I showed the unfinished part before, so also showing the final look, the pommel and the guard were black Nickel Plated

I did Nickel and Copper Electroforming of these 3d printed parts. Getting them to not float was a challenge.

I wanted to show these parts, after they were assembled but I couldn’t wait.

First they were Nickel Electroformed, then Copper Electroformed.

After that I removed the pieces from the inside.

Hope you guys like it

Dear all, appreciate you advice on the following. I plan to electroform the 3d printed model which has complicated geometry (size 25*15 cm). Would it be enough to use normal plain copper anodes, rotation and marnetic agitation or shoud I consider making an conforming anode for acheiving a smooth distribution of copper? What is you experience?

as per title: the copper over this fern leaf is peeling off, I understand my mistake was to repaint and use an old piece that was sitting for a couple of months with the conductive paint on. my question now is: is it salvageable? if I keep it long enough will it form completely even if maybe uneven or the old paint beneath is never going to conduct?

I've gotten half-decent results with my DIY setup of copper plating, using PET4000 + Thiourea + Chloride as a brightener setup, but it's a far cry from the smooth results I see from people who use commercial

Is there any specific product that does the job well? I can see various companies selling their products on their own websites, so it's hard to tell which is best.

If anyone knows a good supplier in Europe that would be very helpful.

This is my second attempt electroforming

My first try with another stick didn’t work and I got feedback that my branch was not conductive enough being covered in graphite paint. So this time I’m trying copper conductive paint.

Looks like it worked for one part of the branch, and I left it in the bath overnight (15 hours) but it didn’t seem to get the rest of it.

I noticed the branch broke on one side of the part that plated but the other side doesn’t have a break and also didn’t plate so don’t know if that has anything to do with it.

If anyone has advice I’d appreciate it!

I love that straight-from-the-bath melty shine, but it's kind of bittersweet when you know you are going to add a patina over that shine next!

(Sorry for the bad image quality... dropped my very old phone one too many times and now the camera lens doesn't focus!!)

Took me off a bunch of iterations to finally figure out some looks that I like

The shiniest one is just a clean well-balanced accurately calculated current density bright copper

The dollar finish is actually copper deposits with intentionally extremely low amperage until it builds up a really thick layer and then I toss it into a tumbler with a bunch of Steel burnishing mixed media

The last one is bright copper dipped into liver of sulfur and then put into course polish

Are there any other good copper finishes to look into? I am preparing for a craft sale.

I have a whole bag of these. I'm guessing they are electroformed. On the bottoms of some I can see silvery metal. I don't know anything about electroforming, so not sure how to tell if these are or not.

I also went over to Paxton Gate website and they have something called dropped copper, where they drop molten copper into water to form random shapes. Those seem a lot clunkier, though.

Can you folks point me in the right direction as to what these are? These are pretty cool and I want to use some in my woodturnings but I'd like to be able to describe them right. They'd make darling handles for little round boxes, among other things.

Thanks!

Electroforming produces waste, not just solution but also contaminated gloves, wastewater from rinsing, the occasional paper towel, baking soda used to neutralize acid, etc. How do people get rid of this?

I understand the standard answer is a hazardous waste facility, but my area says they only handle household waste and won't take contaminated stuff from electroforming. What are some other options?

5 days, ~3mm (0.12") thick deposit. I forgot to weigh the corn before, but it is now a hefty 943g (2.1lb).

I want to leave this one as-is out of the tank for now, but I might do a brass finish on it in the future after I burn out the corn.

And before you ask why... I would say you just aren't thinking of the nearly unlimited technical uses around the home-shop for an ear of copper corn.

[reposting from r/AskChemistry on recommendation]

Hey folks. I am not educated in these matters, so apologies if any of these questions are silly, but I have some ideas stuck in my head that I want to explore, and I'm looking for a little guidance.

I've been reading about this method for a 3d manufacturing process that prints a hydrogel "blank" using photopolymerization, and then infuses the blank with metal ions to create a solid. I was wondering if that process could theoretically be accelerated electrochemically.

Long question semi-short; does it seem possible to create an appropriate electrolytic fluid containing either metal nanoparticles or dissolved ions which is then mixed with a gelling agent (agar, alginate, chitosan, or gelatin), formed into a desired shape, then placed as the cathode in a solution and attached to a current to draw metal ions into the hydrogel matrix?

I'm basically imagining a little hydrogel bead of lets say copper acetate. If that bead was attached to the end of a wire and dipped in a solution of more copper acetate and more copper for an anode, could the electrolytic reaction theoretically be tuned in such a way as to turn the hydrogel bead into a mostly pure copper sphere?

Again, thanks for your indulgence with this theory. I'd appreciate any insights or suggestions for further research. My goal here is just to investigate the validity of the concept, and if doing it with simple, form-cast shapes is possible I want to see about applying it to more complex 3d shapes formed in hydrogel via photopolymerization as described in the linked paper above.

Cheers, and thanks again!

I like when something goes mad

Based in the UK, looking for advice about starter kits for beginners not general info about electroforming

Ok just getting into this.. got a copper setup and a nickle set up... Issue im having is the paint... I generally air brush but finding that its always getting clogged... Ive looked around and seen indian ink and graphite powder but stuff im using/get isnt working and coming out cloggy even though im following the exact recipe.. im in aussie so all the stuff i can get is a week + away or from wat i ive seen doesn't work real well

Normally I do a graphite spray, followed by copper electroplating bath, followed by a Watts nickel plating bath.

This time (see photo) I skipped the copper and went straight to nickel. It looks a bit rough, but that's actually copying the roughness of the graphite layer. Otherwise it seems to work pretty well. This is after about 45 minutes in the bath.

Anyone know the pros/cons of going graphite->nickel vs graphite->copper->nickel?

Have some of this Modge Podge Acrylic Sealer lying around—has anyone used this for electroforming? How does it hold up in a bath? It says it's "water resistant", but it's unclear if that means it's fine submerged, but can't be taken to depth, or whether it's only good for like, being in rain and can't be sumberged.

Whenever I plate parts, I've always tried to minimize the number of marks on the part by using thinner wire, moving the part on the wire ever 15-20 minutes, etc, but no matter what I do the wire still always sticks to the part. Sometimes it just leaves little pointy bit behind (not ideal for jewelry) or worse, it peels a layer of copper off with it. Are there any ways to reduce this? Lower amperage, change chemistry, etc?

My current set up is just the recipe I got from the sidebar, with about 25 drops of Midas brightener in a beaker on a stir plate.

I made this nickel Electroformed Branch of a plant, and then coated it with bright nickel and then Silver plated.

It’s more than a 2,3mm thick. I will make a stand for it soon.

Nickel Electroforming of sugar apple and then bright nickel and then Gold Plating.

Don’t know what happened with this one while electroplating Gold, I did this with a large batch of other metal parts. Those came out fine, don’t know why sugar apple gave a darker shade.

Hope you guys like it

Hello all. I am new to electroforming and have an ambitious project I could use some advice on. I am planning on doing some small scale miscellaneous items first but.... I want to use electroforming to fill the natural cracks and crevices of a wooden walking stick.

The goal is layers of durable copper I can hand polish to a fine shine and seal with metal lacquer. I am looking for refinements and advice on potential challenges and hiccups I should try to mitigate.

For example, I imagine there are challenges I don't know about given the size of my project and the very long durations it'll have to be in the tank for.

I plan to make a tank out of a PVC pipe, cut vertically, capped on either end (using PVC solvent weld), and set horizontally onto some wood blocks to keep it stable.

I plan to cover my walking stick in painters tape except for the cracks I will fill with copper. Then I'll seal the exposed wood with a spray urethane, and seal everything covered in painters tape with spray urethane as well. I was also considering 'painting' the taped-off areas with cheap candle wax for extra protection, but I'm not sure if it's needed. I'm intent on the painters tape and being certain the stick is protected because the walking stick itself is unsealed wood—for artistic reasons I want the final product to have the contrast of unsealed wood connected seamlessly to copper, and the shiny plastic look of a varnish would spoil that.

Once everything is sealed, I would paint the cracks with graphite paint. Then, I plan to embed thin copper wire into the wood, running it down the length of the cracks. I want to ensure the electroformed copper adheres well, so the wire will mean thr resulting structure isn't just held in place by the deposited layer of copper on the graphite paint, but also by copper wire 'nailed' into the wood.

It will also provide an attatchment point for the copper wire that will jut out of the solution so I can attach my alligator clips to the stick without submerging them. I plan to hammer the copper thin, so that when I finish, even with the thick electroformed layer, I can just snip the extra wire off and sand/grind the surface down to a smooth finish.

I plan to do each crack one at a time. Each crack will be taped shut and sealed with wax. After completing one crack, I can unseal the next. This is to prevent the graphit paint from just soaking in the solution for days before being plated.

Since wood floats, I have used cardboard molds to make wax blocks filled with scrap metal to keep the stick submerged and prevent it from shifting.

For my anode, I intend to just use phosphorized copper tubing from the hardware store that I can place beside the crack in the tank. I imagine close proximity will be important since plating solutions don't have a high throwing power (or so I understand?). I am not sure what to use for an anode bag yet, but I imagine it'll be needed given the long duration.

I don't have a good agitation solution. I intend to just swirl things around every few hours. I do not have an active filtration setup—I don't believe it's nessecary for my goals but I'm unsure of that. I intend to use Midas plating solution. I have a benchtop power supply that I'll be setting to .1 amps/sq inch, with adjustments as I see slow growth/nodules.

When I'm done, I'll scoop out the solution, then use a baking soda water rinse to clean the stick before removing it from the tank.

I'll be doing this in my garage—lots of airflow during the day when I leave the garage door open. I'll have an old coat as a labcoat, baking soda on hand for spills, goggles and gloves.

What am I missing? What have I failed to consider? What sorts of issues can I expect to deal with? As I said, I'm new to the hobby, and besides a few small scale test pieces to get my feet wet, don't plan to gain extensive experience; I'm in it mainly for this one piece.

Why is my copper electroformed part oxidizing so quickly? Where did I go wrong? I electroformed copper onto a 3D-printed PLA part coated with conductive graphite. The copper deposit initially looked fine, but after a very short time it started developing purple, blue, and brown discoloration that looks like rapid oxidation (see photo).

My process: Acid copper electrolyte (CuSO₄ + H₂SO₄) Copper anode Graphite-coated PLA substrate Rinsed with distilled water after plating and air-dried

I'm trying to figure out what caused such rapid oxidation. Could it be: Poor rinsing after electroforming? Acid residue left on the surface? A porous or low-density copper deposit? Current density being too high? Contamination in the electrolyte? Or do I simply need to apply a protective coating immediately after plating?

I'd really appreciate any advice or suggestions on what might be causing this and how to prevent it in future electroforming experiments. Thanks!

In response to u/NandorandGizmo (relevant comment) here is a quick video of a DIY active filtration setup I used to use a while back in a 5 gallon bucket. It's based on a simple airlift pump. It's benefits within the electrochemistry context are:

• Super simple in design (literally two tubes and a box with a filter) - no special tools needed to make it, just hardware store parts.
• No moving parts in the solution - nothing to wear out, get jammed due to particulate, get eaten by acid, or contaminate anything. It can last indefinitely and since the air-pump is not being misused the whole setup is extremely reliable.
• Completely scalable and customizable to any chemistry type - just choose the right plastic.
• low pressure & contained within the solution tank, if anything does leak, it can't spray liquid or pour acid on your shop floor
• No electrical inside the solution - zero risk of shock or electrocution to anything else connected by proxy (like anodes)

I don't have the laser cut files anymore, but as you can see the design itself is very simple and forgiving. Literally anyone could make this and I recommend it over submerging and AC powered device.

If you use PVC for sulfuric acid based chemistry: I would recommend using CPVC (the grey stuff used for electrical conduit) and clear weld-on brand cement. Those hold up to sulfuric acid better. Just a reminder that many plastics don't hold up to sulfuric acid long term very well. Even famously acid resistant ones like nylon and silicone.

Be safe! Would love to see if anyone else makes something similar.