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'm hoping to get into electroplating 3D prints. My birthday is coming up and hopefully I'll get some cash that will let me get a beginner's kit to try copper electroforming and nickel (maybe zinc) plating. I'm in the UK and getting a decent kit with everything in seems more cost effective than trying to assemble everything piecemeal for a beginner like me. Getting hold of the necessary chemicals seems to be somewhat complicated in the UK.
I can get deionised water and I have some graphite powder, but I don't have anything else ready. I've been reading up on this for a long time now but I really want to get cracking. While I'm prepared to have a learning curve, I'm looking to get a clean bright copper and nickel surface finish so I would prefer not to reinvent the wheel by figuring out additives and messing with vinegar when there's already a better method!
I am looking for recommendations for beginners starter kits available in the UK
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.
