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Creating very light hollow metal ornaments
I wanted to create very light hollow metal ornaments that could float
by the buoyancy of the air inside. I wanted to use metal because some parts of the object would need to withstand an ambient temperature of about 100-150 degrees celsius. I figured a good thickness for the metal would be about 0.5 mm, enough to withstand moderate handling without deforming. I'm not a craft expert, but I the best idea I thought of would be to do the following: 1) create a master object from clay or polyclay 2) use the master to create a mould from plaster 3) use the plaster mould to make a wax copy of the object 4) apply an initial film of nickel by solution or aerosol spray 5) plated the metal of choice onto the nickel to the desired thickness 6) immerse the object in boiled water to melt the wax 7) wax can then be skimmed off and recycled The object shape could be quite complex, for example a flower with petals or miniture scene with a house or something. I might end up producing small batches of a 1000 or more. Can anyone comment on my proposed technique? Would there be a better or simpler way to do it? How would an industrial production line do something like this? I realise I can enlist the services of metal plating companies to deal with some of the work. Comments please. Many thanks, Erik |
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#3
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"Marilee J. Layman" wrote in message news On Thu, 22 Jan 2004 16:00:47 GMT, (Marin) wrote: I wanted to create very light hollow metal ornaments that could float by the buoyancy of the air inside. You mean float on water? Marilee - If a light body of gold is filled with air and is water-tight, then it will float. No metal filled with "air" will float in air. You'd have to use a lighter-than-air gas. I think Marin meant electro-forming, which might give the requested results. Here's a link for some basic info: http://www.gold.org/jewellery/techno...g/electro.html -SP- Marilee J. Layman |
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[I've seen a line of jewelry in production that was similar to what you're
talking about. The process wasn't quite the same, though. They mastered the parts in metal, using the lost-wax process, then spin-cast the parts in solid zinc. These were quite heavy, but then they were electroformed with a thin shell of gold (this was the complicated part, since an elaborate computerized setup was used to control the deposition of the 14k alloy). In your case, copper electroforming would be a lot simpler. The zinc was removed in an acid bath, through a small hole made in the exterior shell. The method you outline below might work, although rubber molds would be better than plaster for small complex items. I've never heard of aerosolized nickel (most conductive lacquers are silver-based.). Handling the wax models in this circumstance would be tricky, too, since most plating and electrofoming solutions are heated. In general, simple forms work better in this type of process than complex ones, since the copper likes to deposit itself on exterior edges, the sharper the better, and tries to avoid concavities. Try some experimentation before committing to producing thousands of these. Just out of curiosity, what are these for? You just like to see something bobbing around in your french fries while they're cooking?] Andrew Werby www.unitedartworks.com "Marin" wrote in message ... I wanted to create very light hollow metal ornaments that could float by the buoyancy of the air inside. I wanted to use metal because some parts of the object would need to withstand an ambient temperature of about 100-150 degrees celsius. I figured a good thickness for the metal would be about 0.5 mm, enough to withstand moderate handling without deforming. I'm not a craft expert, but I the best idea I thought of would be to do the following: 1) create a master object from clay or polyclay 2) use the master to create a mould from plaster 3) use the plaster mould to make a wax copy of the object 4) apply an initial film of nickel by solution or aerosol spray 5) plated the metal of choice onto the nickel to the desired thickness 6) immerse the object in boiled water to melt the wax 7) wax can then be skimmed off and recycled The object shape could be quite complex, for example a flower with petals or miniture scene with a house or something. I might end up producing small batches of a 1000 or more. Can anyone comment on my proposed technique? Would there be a better or simpler way to do it? How would an industrial production line do something like this? I realise I can enlist the services of metal plating companies to deal with some of the work. Comments please. Many thanks, Erik |
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-SP- wrote:
"Marilee J. Layman" wrote in message news On Thu, 22 Jan 2004 16:00:47 GMT, (Marin) wrote: I wanted to create very light hollow metal ornaments that could float by the buoyancy of the air inside. You mean float on water? Marilee - If a light body of gold is filled with air and is water-tight, then it will float. No metal filled with "air" will float in air. You'd have to use a lighter-than-air gas. I think Marin meant electro-forming, which might give the requested results. Here's a link for some basic info: http://www.gold.org/jewellery/techno...g/electro.html Electroformed items are in most case between 0,07- 0,15 mm thick. 0.5 mm ist thick enogh to be casted. The thinnest forms to be casted are 0,17 mm thick. -- Heinrich Butschal casting technologies http://butschal.de/werkstatt |
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On Sat, 24 Jan 2004 02:10:49 GMT, "-SP-" wrote:
"Marilee J. Layman" wrote in message news On Thu, 22 Jan 2004 16:00:47 GMT, (Marin) wrote: I wanted to create very light hollow metal ornaments that could float by the buoyancy of the air inside. You mean float on water? Marilee - If a light body of gold is filled with air and is water-tight, then it will float. Duh. As I said, that you cut, "I'm not sure why you'd call them ornaments then." No metal filled with "air" will float in air. You'd have to use a lighter-than-air gas. I think Marin meant electro-forming, which might give the requested results. Here's a link for some basic info: http://www.gold.org/jewellery/techno...g/electro.html It still wouldn't float in air, and I would expect ornaments to be in air, not water. -- Marilee J. Layman |
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"Marilee J. Layman" wrote in message news On Sat, 24 Jan 2004 02:10:49 GMT, "-SP-" wrote: "Marilee J. Layman" wrote in message news On Thu, 22 Jan 2004 16:00:47 GMT, (Marin) wrote: I wanted to create very light hollow metal ornaments that could float by the buoyancy of the air inside. You mean float on water? Marilee - If a light body of gold is filled with air and is water-tight, then it will float. Duh. As I said, that you cut, "I'm not sure why you'd call them ornaments then." Excellent point. One that I'd missed I'm afraid... I of course, should have said/typed: "...then it will float ...'on water'." No metal filled with "air" will float in air. You'd have to use a lighter-than-air gas. I think Marin meant electro-forming, which might give the requested results. Here's a link for some basic info: http://www.gold.org/jewellery/techno...g/electro.html It still wouldn't float in air, and I would expect ornaments to be in air, not water. I think you're absolutely correct with what you say. I also would expect ornaments to be in air and not water. However, what about those funky fishtank ornaments that you find at the bottom of funky fishtanks? o o o o "))) -SP- -- Marilee J. Layman |
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On Tue, 27 Jan 2004 04:54:08 GMT, "-SP-" wrote:
"Marilee J. Layman" wrote in message news On Sat, 24 Jan 2004 02:10:49 GMT, "-SP-" wrote: "Marilee J. Layman" wrote in message news On Thu, 22 Jan 2004 16:00:47 GMT, (Marin) wrote: I wanted to create very light hollow metal ornaments that could float by the buoyancy of the air inside. You mean float on water? Marilee - If a light body of gold is filled with air and is water-tight, then it will float. Duh. As I said, that you cut, "I'm not sure why you'd call them ornaments then." Excellent point. One that I'd missed I'm afraid... I of course, should have said/typed: "...then it will float ...'on water'." No metal filled with "air" will float in air. You'd have to use a lighter-than-air gas. I think Marin meant electro-forming, which might give the requested results. Here's a link for some basic info: http://www.gold.org/jewellery/techno...g/electro.html It still wouldn't float in air, and I would expect ornaments to be in air, not water. I think you're absolutely correct with what you say. I also would expect ornaments to be in air and not water. However, what about those funky fishtank ornaments that you find at the bottom of funky fishtanks? o o o o "))) He said they have to hold up to 100C, and you'd be boiling your fish at that temp. -- Marilee J. Layman |
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"Marilee J. Layman" wrote in message news On Tue, 27 Jan 2004 04:54:08 GMT, "-SP-" wrote: o o o o "))) He said they have to hold up to 100C, and you'd be boiling your fish at that temp. Heh, yes, and the benefit of that, is 'fish and chips' to eat on a Friday evening... Nice Guppies... -SP- Marilee J. Layman |
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