Precious metal 3D printing with materials like Sterling Silver takes design and production to the next level, allowing for smoother surfaces and options like additional polishing. Professional finishes are available to showcase intricate details. Sterling Silver for 3D printing is softer and becomes even more malleable for 3D printing designs with thinner structures, like rings.

3D Print Silver with Wax Casting

Wax casting has been in use since ancient times. Known by several different names such as Lost Wax Casting, Investment Casting, and Precision Casting, this technique requires expertise, sophisticated tools, and high-quality materials. 

At Shapeways, Wax Casting is accompanied by 3D printing to make patterns for building molds. Sprues are added so precious metals like Sterling Silver can flow through. Simultaneously, the wax melts and drains, and the metal structure inside the mold solidifies for easy removal. The benefits of Wax Casting include:

• The ability to make innovative products, impossible via conventional manufacturing.
• The ability to make complex shapes with built-in intricacies like interlocking parts.
• Availability of superior choices for finishing.

Use Case – Sterling Silver Bracelets

Designers experience vast opportunities for customization at Shapeways, especially in using metal additive manufacturing and Wax Casting. Shapeways customers use a variety of materials for designing jewelry, and they may perform rapid prototyping and end-use manufacturing with the same materials. Other customers may enjoy all the benefits of one material for a line of products and then move on to a precious metal like Sterling Silver when developing luxury jewelry. This was the case for longtime Shapeways designers Groen and Boothman, an industrial design duo who continue to innovate and try new 3D printing materials and technology. 

For their Elements series, Groen and Boothman turned to cast silver for the Water and Cosmic bangle bracelet series, featuring a clasp mechanism and hinge (developed into two segments for simplicity in manufacturing and assembly).

“With 3D printing, you can engineer things so precisely that you can integrate a near-invisible, complex hinge mechanism, also under an angle, with an unprecedented level of sophistication,” said Hanno Groen.

Groen and Boothman added a handcrafted, ultra-polished touch, lending to the exclusivity of the jewelry which they described as offering ‘effects in silver that sparkle and captivate like precious stones.’ Download the case study to find out more about 3D printing with silver.

Finishes and Design Guidelines for 3D Printed Sterling Silver

Shapeways Sterling Silver (92.5% silver) 3D printing material is a high quality silver alloy commonly used in jewelry and other skin-safe applications. 3D printed Silver is skin-friendly, heat-proof up to 850°C/1562°F, and offers good electrical conductivity. 

Sterling Silver finishes include:

Natural Finish

3D print Silver with light polishing for a somewhat rough surface with a matte finish.

Polished Finish

3D print Silver for a hand-polished finish, and a smooth, shiny surface.

Fine-Detail Polished Finish

Extensive polishing of 3D printed Silver extends to intricate details, resulting in a very shiny surface. Note that extra polishing will remove more material, so some details could be lost in the process.

Antique Finish

Recessed details are blackened for a unique, antique look.

Bounding Box Requirements

The bounding box is a 3D imaginary outline of a box that encloses the smallest area occupied by your model. Your model must be within the minimum and maximum bounding box sizes. If the size of the model is close to the maximum bounding box, then the printing orientation will be restricted.

• Bounding Box Minimum
  • 2.4 x 2.4 x 0.6 mm
• Bounding Box Maximum
  • 89 x 89 x 100 mm
  • 75 x 75 x 40 mm (for interlocking parts)

About Shapeways

Enjoy the benefits of this advanced technology and a wide range of materials from Shapeways for 3D printing your creations with accuracy, complex detail, and no minimum or limits in terms of mass customization or single part orders. Shapeways has worked with over 1 million customers in 160 countries to 3D print over 21 million parts! Read about case studies, find out more about Shapeways additive manufacturing solutions, and get instant quotes here.

The post 3D Printing Materials Spotlight: Sterling Silver appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

Knuckies attach easily and securely to any device with a simple double-sided mounting sticker. With a range of designs, there’s also a Knuckie for everyone from cat lovers to minimalists. And, while Knuckies make excellent phone stands, they also fold flat — keeping your device low-profile.

Anchor by Knuckies – Phone Stands, With a Twist

Triple Ring by Knuckies – Phone Stands, With a Twist

Check out the full collection of Knuckies here. And for more ways to give your holiday giftees a Technical Advantage, don’t miss all of our gadget-lover gifts in the Holiday Gift Guide. Let us know in the comments how you keep a grip on your phone.

The post Never Drop Your Phone Again appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

Mini3DDrivers’s Mini Scuderia #7 car (and accompanying Mini Kimi Raikkonen driver) are just one of the whimsically accurate tiny cars offered in this F1- dedicated shop.

 Maybe you’re looking for an F1 inspired track to throw on your desk or wall.  3D Racetracks features a number of topographically accurate racetracks, including an officially licensed Nurburgring.

Want to celebrate the Ferrari 312T driven to victory by Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni? This 1:100 scale by Giles’s Designs can be used as a keychain or pendant. There’s also a number of other F1 inspired memorabilia in his shop, such as these miniatures.

Looking for more automotive & F1 inspired accessories? Check out my list here, and follow me on Shapeways to see what I’m looking at!

Click For More High Octane Cars

The post F1 Racing Miniatures And Memorabilia That’ll Get Your Wheels Spinning appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

Tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? Where are you located?
Hi, I’m Leon and I’m a product and packaging developer from the Netherlands. I work as packaging designer for a big FMCG company, but alongside that I love to design and create products that make life just a little easier, both for myself and for others.

What’s the story behind your designs? What inspires you?
I guess this is one of those typical “I had a need and couldn’t find the right product so decided to do it myself” stories where a product originates from a pure personal need. When the explosion of wallet projects on Kickstarter started a couple of years ago, I too got a little addicted to the minimal wallet trend.

Typically, minimal wallets are great for cards and bills. However, few offer a “good” solution for carrying coins (or other small items). I tried going “cashless” or at least “coinless” for a while, but found that there’s still quite a few places that don’t accept cards, or don’t accept cards for small amounts. Time after time I ended up with loose coins in my pocket. After finding over 10 euros worth of coins in the washing machine, and another stash spread around the car, I decided I had to find a solution.

That’s when I came up with Cavity Card. A simple and light frame that can be mounted onto any card and creates just a little space for a few coins, a key or an SD card while keeping my wallet slim. At first, I just printed one for myself. But after a number of questions from friends and colleagues, I decided to open up a shop.

What brought you to 3D printing with Shapeways?
I learned about 3D printing as a tool for rapid prototyping in my job as a packaging designer. It’s been a great tool for very quickly getting something physical in your hands, which is great for very early stage tests and design evaluation.

Having studied in Eindhoven, Shapeways was the logical choice for me. A while ago I did a bit of a benchmark comparing it with a couple of other 3D printing services but found Shapeways still has the best balance between cost, range of materials and service.

How did you learn how to design in 3D?
I’m schooled as an industrial designer. So I learned 3D modeling at university. I’ve experimented with a couple of CAD solutions, but find SolidWorks to be the best fit for me.

How do you promote your work?
For a very niche product like Cavity Card, which is only relevant to people owning a minimal wallet, it’s difficult to reach the right people. I currently mainly use Instagram and Facebook to try to build a following. I’ve also been experimenting a bit with Facebook ads (although not too successfully yet).

Next to my Shapeways store, I also run an independent website where I sell Cavity Cards with self-adhesive strips and a backing card included packed in a nice minimal pack.

If you weren’t limited by current technologies, what would you want to make using 3D printing?
I’ve got plenty of ideas in my head that I’d like to work out and start making some day. I’ve got a couple of wallet concepts for which the limitations in size and accuracy currently limit me from producing it through 3D printing. I’d love to start printing more complex multipart products that offer more functionality. Multi-material parts (printed in one go) would also open up so many opportunities.

Who are your favorite designers or artists? Who in the Shapeways community has served as an inspiration to you?
In terms of design, I’m a fan of classic modernist designers like Mies van der Rohe or Eames. My favorite Shapeways designer is probably Remi van Oers, because of his very simple and minimal but super useful designs.

Anything else you’d like to share with us?
Just that it’s absolutely fantastic how simple and easy it is to go from a one-off print for personal use to selling them commercially. And a big thanks to you guys for providing the services!

The post Designer Spotlight: Leon Oudehand appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

With 3D Printing, it becomes easier than ever to hack existing items you have in your house to create a dynamic space, a place that changes, grows and is really you. Last week we got an email from Evan Gant, who has his own shop on Shapeways called Olivebird and created a range of products that show how easy it becomes to manipulate your own environment.

Take these brilliant small components called “Links” that you can attach to your wall and create a whole new dimension for using building blocks. While it provides a fun way for your kid to decorate the wall their bedrooms (obviously preferred above using crayons on the wall), you can also create fun looking and yet functional storage spaces with these Links.

What never fails to liven up your home is.. Life! With this clever Bell Vase hack you can reuse the jars from your favorite food by simply adding a 3D printed lid to transform them into vases. Designer izign believes in sustainable design, so I’m curious to see what other life extending hacks he comes up with.

With summer drawing near, I can imagine you’re ready to start using your ceiling fan any time soon. But don’t you just hate the moment pulling on the wrong cord and having the light go on in stead? Noé and Pedro Ruiz (design duo Pixil 3D) decided they needed a simple solution, which resulted in the Typography Fan Pull Handles.

Last example I want to give really turned the world of Home Deco upside down. This Radiolaria Vertebralia Planter is a cool design by Joaquin Baldwin that shows plants from a whole new dimension in your home.

Need even more cool ideas to hack your house with 3D Printing? Browse this list of products and get inspired!

The post Hacking Your Home With 3D Printing appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

It’s that time of year again. The weather is getting nicer and plants are in bloom. It’s time to take the bike out of the garage and hop on the road. Here are some of our favorite bike accessories to make your bike truly unique, and help cart around your picnic beverages.

The post Ready to Ride? Accessorize Your Bike for Summer appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

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The post The Top Selling Products in August appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

When you visit the site, you’ll now have an option in the footer to change settings and view prices in different currencies.

It’s important to note that all payments will still be processed in USD or EUR (that depends on your shipping country, and we’ll let you know in checkout). The only difference will be the price you see when viewing your products.

In addition, shop owners can access a price preview of their products in these currencies on the Selling page. This will give a glimpse of what your customers will see when they visit your shops.

Happy browsing!

The post Browse Shapeways in Local Currencies appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

From the beginning,  Shapeways has allowed users to upload a 3D model and see it become a 3D print. This was the beginning of a new technology and a new community. As the community grew, so did the number of products coming out of our printers. This new library of products meant 3D printing was no longer just for those with modeling experience, but a place to create, buy and/or sell 3D printed products. Two years ago, with this in mind, we introduced a new way to discover and purchase products on Shapeways.

With the introduction of a marketplace, our community was quick to respond to the initiative and opportunity to be able to sell their products on the same platform they were able to create them on. They began filling up categories with iPhone cases, jewelry, drone accessories, miniatures and much more. We now have nearly 25,000 shops with thousands of products for public sale on Shapeways, and as these numbers continue to grow we will continue to improve upon our marketplace.

Today we are integrating a lot of the functionality people are familiar with when it comes to browsing an online marketplace in order to make it easier to shop. We are taking steps to ease browsing with tag filters, shop by material, and more.

These new features also translate over to your mobile devices. We’ve taken more steps to make our site responsive and customers are able to browse and shop on any device.

Here are some of the core upgrades of the new Shapeways Marketplace experience:

Ubiquitous category, price, material, customizable and Beta filters

• Want to know what’s new in your favorite category and material combination? Or customizable products in a specific subcategory and in a specific material? We have you covered with the available facets on the left pane of any Marketplace view.

In-material product pictures or digital renders displayed in the results when using a material filter

• Wondering how to easily compare products? Enable a material filter and watch the displayed results update with photos or digital renders in the specified material.

Narrow results with a tag

• Looking for all Miniatures tagged at scale 1:144? Activate a tag filter to your view and the displayed results will reflect your choice.

Improved merchandising

• This allows the Merchandising Team at Shapeways to better curate products on additional dimensions, such as subcategory, tag, material, featured products, shops, co-creator apps and more. This means more opportunities for shop owners to be featured in new places across the marketplace.

So what’s next? As with all major feature releases, we will be closely monitoring how the new marketplace is adopted and used. That data and feedback will be used to tweak things where needed, and we look forward to continuing to improve the experience. All of us here at Shapeways are inspired by the creations of our community. We strive to showcase them to the public in the best ways possible and we believe this new marketplace experience improves the discoverability of those creations.

The post Introducing Improved Product Discovery appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

The products featured below were noticed for various reasons. Whether it was because it fit within a pop culture moment or just showcased amazing design, these products caught a reporter’s eye and inspired them to write. Always keep in mind that beautiful photos, design stories and customer engagement will help to make your products stand out across the board.

Tardigrade (Water Bear)

The water Tardigrade from Raw Legends Collaborations was featured in 3D Printing Industry after “it became a bit of a minor 3D printing viral sensation, making it onto the editor at Popular Science’s Twitter feed and countless science blogs.” Read More

Ittyblox

Ittyblox was written about in CityLab for all the model fans. “At least some pieces, like the 1:1000-scale Guggenheim Museum and Tudor City building, are based on real-life structures. And all are cut with fantastic detail.”  Read More

Blooming Zoetrope Sculptures

For products that require a video, a few 1-2 minutes can go a long way. Dezeen Magazine wrote a piece on designer John Edmark‘s incredible Blooming Zoetrope Sculptures. Read More

Left Shark

Before the law got in the way, Left Shark was featured as a new meme in various outlets including The Star. “A surprising MVP emerged from Sunday’s Super Bowl — or, more appropriately, MVM — and now you can get your very own 3D-printed “Left Shark” mascot.” Read More

Steampunk Themed Accessories

Steampunk has a lot of fans, and 3DPrint.com included multiple Shapeways products in their roundup of designs. “Steampunk machines, devices, etc., usually consist of a lot of gears and analogue mechanisms. Today you see all sorts of unique designs, such as steampunk jewelry, clocks, clothing, and just about anything else that you can think of. 3D printing is a technology which has taken things to the next level, as designers can now fabricate their own unique, extremely complicated, steampunk creations.” Read More

Chopstick Holders & Crayon Creatures

Quartz featured Chopstick Holders and several of Bernat Cuni’s products in their story on “some of the coolest and most interesting things you can 3D-print right now.” Read More

Wave Cable Holder

Urbano Rodriguez’s Wave Cable Holder was included in a roundup of tech accessories perfect for the office in the March issue of Marie Claire, on newsstands now.

If you’re looking to get your products noticed, social media is a great place to start. While it doesn’t quite feel like “press,” all platforms are a space to share, and make it more likely for reporters to find your product and write about it. Shapeways social media guru, Eric Ho has given some great tips of how to get your products in the right platforms.

As always, don’t forget to post your products in our “Feature This!” forum. Our PR team loves to check out what’s new, and will reach out if there is a fit for a story we are working on!

The post Products in the Press appeared first on Shapeways Blog.