Electroplating 3D Prints | Rings Tutorial

This is a step-by-step tutorial of #electroplating + #electroforming Rings from non conductive pastic like this the Lord of the Rings Ring of Power. I explain the basics of electroplating as well as painting a with conductive paint using an airbrush. Resin Print Ring. This is about #DIY metalplating #3dprints.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:29 Creating the 3D Print
02:00 Electroforming with Copper
04:50 Electroplating Nickel
05:26 Electroplating Gold
05:56 Conclusion
Thing by : tato_713 : www.thingiverse.com/thing:371...
Rotajig by: ‪@xeno_arch9887‬ • Electroforming - Secre...
For the Conductivity I used
* Tifoo Conductive Copper Paint
! Make sure that it can be used with your copper electrolyte.
For the galvanic bath:
* a container
* acidic copper electrolyte
* optional nickel electrolyte
* one or two copper anodes
* banana plug & alligator clips
For the galvanic pen plating:
* Gold Electrolyte
* Graphite Anode
Have fun. Try it. 🧡
Have a look to my other Videos
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How to Metal Plate Miniature 3D Prints
• Electroplating 3D Prin...
How to Metal Plate 3D Prints | FULL TUTORIAL
• How to Metal Plate 3D ...

[@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.

[@eazyonewiththeforce]

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

[@rmahr1988]

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

[@cathyomalley2772]

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

[@joseph7858]

thank you for taking us along! really great!

[@AnnikaCoyucoCutecats]

It’s precious!

[@noviceartisan]

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

[@agepbiz]

The result looks absolutely beautiful!

[@hen3drik]

I got a good video advisor!

[@aniketkajrekar4828]

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

[@FunDumb]

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

[@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!

[@matpearson9711]

Das ist schön! Danke!

[@abdullahyurtoglu]

Very very good. Amazing!

[@SuperMakeSomething]

Beautiful end result! The ring looks fantastic!

[@hen3drik]

Thank you, Alex!

[@stefanguiton]

Excellent!

[@zumuvtuber]

That looks fantastic! Great work! 🙌

[@hen3drik]

Thank you so much!

[@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?

[@laura-hr2rj]

Super cool!

[@fredcastor1]

this video by itself is gold bro

[@zpbeats3938]

Totally impressive

[@KroMagnum4]

Amazing!

[@storogdvornik377]

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

[@Coltography]

So cool!!!

[@stomptheelites]

So cool.

[@DFMurray]

That's amazing

[@luciddelusions1786]

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

[@andymuzzo8568]

Damn that looks awesome. Great job

[@WorKoHolik84]

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

[@hen3drik]

Kein Problem

[@humandisorder3962]

You are my GURU !

[@ace1122tw]

This video is almost invaluable

[@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 😅

[@junz4057]

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

[@marksullivan7766]

love it

[@fly-fpv]

Richtig gut 👍🏽

[@hasanverinc2712]

great content!

[@XY3D]

Simply wonderful work, thanks for sharing. Cheers!

[@user-mi9vh7fx7u]

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

[@Vatsek]

Nice ring.

[@phimolenacukh]

Hooly grail, this tutorial is just what i need

[@hen3drik]

Always at your service

[@nekonimeindonesia6774]

your chanel so great brooo..

[@awild93]

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

[@MrGTAmodsgerman]

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

[@DiegoPerez-wv6go]

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

[@darix360]

ty for model ^_^

[@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

[@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?

[@fakumadda1632]

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

[@MrBaskett]

This is literally alchemy

[@soy1de3aztlan]

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

[@elwinfennema3526]

wauw

[@Indianscout1967]

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

[@Vizenzo187]

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

[@Embassy_of_Jupiter]

I wonder if you can electroplate the inside until it is solid gold. Is there some material you could coat the outside with that doesn't electroplate at all? Then you could only electroplate the inside. Perhaps you could separate the ring into two parts, the outer ring and the inner ring, then you have easy access to the inside. First plate the outside, dissolve away the plastic, then electroplate the inside until filled out. Then you put the two halves together and electroplate them together, maybe then they weld together? Something like that.

[@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

[@Classicmodeler]

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

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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?

[@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).

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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 :)

[@Spasmomen]

"This process is very simple". *Brings out the "galvanic brush"*

[@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.

[@Stroobants-solutions]

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

[@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.

[@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 😃

[@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

[@maverick7291]

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

[@user-rl2ml1lt7u]

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

[@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

[@fantasticmodernartcoins3822]

I would very much like to purchase one of these rings....Is that something you would please consider?

[@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!

[@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

[@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.

[@JC-oq3ei]

If you have a really big sword, can you use the “wand” to do it instead of a bath or would that take too long?

[@hen3drik]

It works, but the paint has to be very dry and thick and you have to be very careful. You‘d also electroplate just very few micrometers.

[@khaledboz2578]

Can i use blender?

[@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...

[@SWATDRUMMUH]

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

[@hudy85]

what is it painted with before galvanization?

[@bungjy1131]

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.

[@user-kd3vn4hd5p]

Funciona con PLA?

[@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😢

[@siegfriedkonig9342]

Was nutzt du für eine drehvorrichtung? Eigenbau?

[@hen3drik]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5jCf4RvgMd-mZo

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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).

[@3dprintingtoday]

What is in a cheap setup im 15 so its a lot of money for me I own a printer and the wax resin but I need the rest of the setup

[@convolution223]

Where do you get these materials?

[@stevemichael8186]

Could this be done in a bedroom or is the checmical used toxic and need open area?

[@hen3drik]

Toxic, needs to be done in a well ventilated area.

[@amirulmukmin4965]

where is link how to do the copper conductive paint ???