You may have bought a 3D printer, and that’s all well and good, but maybe you’re growing tired of making plastic objects. Plastic is great and all, but you know what’s nicer? Metal. Now, with the Orbit1 Tabletop Electroplater, you can take a freshly printed object, and plate it in Copper or Nickel, with options for Gold and Palladium if the company’s crowdfunding goes well. The way it works starts with you polishing and finishing your object as well as you can. Then you have to spray it with a conductive paint and wait a few minutes for it to dry. When that’s done, just dip it in the electroplating solution and wait as the process completes. An app will allow you to track progress, and in as little as a few minutes or up to a couple of hours (depending on the desired thickness of the coating), you’ll have a metal object that you printed at home.
Want to make your loved one a nice ring? This is the way to go. Heck, it doesn’t even have to be something you printed; you could make a gold plated tree leaf for all you care. The machine itself will set you back a hefty $1,999, while the electroplating solution works out to about $2 per gram, in Copper. That’s a heck of a lot, but could be a nice investment for someone looking to start a small business, maybe an Etsy shop or something. If the funding is completed, expect delivery by August 2016.
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