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  1. #1

    Metal Printing for Jewelry

    i've decided to do another print again, this one is for my dad. i made some 3d cufflinks for him with a personalized emblem. anyone know a great place to print these in metal?
    i dont want any fancy gold plating, i just want these in my hands.

    Edit:
    turns out i made the cufflinks 2x as big as they should be. i've resized them and updated the file.
    Last edited by Not A Potato; 07-24-2014 at 11:11 AM.

  2. #2
    Staff Engineer
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
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    Oakland, CA
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    935
    Shapeways offers metal output, but I don't think they actually print in metal. Instead, they print in a waxy material that can be burned out and cast in a "lost wax" process. Here's where they talk about their gold output and how to design for it, but the process is the same for other metals like silver and bronze: http://www.shapeways.com/materials/gold

    Andrew Werby
    www.computersculpture.com

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by awerby View Post
    Shapeways offers metal output, but I don't think they actually print in metal. Instead, they print in a waxy material that can be burned out and cast in a "lost wax" process. Here's where they talk about their gold output and how to design for it, but the process is the same for other metals like silver and bronze: http://www.shapeways.com/materials/gold

    Andrew Werby
    www.computersculpture.com
    yeah, they do printin metal, but it's unusualy expensive. i didnt know if there was some place that had cheaper printing.

  4. #4
    Staff Engineer LambdaFF's Avatar
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    Jan 2014
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    France, Aix en Provence
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    I asked Sculpteo and Shapeways for a quote for a signet ring in silver. Price was reasonably close. It does take longer than plastic prints due to lost wax process and polish.
    I didn't take the most expensive polish options so it cost me about 50€ and it was real smooth already.

    I think with semi precious metals like brass you could lower the price a bit. But, due to lost wax process that isn't quite automated just yet, the lost wax process floor costs might make small metal objects expensive regardless of the quantity of metal actually in it.

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