Minimum font size in silver. EDIT: And gold plated steel?

#1

Hello imaterialise.

I have used your services before but have typically only worked in the “steel” option. I have found this very good.

I am considering having some little gifts printed in silver. These gifts may include text. I have a few questions:

  1. What is the smallest font height (in mm) you can reliably print in silver?
  2. Would you recommend the text appears as an extruded cut into a surface or an extruded boss off of the surface?
  3. What depth/height would you recommend the text feature to be into/off the surface of the part?

Many thanks,

George

#2

Hello George,
Nice to hear that your experiences with our steel models were very good.
For the silver you can find a lot of information on our website and in the design guide you can find all about text and depth / height clearly explained. Please check on https://i.materialise.com/en/3d-printing-materials/silver.
The minimum details for silver are 0.35 mm.
Kind regards.

1 Like
#3

You are correct. There is adequate detail there. I should have been more attentive.

I do have a follow up question that is related to this. As well as the silver parts I am thinking of ordering some gold plated steel parts. I am hoping to put text into these as well. I have had gold plated steel from yourselves in the past and have been very pleased with them. But I have never put text into previous gold plated parts. You have two different design guides for text in unpolished and polished parts. If I were going to have unpolished gold plated parts do the design rules for unpolished parts apply or would I have to allow larger text for the plating?

Thank you for your patience.

#4

Hello George,

Please follow the guidelines of each finish. This is very important, especially in steel.
Thank you.

#5

Hello imaterialise,

I did place an order in the end; IMC135251. It went well. Would you say your silver process is still the same now? Same machines, same feed powder? I am thinking of placing another order for another batch of these little gifts. I just wanted to know ahead of time if I can expect similar results.

Many thanks,

George

#6

Hello George,

Yes, you can expect the same result. If you have any concerns about your designs, please check our design guide before placing an order: https://i.materialise.com/en/3d-printing-materials/silver/design-guide