Introducing the New High-Detail Stainless Steel Gloss Finish
Metal 3D printing in extremely high detail is one of the most exciting technological trends in the industry right now. That’s why we introduced High-Detail Stainless Steel back in 2013, and today, we have perfected a new finish for this extraordinary material: the all-new gloss finish!
It’s incredibly detailed, remarkably strong… and now shinier than ever! This is our newest update to the ever-growing range of 3D printing materials and finishes we have at i.materialise (there are over 100 now, by the way).
Besides looking for new materials, we are always on the lookout for how we can improve existing materials and finishes to make them even better, and to surpass our customers’ expectations. That’s why the all-new Gloss High-Detail Stainless Steel is here!
Taking a Closer Look at the New High-Detail Stainless Steel Gloss Finish
The old (left) and new (right) High-Detail Stainless Steel Gloss finishes next to each other.
As you can see in the image above, the new result is glossier, cleaner, and makes the model look even more detailed! These improvements were achieved with a new mechanical polishing process. The outer surfaces get a very polished, shiny look, whereas the inner areas of your model and any sunken areas will be somewhat darker and matte. This gives you a great color contrast that makes details come to life.
However, since this polishing technique is the most aggressive of all High-Detail Stainless Steel finishes, it also means that it will erode your model by a few microns. For example, sharp corners facing outwards will be rounded off a little.
Examples of the new Gloss Finish
Sci-Fi Bust by Garry Lloyd
TomyTones by Tommy Rombauts
Other High-Detail Stainless Steel Finishes
Besides the updated gloss finish, we also continue to offer our matte and satin finishes.
The matte effect is achieved by post-treating the models with a blasting operation. This finish is not very aggressive, meaning that there won’t be much erosion. In this way, your model will keep the highest level of detail.
Secret Message Ring by Roberto Trentin (matte finish)
Models that get a satin finish are post treated with a media blaster. The outer surfaces of your model will get a shiny look, and the resulting appearance and erosion level will lie somewhere between the gloss and matte finish.
Sophie (based on a 3D scan, satin finish)
Aislin by Yarrid Henrard (satin finish)
About High-Detail Stainless Steel
3D printed high-grade stainless steel (316L) is all about strength and detail. This makes it the perfect material for small, strong objects such as board game pieces, miniatures, key chains, jewelry, bolts, coins, medals, statues, freshly made artifacts, and much more.
Rivet by genius-spb 3D printed in high details stainless steel
This material is 3D printed in a process that is called Indirect Metal Printing. Ultra-fine grains of stainless steel powder are bound together layer by layer. The print head moves over each layer and places binding agent at specific points that need to be ‘printed’ together. This way your object is created layer by layer.
However, the object isn’t just ready yet as it is still quite fragile. That’s why the objects get sintered in an oven at 1300°C. After the cooling process, the model will be post-treated according to the finish of your choice.
Take a look at the video below to get a better understanding of this process:
Are you ready to try our new finish? Upload your 3D model here and order your high-quality 3D print. Want to learn more about 3D printing in metal? Then visit our material pages for High-Detail Stainless Steel, regular Steel, or Titanium.
