Hello, everyone! I’ll say right away that I’m not very familiar with 3D printing, although I have worked with plastic. I’m more in the metalworking field. So here’s my idea: printing a 3D object with small holes inside, possibly in the form of a mesh or hexagon. Creating such a micro-porous structure with the smallest possible gaps. Then cover this structure with liquid metal, the main thing is to use plastic or print settings for better adhesion.
After all these procedures, you can start galvanizing the part. For example, using chrome or copper. This will make the structure stronger and, in theory, able to withstand high temperatures and pressures.
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Electroplating is generally very, very thin, on the order of microns, maybe up to a couple thou. That’s far too thin (much thinner than aluminum foil) to add a noticeable amount of strength. How about instead, you wrap the part in carbon fiber or S-glass prepreg, vacuum bag it, and cure it? If you print your part from a higher temp filament like PET it shouldn’t warp at the curing temperature.
at that point, wouldn’t it just be advantageous to print with some sort of CF nylon? manual cf wet layup or bagged would add way too much post-processing than it might be worth. for context, i’ve worked with cf mold making and infusion as a hobby for almost 15 years now for automotive applications.
Yes, using the best filament for the application should be the first step. In most cases that’s enough. And yes, doing a composite layup would be a lot of work. If one were to go that rout, it may make more sense to print a mold and make the part in composite, perhaps filling with “forged” fiber or leaving it hollow.
great idea, i would be extremely interested in developing this further. how would you go about making the inside conductive? also how do you get the metal to deposit inside the part and not outside it?