Rationale: Decorative metallization of 3D prints has been a highly requested process here at the space.
Approach: (1) The current preferred approach is to develop a system for using vapor smoothing, followed by a chromium-free etch, and then electroless plating of copper on an activated ABS surface. This offers advantages in terms of the amount of surface pre-processing effort that needs to be expended compared with the sanding, conductive ink painting, additional sanding and then electroplating process typically used to plate 3D prints. (2) An alternative approach using 0.5 micron silver powder was attempted and preliminary results suggest that this may also be viable although the quality of the finish and the adhesion would not be nearly as good.
Preliminary Results:
