Five Scary For Me; Or, Getting Your 3D Modeled Jewelry Out Into The Real World

It turned out that the printer required for printing wax,
that then can be surrounded by a casting medium (plaster)...

Fired in an oven to remove wax,
and filled with molten metal such as Pewter or Silver, or even Gold.

Costs a bit less than a regular 3D printer,
such as Ender 3 v2 (which you should always get with a Bed Leveling Kit)

The wax printer costs about $200 dollars,
and is called Mars Elegoo

This is a resin printer, breathing resin is dangerous,
so you will need ventilation and a mask that can stop the toxic particles.

Melting metal is dangerous,
when molten metal traps moisture.

The moisture will convert to steam,
and that means it will rapidly expand.

Guess how many times,
1,700, and I have a vague recollection of someone saying over 2,000.

So molten metal then pops,
and scatters all over the area.

I repeat melting metal is dangerous,
I will not do it.

But and above all,
having a wax part, is a amazing.

Because you should be able to find a place,
that will cast it for you.

And to return to the dangerous side of things,
a metal called Pewter which used to be used for spoons in the Colonial era.

Actually to this day you can metal detect spoon bowls,
the handles usually snap off as pewter is not as strong as other metals.

Pewter is special because it does not require high heat,
in fact it can be melted in a solder hot plate.

Be aware that Pewter from an unknown source may contain lead,
and led is a deadly neurotoxin.

So if you are going to melt pewter,
make sure that it is from a reliable source and certified not to have lead it.

But please be safe, gloves, ventilation,
and and a face shield are a must.

Again, personally I will never take the risk,
Huge Pussies live long for just that reason.

Now, there is something that isn’t dangerous,
that is really cool, and fun and fancy.

And that is using a standard PLA plastic printer,
with shiny, silky metallic-looking plastic.

To get it even more shiny, you can try a vapor smoothing treatment,
which does require ventilation, but is not as dangerous as metal.

Best way to sell metal jewelry,
is by going through a local Jeweler that can cast your creations for a fair price.

But printing plastic Jewelry is also amazing,
it is light, inexpensive, and safe to print out.

Simply create jewelry that is impossible to cast in metal,
and it will become even more special than gold.