3D Printing News

A roundup of the top 3D printing news from July 22 to July 28:

Tuesday, July 23

• Inside 3D Printing Chicago Conference – A Full Retrospective

Wednesday, July 24

• 3D Printing Iron: ExOne Announces New Metals for 3D Printing

Friday, July 26

• Study Shows 3D Printing Emits Ultrafine Particles; What This Actually Means

Saturday, July 27

• Shapeways Introduces Gold Plated Brass to 3D Printing

Shapeways Brings the Bling to 3D Printing

3D printing marketplace Shapeways announced a new 3D printable material, gold plated brass.

“Gold Plated Brass is a rich, highly polished material that’s perfect for jewelry and precious objects. The base is solid brass, and the gold plating gives it a smooth, beautiful finish,” says Savannah from Shapeways Marketing team.

3D printing in gold plated brass is actually a 5-step process

First, the model is printed in a wax using a specialized, high-resolution 3D printer. It is then put in a container where liquid plaster is poured in around it. Once the plaster sets, the wax is melted out in a furnace, and the remaining plaster becomes the mold. Molten brass is poured into this mold and allowed to harden. The plaster is broken away, and the brass piece is cleaned and polished. Finally, this piece is electroplated with a thin layer of nickel for durability and an outer layer of high quality 24K gold. The result is a smooth gloss finish comparable to a solid gold item.

Gold Plated Brass at a Glance:

Price per cm3: $35.00
Minimum Wall: 0.8mm
Max Bounding Box: 100 x 100 x 30 mm

Here is a photo gallery of what you can create with gold plated brass.

Read more at the Shapeways blog.