen3drik]

Thanks, ist Kaliumdicyanidoaurat Salz und scheidet an der Kathode aber tatsächliches Gold ab.

[@Streetduck]

Das war vor Jahren mein erster SLA gedruckter Ring, den ich vergoldet habe .... nur das ich Betzmann als Elektroplating hatte ... wann kam der Elegoo SLA Drucker? glaube das war anfang 2019 .... Tolles Video 👏👍👍👍

[@bungjy]

Does this have to be a resin printer or can it be used with any type of standard 3d print material?

[@hen3drik]

For small parts resin prints are optimal. When it comes to sanding and smooth surfaces I prefer resin prints, but if you can manage to create a smooth surface go for FDM prints. I covered this in my most recent video. It‘s absolutely okay to do so.

[@martincarlberg9671]

2:25 - Nickel is not good and forbidden in Europe. I work as a goldsmith and we use rhodium instead? Love your videos.👍

[@simonschulze3964]

Sehr Cool, darf ich fragen was so ein setup in etwa kostet? hab schon viel geld in sachen für 3d Druck und Cosplay gesteckt und das sieht echt mega aus. Ne Ungefähre Schätzung wäre mal Interessant ob man sich sowas aktuell leisten kann :D

[@nicolaygjrvad9123]

Do you get the metallic sound when you hit it into something? For example two rings together.

[@hen3drik]

I do. Check this out: twitter.com/v0g3l/status/1553093870216437761?s=46&t=HJHPl6WOz9tDp9vKLToDmA

[@hudy85]

what is it painted with before galvanization?