This is incredible. Videos like this make me feel so naive to the possibilities that exist with 3D prints and making in general. I had no clue how to electroplate! Thanks for the great tutorial

Brodie, Your videos are so good! You don't waste our time, you give straight forward and complete information and it seems obvious that you take the time to arrange the objects in your videos thoughtfully so the visual is very clear. In my opinion, you should teach other content providers how to produce instructional videos. Kudos to you for setting a high standard! It is appreciated!

@BrodieFairhall

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much Bret, it means a lot!

@bretdegayner8934

Жыл бұрын

@@BrodieFairhall I finally started experimenting with copper plating. I want to copper plate two plastic airhorn horns, so I wrapped them loosely with cooer wire (after painting them with nickel paint). I got areas with good coverage, and others, especially where the wire touched the horn, no coverage. So, a couple questions... Should I use a fine copper wire? Mine may have been too heavy. I could use some pointers on how to wrap it. Should the wire touch the piece being plated or does it just create a "field" around the piece? Thanks again for all of your help!

You have just given me the kick in the arse that I needed to start 3d printing again.

Brody, this is the best video I've watched all day, being a complete newbie to the plating skill. And, I mean ALL DAY! Dozens of videos and hours of time. You blew away the mists of understanding in 7 minutes. Thank you! I am a new subscriber to your channel and I send you greetings from Glasgow, Scotland. I can't wait to get started. After I watch how to make myself a plating pen, LOL!

@BrodieFairhall

Жыл бұрын

Thanks! That means a lot. Since making the video I've discovered a much better conductive paint. I now use a conductive nickel spray paint made by MG chemicals. You can also get an even better result by using diluted sulphuric acid instead of vinegar.

@tartanrambo

Жыл бұрын

@@BrodieFairhall Do you plan to make a video on this new discovery? Or, would you share the details on the quantity of sulphuric acid to salt? You are the best!

You just gave me many ideas. Thank you! I love your concise but thorough tutorials.

Amazing, you've simplified the entire process into super easy steps. Cheers, JAYTEE

Awesome video Brodie! You make the process very accessible. Keep up the good work!

Nice summary! It helps to mitigate your nickel issues by varying your current. The intrisic stresses of a plated nickel film are due to the Current Densities while the positig the metal. You will have the least amount of stress around about 5A/dm^2 in layers thicker than 60µm. About that you will get tensile stresses (at 10A/dm^2 about 30N/mm^2) and below compressive stresses( at 1A/dm^2 about -25N/mm^2). Therefore varying your current helps. In a professional setup you always cuurent control your source. And if you want better controll your ductility you pwm between two currentlevels over a the baselie current to have very fine grain control.have fun!

@BrodieFairhall

5 жыл бұрын

This is great info! Thanks Jen's!

@fruechtekorb

5 жыл бұрын

No worries, I spend 6 years knee deep in copper sulphate;) so I am glad I could help. But am going to try your plating pen. I really liked this one. Back then I use high frequency ultrasonics (1mHz) to get high aspect ratio cavities plated.

Really informative, great explanation, good job!

Using a pump to move the liquid while not touching anything is genius

@BrodieFairhall

3 жыл бұрын

It's a pretty standard thing to do, even at a commercial scalez so I can't take credit for that one

You should do a 3D printed dagger next!

Thank you for sharing.

Great Video. Thank You

You were right in your answer to my comment on your other plating video, this has a lot more information. I didn't see the angry comments you mentioned, but I assume they have to do with electrolysing a solution containing cloride.😅 P.S.: Bonus points for pronouncing "aluminium" correctly, and have a negative point for then doing the other pronunciation anyway.😉

@BrodieFairhall

Жыл бұрын

Oh the angry comments are on hackaday, this video got shared because of the brush plating pen idea. But yes, people were angry that I put sodium chloride in the electrolyte (not taking into account the quantity is so low you'll be exposed to more chlorine gas standing beside a swimming pool on a hot day).

Thank you....jackpot. Both sides of my chess set will finally be completed. So good, think will redo the squares as well. Very happy.

I followed these steps exactly but I could get the copper to plate anything. Once I have the copper connected to positive and part I want to plate to negative with the power on, the copper just bubbles and nothing happens to the part. I have tried this both with graphite coated and stainless steel parts with nothing working.

I really want to try this. Presumably very low power is required.

Great video I can,t wait to start trying this out there are a few projects that I would like to do. where do you get your plating material from? like the nickel you used Thank You

@BrodieFairhall

5 жыл бұрын

Hi Neil, I get my Nickel from welding rods. Pure Nickel welding rods are used to weld cast iron, so they aren't hard to come by. You'll just have to make sure they aren't an alloy. You can also search eBay and other places for Nickel/tin/zinc anodes.

Excellent . Can you pl make video on gold colour plating on various metals and plastics . There is some process called as ELECTROFORETIC LAQUER if you can find out pl see. Pl continue to do the Good work . Thank you 🙏😀

What a great video, I think you explained everything really well! But do you think that one can plate aluminium just on the graphite? Also can you plate steel onto anything?

@BrodieFairhall

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Martin, You can't plate aluminium with this process, electrolysis of aluminium is done in an electrolyte made from molten cryolite at extremely high temperatures. You also can't plate most metals onto aluminium, because it is so reactive. For example, if you plate copper onto aluminium, the aluminium will start to degrade and fall apart in a chemical reaction. Steel is also a very different and more complicated process, you can plate nickel and other metals onto steel, but plating steel onto things is not generally done through electroplating

@Martin-zo8lz

2 жыл бұрын

@@BrodieFairhall Ok, Thank you very much for the info and your time!

Love the video! Any advice on plating larger prints...armor, weapons etc? Any major changes from your process? Also, what are the advantages of using the salt in favor for the hydrogen peroxide from the first video?

@BrodieFairhall

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Chris! There are a few things I would suggest to make plating larger items easier and to get a better result. Use a good conductive paint instead of graphite, I've been using a conductive Nickel paint from MG Chemicals lately. Trying a different electrolyte based on weak sulfuric will give a better result but isn't necessary. The reason I am using the Vinegar and Salt electrolyte in the second video is because the Vinegar and Hydrogen peroxide really only works well with copper. For large parts I use multiple Anodes located in different places around the plating bath, this helps get a more even distribution. Experiment on test pieces, be patient as you'll want a nice thick metal coating so you can polish it afterward. Also, have fun!

@chrismccormickreel

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for all the advice! Quick follow up....how do you wire up multiple anodes? Thanks again!

@BrodieFairhall

4 жыл бұрын

No problem, for multiple anodes you can just connect more wires to the positive side of your power supply and connect an anode to each of them, still using the one cathode connection. You can experiment with where to put the anodes and where the cathode should go. Large parts might need to be rotated or moved and have the cathode moved to a different spot after a while to get a nice even coat.

@chrismccormickreel

4 жыл бұрын

You're the best! Great detail and advice, can't wait for your future videos!

I've watched both videos and they're two of the best I've found on doing it at home. What I'm curious about is plaiting aluminum to a printed part. You said briefly that it doesn't like other metals. Is it still possible.

@BrodieFairhall

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the kind words! It wouldn't be possible to plate a print with Aluminium using electrolysis. Aluminium is produced commercially using electrolysis, but the electrolyte used is molten cryolite at around 700°C and it's substantially more complicated than copper, nickel etc. It would be far less complicated to make a mould of your 3D print and do an Aluminium cast, there are some really good videos on how to do do this if it was something you wanted to try. If you just wanted an aluminium look, you could try plating with zinc, tin or nickel or a combination to find the right metal colour. Aluminium is generally plated onto plastics and lenses etc using vapour deposition, it's a little complicated but not impossible to do at home.

@BBMando69

3 жыл бұрын

@@BrodieFairhall thank you, i was mostly curious. I may try the tin or nickel.

🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

Have you considered using a solution like copper sulphate so that you don't have to wait for the solution overnight? I've tried and failed but it is doable.

@BrodieFairhall

3 жыл бұрын

I generally use sulphuric acid and copper sulphate to plate with, but I really like the fact that this electrolyte can be made with stuff from the grocery store and it's orders of magnitude safer for doing with kids at home etc.

Well done video. you mention setting the voltage between 3 and 6. What do you set the amperage to?

@BrodieFairhall

4 жыл бұрын

I replied to this on my other video, but I'll put the same reply here incase anyone else was wondering. I didn't regulate current specifically, I had the part and the anode at a set distance apart and adjusted the voltage (a range of 3V to 6V seems to work best for me). The current is in the low mA and gradually increases over time as the electrolyte becomes more saturated and the part becomes more conductive with its new layer of copper.

@coulterjb22

4 жыл бұрын

@@BrodieFairhall Thanks. I thought I sent the question but when I looked it was gone. i must have moved to the other video and didn't realize it. Thanks.

Thanks. Lots of great info here. I'm looking into electroplating as a way to add additional strength to 3D parts. Do you have any information or advice on this?

@BrodieFairhall

4 жыл бұрын

This is definitely a something that is possible to do, I should probably make a video on it! In the mean time, I would look up "Electroforming", it is really exactly the same a plating, but when you add a much thicker layer of metal to a part / "Mandrel" there are a few extra things to consider. - Each different metal will have an Electrical current / Surface area calculation and a recommended plating voltage, so an adjustable regulated power supply will definitely help with this - A more conductive electrolyte will help a lot, generally, dilute sulfuric acid is used to make a lot of electrolytes and there is a lot of information online about this. - A good conductive paint will work much better in this situation than graphite. Since making this video I have been using a conductive nickel spray paint made by MG Chemicals on my prints for plating and it works extremely well. All of this might sound a little daunting, but, it wont take much searching to find all the information you need to get started with this. If you are having good results plating objects using the method in this video, you may not need to look into the suggestions above, you can just try leaveing the part to plate much longer (I have left parts for 24 hours before) to build up a really thick metal coating.

@Rouverius

4 жыл бұрын

@@BrodieFairhall Wow, this is a wealth of information. Thanks! I'm looked up electroforming now. Would you mind a few more questions? Outside of nickel, are there any other tough metals that are commonly used (ex. iron)? Would there be some to avoid (ex. chromium)?

@BrodieFairhall

4 жыл бұрын

@@Rouverius Iron/steel is a little more complicated to plate/form with, I haven't successfully done anything with it yet and chromium generally requires some pretty toxic chemicals. At home electroplating is generally very successful with "transition metals" things like copper, lead, tin, silver and nickel, but also alloys of these metals. Nickel is a good option because it plates well and it is very strong, but there are also some very strong alloys you could look into, some types of bronze are incredibly strong and plate well. You can even create alloys by electroplating (say using a copper anode and a zinc anode). You will end up with a higher concentration of copper because it transfers ions more easily, but you can have different current flows from each anode to adjust this. Steel is definitely possible, I just need to do more research and experiment more, but I would definitely do some reading on it, you might find a great way to do it!

@Rouverius

4 жыл бұрын

@@BrodieFairhall Thanks. Ok, that makes sense about the transition metals with electroplating/forming. Yeah, nickel seems a safe first try and then later try other things (never chromium though). Good point about multi material plating. It does sound like it would be a type of alloy in some way. Also, might experiment with dissimilar electrolyte and sacrificial anode (like copper acetate with a zinc anode). Thanks again for all the great advice and information!

Great video!! What type of wire do you use to hang the 3D print? how do I connect the alligator clips to a normal 3V Lithium battery or do I need a different type of battery?

@BrodieFairhall

4 жыл бұрын

In this case I didn't use a battery, I used an adjustable bench top power supply, but I have used D Cell Alkaline batteries for this in the past. What kind of Lithium cell battery are you talking about specifically? Something like a CR2032 button cell or a Lithium Ion rechargeable battery? I don't specifically think either of those types would be really appropriate, each for different reasons. If it's a small button Lithium battery, it would probably be best to get a battery holder for it (Something like this www.sparkfun.com/products/783 ) But I would genuinely look at using some AA Batteries or something bigger (and safer than Lithium Ion) and adding or removing batteries so you can get the best results (somewhere between 3 and 6 Volts). The coin cells wouldn't last very long at all.

Hi Brodie, nice work... I did something similar years ago with copper, nickel an silver. I used different solutions for each metal. I can see that you use Vinagre and salt to get the medium for copper and nickel. Can you use the same for silver. I mean i had to produce silver nitrate with nitric acid and mix it with amoniac to get the medium to be able to plate with silver. Thank you.

@BrodieFairhall

5 жыл бұрын

I believe it will work with silver, but I've never honestly tried it (Gold or Lead either). I have a small amount I might try it with on another project.

@rodrigowandschneider3558

5 жыл бұрын

@@BrodieFairhall thank you very much

Great tutorial! What model is your plating power supply?

@BrodieFairhall

3 жыл бұрын

For this video I used this power supply (It's just my old high current benchtop supply, it seems to be available from a lot of different places too) janekits.com.au/products/15-amp-power-supply/ You don't need anything this big, for both my plating videos the current was much less than an amp and the voltage around 3V.

@alexecheverria

3 жыл бұрын

@@BrodieFairhall Thank you, I will try my step down DC converter for my experiments. I already powdered grafite from some pencils to make a conductive paint and experiment :D

Suggestions on what batteries to use for this project ( I don't have a desktop power supply)? How long does the process normally take with batteries?

@BrodieFairhall

5 жыл бұрын

I have a battery pack like this one www.jaycar.com.au/4-x-d-cell-2-rows-of-2-battery-holder/p/PH9222 that I have used for plating before, it is at the higher end of the plating voltages I would suggest, perhaps a 2 battery holder or 3 single battery holders (in series) would be better. The length of time shouldn't change at all as the current levels are so low. I hope this helps

I'm going to try this out. I have some Graphite spray, I presume I can use that.

@BrodieFairhall

3 жыл бұрын

I'm interested to hear how the graphite spray works! Is it a dry lubricant or a graphite lacquer? If you have a multimeter you should probably check the resistance of the graphite after it is sprayed on something. Anything over 1k ohm over roughly 25mm (1") and you'll have a hard time getting the item to plate.

@ZeedijkMike

3 жыл бұрын

@@BrodieFairhall The Graphite spray is for creating a conducting layer. So not a lubricant. Also the solvent evaporates very vast and leaves a nice dull coat of graphite. I get a resistance of a couple of kOhms with a couple of coatings on a unpolished 3D printed object. The product name is Graphit 33 (Dutch brand) Upcoming weekend I'll try out your method on a few test objects. I will post the results here (success or not) As a side note. I will attempt to build a 3D printed van de Graff generator. All parts are printed including the dome on which I have spent quite a few hours on polishing to a very smooth surface. I haven't got the slightest clue if it will work but it has been fun to create. Started 3D printing just a few months ago so still a lot to learn.

@ZeedijkMike

3 жыл бұрын

@@BrodieFairhall I promised to keep you up to date with my experiments. I have had some success with the Graphite spray but till now only on small objects. You do need at least 3 or 4 coatings to get the resistance to an acceptable level. I did use a voltage quite a bit larger then you suggested but I use a constant current power supply and limited the current to around 100 mA. I will do some more experiments when I get ordered more spray (and some Copper sulfate)

@BrodieFairhall

3 жыл бұрын

@@ZeedijkMike thanks for the update

Does the metal stick better than the graphite coating? You mentioned in your other plating vid that the graphite was delicate and prone to flaking.

@BrodieFairhall

3 жыл бұрын

As in does the silver conductive paint stick better than the graphite? (Yes it does) Or, does the metal, once plated onto the graphite stick better than just the graphite? (If it is fully covering the 3d print as a shell, yes it does)

@SuiGenerisBrewing

3 жыл бұрын

@@BrodieFairhall the later - thanks!

Where do you buy/get your various scrap metals from?

@BrodieFairhall

3 жыл бұрын

I'm an electrican, so I always have lots of leftover copper wire. The nickel in this video is from welding rods for cast iron that I got from the local hardware store.i have purchased various anodes from ebay and a company in Australia called jane kits. A quick google should find plenty of different metal anodes.

Will the container be food safe after it is re-cleaned or is this nonmetal container now only for crafts?

@BrodieFairhall

4 жыл бұрын

I'd recommend it isn't used for food after this process.

Can you silver plate that piece of jewelry with the nickel conductive paint?

@BrodieFairhall

4 жыл бұрын

You absolutely can :)

About how much current should one expect to push through?

@BrodieFairhall

4 жыл бұрын

There are a lot of variables associated with this, the main 3 being the surface area of the object you are plating, the type and strength of the electrolyte you are using and the type of plating metal. For something small, in this electrolyte, you aren't going to want anything above 250(ish)mA, everything in this video is plated using

@Explicnt

4 жыл бұрын

@@BrodieFairhall ah gotcha, thanks for the informative reply. Can't wait to give this a shot

if you bought a gold plating solution would this work?

@BrodieFairhall

2 жыл бұрын

If you bought a gold plating electrolyte from somewhere you should follow their instructions as it generally uses cyanide in the process. The method should be very similar though.

engagement

How about Electroless plating ?

@BrodieFairhall

2 жыл бұрын

Electroless plating is a fair bit more complicated. The basic information on what is required is available, but actual recipes are generally closely guarded by companies. I am working on something that is giving decent results for nickel, but it needs more work.

I’ve tried painting graphite/alcohol paint on my 3D print but saw some dissolving before the copper started building on top. Did you see this too?

@BrodieFairhall

4 жыл бұрын

I always ended up with a small amount of loose graphite floating off the part when it was first put in the electrolyte bath, but it has never been a problem

@coulterjb22

4 жыл бұрын

@@BrodieFairhall Have you tried plating a larger object maybe around 8 x 8 inches (20.3 x 23.2 cm)? Will it plate before the graphite floats off from any agitation? This would also work with iron, wouldn't it?

@BrodieFairhall

4 жыл бұрын

@@coulterjb22 I have plated a few larger items, I would recommend using more anodes spread around the object, using a conductive paint (I've been using a Nickel based conductive paint made by MG Chemicals which is very good) and if you have problems I would change to another electrolyte (Dilute Sulfuric Acid for Copper and Nickel). As for Iron/Steel, you can plate onto steel with Nickel, you can plate copper onto the Nickel afterward (copper directly onto steel will react and cause your steel to rust faster). Plating Iron onto other objects is possible, but the process is a bit different. You will have to find a suitable electrolyte, a lot of metals are plated using a molten salt electrolyte which is much more complicated than a water based electrolyte.

What’s the machine called you used to give it electricity so I know what to get?

@BrodieFairhall

2 жыл бұрын

If you search for "benchtop power supply or lab power supply" you will find a whole lot of similar options. The specific power supply I used in this video is this www.jaycar.com.au/compact-switchmode-laboratory-power-supply/p/MP3800 but you don't need anything as large or expensive. I used to use 3 X D cell alkaline batteries and got great results.

that conductive coating seems very inaccurate as it looks like itll change the shape of the original object, perhaps a sprayable method would be better

@BrodieFairhall

2 жыл бұрын

It's both good and bad, it removes a small amount of detail but also fills in layer lines in the print, saving you from filling and sanding. I don't generally use or recommend graphite anymore, I use a nickel conductive spray from MG Chemicals as it's much better.