
Sterling Silver (92.5% silver) is a high quality silver alloy commonly used in jewelry and other skin-safe applications. With several finishing options and the ability to showcase intricate details, silver offers a professional, finished look and feel. Silver will tarnish over time, but can be polished back to achieve a like-new surface. It is also a softer metal that will be more malleable with thin features.
Women's and Men's Jewelry including Bracelets, Pendants, Rings, Cufflinks, and Tie Bars
Natural: Light polishing to achieve a matte, somewhat rough surface
Polished: Hand-polished to achieve a smooth, shiny surface
Fine Detail Polished: Extensive polishing will reach intricate details, achieving a very shiny surface. Extra polishing will remove more material so some details may get lost from polishing.
Antique: Recessed details blackened to achieve a steampunk look
Silver models are fabricated using lost wax casting. First, the model is printed in wax using a specialized high-resolution 3D Printer. It is then put in a container where liquid plaster is poured in around it. Once the plaster sets, the wax is melted out in a furnace, and the remaining plaster becomes the mold. Molten silver is poured into this mold and set to harden. Finally, the plaster is broken away, revealing your new product.
For interlocking parts, we connect each wax part with a sprue and then cut and polish the sprue away after casting. Due to the intensive labor involved in every part we connect, we limit the number of parts allowed. Note that interlocking parts are only possible for Natural and Polished finishes.
Professional Finish
Good Value
Capable of Intricate Details
Your model should be the minimum and maximum bounding box sizes. The maximum bounding box represents the largest model that our printers can produce. The minimum bounding box size is the smallest dimension in which we can print in this material.
A supported wall is connected on at least two sides. Walls in your model must meet the minimum measurements to ensure it survives the printing and cleaning process. Thin walls are prone to warping during printing and are fragile to clean. Objects that meet the minimum requirements may still be rejected based on the geometry in which case our production team will communicate with you if the design needs improvements and can assist you to strengthen your model.
A geometry is considered a wire when it is thinner in both unconnected directions than its length. Wires that are under our suggested minimums are prone to breaking in the cleaning process.
We recommend these minimum measurements for details like embossing or engraving, based off of printer resolution.
Escape holes allow unbuilt material inside hollow products to be removed.
To create silver products, a plaster mold is poured around a wax print of your product, and then silver is cast into the plaster mold. For products with hollow areas, escape holes are essential for two parts of this process. First, the liquid plaster must be able to enter the hole to fill in the hollow area. Then, once the metal is cast, the escape hole must be large enough to allow removal of the hardened plaster from the hollow area. If escape holes are too small, the hollow area may be completely filled in with metal or plaster.
A single escape hole at the end of a cavity will not allow material in the corners near the escape hole to fully escape. So we recommend multiple escape holes at both ends of the cavity.
Clearance is the space between an two parts, e.g. space between gears or a ball and socket joint.
Yes, up to 6 for Natural and Polished finishes. Interlocking parts are not supported for Antique and Fine Detail Polished finishes.
Up to 2 identical parts (like earrings or cufflinks) may be uploaded in the same model file. We cannot accept multiple, unique, non-interlocking parts ordered in the same model file; there should be one file for each unique part.
Polished, Fine Detail Polished and Antique
Your model may shrink about 0.25 mm plus 2.5% after casting and finishing. For rings the inner diameter is accurate within +/- 0.1 to 0.15mm. On average, the model shrinks about 2.5% after casting and finishing. We do our best to polish the internal diameter to match your model file.
Natural
Your model may shrink about 0.15 mm plus 1.5% after casting and finishing. For rings the inner diameter will be 0.125 - 0.15 mm smaller than your design. On average, the model shrinks about 1.5% after casting and finishing. Scaling up your model by 1% will make your design closer to your desired size.
Polishing
Polishing gives this material a beautiful finish, but can have an impact on fine details. During the polishing step, fine or sharp-edged details may be polished down or even broken off. Keep this in mind when you're designing fine details.
We can only polish well-reachable surfaces, so tight internal spaces may remain unpolished.
Surface is soft for polished materials
As with other precious metals, the polished surface of silver is soft, so scrapes and scratches are to be expected as a normal part of wear. To minimize damage and ensure your product lasts a lifetime, we recommend storing your jewelry or other products in a soft cloth pouch and away from other products. Avoid exposing the product to household chemicals during cleaning as they can be damaging to the finish. Use a silver polishing kit to maintain a glossy surface.
Remember! Polishing is a subtractive process in which material is removed to create a shiny surface. The Premium Silver finish receives significantly more polishing than the other finishes, so fine details and surface textures may be lost.
How will the price of my model be calculated?
* Note that the price of precious metals may fluctuate based on international market demand. This may impact the underlying material price.
What is the minimum price per model?