Stainless steel
Models made in stainless steel are printed in stainless steel powder that is infused with bronze. Stainless steel is the cheapest form of metal printing, very strong and suitable for very large objects.
Material samples
Color
The color of the material is silver colored. The material is polished by default. Unpolished spots like tiny holes stay darker than the polished surfaces. Other finishes are Medieval Pewter and Wheat Penny. The gold finish is achieved by dipping the model into a gold bath
Pricing info
Up to 5 cm³ model volume: $35.00 for non gold plated colors / $41.00 for gold plated colors For every extra cm³ above 5 cm³ till 40 cm³: $8.00 For every extra cm³ above 40cm³: $7.5
Our pricing scheme is meant to encourage models of 5 cm³ and larger because we want to encourage you to make bigger things. There is now also extra discount for compact models. The more material you have within the imaginary box around your model, the bigger your discount becomes for the same model volume. So the pricing scheme is the maximum price you will pay. To know the real (discounted) price, upload your design. Here are some pricing examples for non gold plated colors.
The maximum price for a model with a volume of:
- 3 cm³ will be $35.00
- 8 cm³ will be $35.00 + (8-5) * $8.00 = $59.00
- 11 cm³ will be $35.00 + (11-5) * $8.00 = $83.00
- 45 cm³ will be $35.00 + (40-5) * $8.00 + (45-40)*7.5 = $352.50
For gold plated colors, add 6$ more
The price is first calculated in dollar and then converted to euro for non-US customers.
Typical use
Stainless Steel can be used for robust, functional, decorative but not too thin models. Not possible are interlinked chains or designs that have very thin unsupported structures emanating from them. You can also make jewelry in stainless steel, but please be aware that the material contains bronze and skin irritations and redness have been known to occur.
Technology
With stainless steel 3D printing, your part is created by binding together layers of stainless steel powder. Specifically, after a layer of stainless steel powder is spread across the base of a “build box”, a special print head moves back and forth over the layer, and deposits binding agent at specific points, as directed by a computer and your design file. Once the layer is finished and it has been dried via powerful overhead heaters, a new layer of powder is spread, and the process begins again. In this way, layer by layer, from the bottom up, your part is created.
Once the printing is done, the build box is placed in a curing oven and your part is sintered. The extra powder that was not bound, and is not part of your design, is then removed. At this point, your part is still very fragile. This so called “green state” will be the base of some of the design rules and limitations that follow below. Finally, via the use of a flute system, your design is infused with bronze, which replaces the binding agent. Your part is now solid metal, and after the flutes are manually removed, it is tumbled and polished to produce a smooth finish.
