WP EN Strength From Metal Strategies and Use Cases For Electroplating SLA Parts PDF

WHITE PAPER
Strength from Metal:

Strategies and Use Cases for
Electroplating SLA Parts
Read on to learn how engineers are adding metal to resin 3D prints, and why hybrid metal
parts can open doors to a surprising range of applications, including (but not limited to) end-
use strength and durability. By the end of the white paper, you will learn new ways to apply
electroplating, as well as design considerations and practical tips on using metal electroplating to
amplify the performance of your SLA parts.
September 2021 | formlabs.com

Contents
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
How Plating Over Plastic Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Strength and Properties of Electroplated Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
By the Numbers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Materials Compared . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Volume Fraction of Metal Explained. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Estimating Mechanical Performance with ROM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Avoiding Part Failure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Leveraging Generative Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Case Study: Designing a Composite Bracket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Applying the Rule of Mixtures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Plated Performance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Stacking Rigidity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Planning for Thickness of Plate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Albatross Bikes: Functional Prototyping and Badging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Economics of Electroplating: Cost and Lead Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Cost Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Elevated Temperature Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Do It Yourself, Or Not? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Safety and Chemical Disposal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Plating Equipment and Supplies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Low Volume Plating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
FORMLABS: Strength from Metal Strategies and Use Cases for Electroplating SLA Parts 2
Introduction
Plating is best known as a way to give metal parts a thin coating with different surface properties than the
underlying material provides. Uses range from cosmetic, such as gold plated jewelry, to functional, such as
the use of electroplated nickel or chrome to protect metal parts from corrosion. However, electroplating is
not exclusively applied as a thin film over metal. Electroplating plastic 3D prints is becoming more common
thanks to its unique ability to transform an easy-to-print resin part into a metal-like composite, with
applications in the automotive industry, defense, and consumer product prototyping.
Electroplating resin creates conductive parts that enable high performance RF applications.
Metal electroplating can have a major impact on the mechanical performance of 3D printed parts.
With a structural metal skin and a lightweight resin core, parts can be produced with surprisingly
high flexural strength characteristics.
In addition to improving mechanical behavior, electroplating can be used to protect SLA resins from
environmental degradation. In applications where SLA resin is exposed to chemical attack or ultraviolet
light, plating provides a permanent barrier that can extend the life of your parts from months to years.
When used as an aesthetic treatment, plating offers an easy way to create prototypes that both
look and feel like metal. Depending on the plate thickness, electroplated plastic can be thin and
light, or add noticeable weight to a part. Thicker electroplated coatings can even be texturized
or polished to achieve a variety of metal finishes, from cast aluminum to mirrored chrome. More
complex textures can be achieved by 3D printing a textured resin substrate.
Given the potential combinations of 3D printable materials, a variety of plating metals, and
plate thickness ratios, it’s easy to see how electroplating gives engineers a new field of design
options to consider.
How Plating Over Plastic Works
Electroplating is most commonly applied to other metals, because of the basic requirement that
the underlying material (the substrate) is conductive. Although less common, autocatalytic
pre-coatings have been developed which produce an ultra-thin conductive interface, allowing a
variety of metals - most notably copper and nickel alloys - to be plated onto plastic parts.
Plating design Receive and

Rack
adjustments inspect
3D print and post Ship to plating
process part service bureau
Etch
Polish
Apply
Inspect and Plate 3rd Plate 1st Conductive
Ship layer (Hard Ni) layer (Cu) Layer
Plate 2nd
layer (Ni)
STRENGTH AND PROPERTIES OF ELECTROPLATED PARTS

When structures experience bending forces, tensile and compressive forces concentrate
towards the surface. As a result, electroplating just the surface of a part with a high-strength metal
tends to have a disproportionate effect on part strength. Depending on the geometry, structural
electroplating typically improves bending and tensile strength, and increases part stiffness.
The mechanical characteristics of plated parts depend greatly on the specifics of how plating
is applied; a plated part involves several different layers of metals and plastic, with different
contributions to strength, stiffness and weight depending on their relative thicknesses. In many
cases, both copper and nickel are used in tandem to produce a strong coating, where ductility
can be adjusted based on the plating composition and sequence of metals applied.
Used as a weight-saving measure, hybrid plastic-metal parts can provide enough strength and
stability to be a viable, efficient, and less expensive alternative to more labor-intensive methods
such as fiber layup manufacturing. In fact, the stiffness-to-weight ratio of hybrid metal parts can
even surpass fiberglass parts. Further on, we will explain how to estimate the mechanical
properties of electroplated parts to aid you in design and selection of plating composition.
b,c
compressive stress
neutral axis Mb
tensile stress
b,t
BY THE NUMBERS
Formlabs partnered with electroplating service provider RePliForm Inc. in Maryland, to put data
behind the claim that plated parts are significantly stronger than unplated 3D prints.
We tested the tensile (ASTM D 638-14) and flexural (ASTM D 790-15) mechanical properties of
plated samples produced with a range of ratios of metal to resin. The results show a significant
improvement in tensile strength, and a dramatic increase in stiffness.
Electroplated Rigid 10K Composite

Plate composition: ⅓ copper, ⅓ soft nickel, ⅓ hard nickel
VOLUME TENSILE MODULUS % TENSILE STRENGTH %
FRACTION MODULUS (GPA) INCREASE STRENGTH (MPA) INCREASE
0
0% 10 0 65.0
60%
3% 16.2 62% 104.1
99%
6% 19.0 90% 129.6
152%
11% 26.0 160% 164.1
254%
23% 36.5 265% 230.3
We can see that the ultimate tensile strength of the plated Rigid 10K Resin part with 11%
volume fraction metal has increased by 150% from the tensile strength of un-reinforced resin.
Electroplating Rigid 10K Resin moves its properties into a range of mechanical properties that
is sparsely occupied, but 30% glass-fiber filled polyester (207 MPa) may be the closest analog,
especially when using higher volume fractions of metal (10-20%).
MATERIALS COMPARED
Specific strength and specific modulus are a measure of a material’s strength-to-weight and
stiffness-to-weight ratios. In order to compare electroplated parts to more familiar materials, we
have plotted both specific strength and specific modulus for two plated materials, along with a
few others that are nearby in the world of engineered materials.
The first thing we noticed is that plating either resin causes it to more than double in strength-to-
weight compared to Nylon 12. Unsurprisingly, the tensile strength-to-weight of oriented
composites greatly exceeds plated, laminated composites. However, the story gets more
interesting when we look at flexural properties. After all, we know that one of the weak points of
plastics is their tendency to deform over time when they are subjected to long-term
bending forces.
SPECIFIC MODULUS ( E / ρ )
SPECIFIC STRENGTH ( σ / ρ )
Definitions: A material with a high specific modulus will be stiff for its weight. A material with a
high specific strength will be strong for its weight.
On the horizontal axis, we can see that the specific flexural strength of the 10% Plated Rigid 10K
Resin surpasses some glass fiber composites, and exceeds the strength-to-weight ratio of some
metals, including aluminum, in bending conditions. If you need a lightweight, rigid, and strong
material that will resist deformation, 10% plated Rigid 10K Resin is an interesting choice.
SPECIFIC MODULUS ( E / ρ )
SPECIFIC STRENGTH ( σ / ρ )
VOLUME FRACTION OF METAL EXPLAINED

It’s important to understand that “volume fraction of metal” in plated parts is not the same as
“plated metal thickness.” Thick parts require a thicker plate to achieve the same volume fraction
compared to thin ones. In absolute terms, thicker plate layers also tend to have a greater impact
on dimensional accuracy (even when compensated for in CAD). Considering the effort, time,
and added expense of electroplating, we see a volume fraction of about 10% as the sweet spot
between improved mechanical properties, controllable part accuracy, and production efficiency.
In most cases, if your parts have a roughly constant wall thickness of between 3 and 5 mm -
common for SLA resin parts and injection molded plastic - you will probably need between 150
and 300 microns of plate thickness to PLATE LAYER 150 μm
achieve a volume fraction of metal of

around 10%.
Later on, we’ll show you how volume

PLATE LAYER 150 μm
fraction of metal relates well to tensile RESIN SUBSTRATE 3 mm
and flexural modulus, why it’s the right

starting point for estimating the properties RESIN SUBSTRATE 1.5 mm
of your final part, and how to calculate the

necessary plate thickness to achieve a PLATE LAYER 150 μm PLATE LAYER 150 μm
desired part stiffness.

16 % Volume Fraction 9 % Volume Fraction
ESTIMATING MECHANICAL PERFORMANCE WITH ROM
A basic but useful way to estimate mechanical properties of a plated part is to use the “general
rule of mixtures.” The rule of mixtures (ROM) is simple: the overall properties of a composite will
be close to the volume weighted average of the substrate and laminate’s properties.
Ec = f El + (1 – f) Es
Where:
Ec is the Modulus of Elasticity of the composite
f is the volume fraction of the laminate in the composite
El is the Modulus of Elasticity of the electroplated laminate
Es is the Modulus of Elasticity of the 3D printed resin substrate
This method was developed to be used with matrix composites with dispersed fillers (eg.
glass-reinforced plastic), but our results below show that the ROM also gives an acceptable
approximation of the stiffness characteristics of electroplated composites.
Different methods of electroplating will produce metal layers with different mechanical properties,
which may cause properties of the composite to differ based on who does the plating. As a
whole, electrodeposited metal has slightly different properties to the bulk metal (eg. cast
copper or nickel).
PLATED TOUGH 2000: TENSILE MODULUS VS. VOLUME FRACTION PLATED RIGID 10K: TENSILE MODULUS VS. VOLUME FRACTION
TENSILE MODULUS (GPa)
TENSILE MODULUS (GPa)
METAL LAMINATE VOLUME FRACTION METAL LAMINATE VOLUME FRACTION
PLATED TOUGH 2000: FLEXURAL MODULUS VS. VOLUME FRACTION PLATED RIGID 10K: FLEXURAL MODULUS VS. VOLUME FRACTION
FLEXURAL MODULUS (GPa)
FLEXURAL MODULUS (GPa)
Rule of Mixtures (ED Metal Properties) Rule of Mixtures (Bulk Metal Properties)
The lower dotted line represents the ROM calculated with values for electroplated copper and
nickel found in engineering literature, while the upper dotted line corresponds to ROM from
the bulk metals. We have found that for predicting tensile modulus, the electrodeposited metal
values serve as a relatively accurate lower bound.
In order to apply the rule of Mixtures, we recommend using the following values
for electroplated composites:
TENSILE MODULUS YIELD STRENGTH ULTIMATE TENSILE
(GPA) (MPA) STRENGTH (MPA)
1558
Electrodeposited Hard Nickel 146 1288
860
Electrodeposited Soft Nickel 140 607
328
Electrodeposited Copper 60 253
Note: Values given for electrodeposited metals provided by RePliForm, Inc.
Does the rule of mixtures work to estimate the effect of plating on tensile (or flexural) strength as
well? In general yes, at least in the case of our simple tensile test.
PLATED RIGID 10K: TENSILE STRENGTH VS. VOLUME FRACTION PLATED RIGID 10K: FLEXURAL STRENGTH VS. VOLUME FRACTION
FLEXURAL STRENGTH (MPa)
TENSILE STRENGTH (MPa)
Rule of Mixtures (ED Metal Properties)
In the graph on the left, the slope of the Rule of Mixtures prediction tracks reasonably well to the
actual results, providing a conservative estimate for volume fractions under 10%. We can see that
flexural yield strength is even more dramatically improved over the unplated part. A modest 6%
volume fraction of metal increases flexural strength by 4x.
The real-world flexural strength of the test parts greatly exceeded the Rule of Mixtures prediction.
We speculate that, because copper has a higher elongation before break than the resin
substrate, the substrate may have failed or delaminated while the metal was still intact, which
could allow the sample to experience higher peak stress than would be expected if the two were
acting perfect unison. In flexural load applications, ROM can provide an even more conservative
baseline for maximum yield strength, but is less useful for estimating peak load at failure.
AVOIDING PART FAILURE
Real world electroplated parts aren’t always a constant wall thickness, which means the volume
fraction of metal is also rarely completely uniform across a part. Furthermore, ultimate failure
modes in plated composites can sometimes be related to less-predictable mechanical effects
such as delamination, rather than as a direct result of tensile strain. As a result, it is more difficult
to predict the ultimate yield stress of plated parts as accurately as with homogenous materials.
Tip: You can minimize the chance of unexpected mechanical failure by using a substrate resin
that has similar properties to the plated metal composition.
Since structural electroplating usually aims

to improve stiffness characteristics, we
recommend Rigid 10K Resin as the most
predictable substrate material to use
for most static applications. However, if
your application requires higher impact
resistance (or tolerance to higher strain), we
suggest using a substrate such as Tough
2000 Resin or Tough 1500 Resin, which
has a lower flexural modulus. The Tough
& Durable Resin family of materials should
be functionally matched with a thicker
The surface texture of the Formlabs Nylon 12
copper plate, and a thin nickel outer layer if substrate is visible through a structural nickel plate
necessary for corrosion or wear resistance. in this aero fairing prototype.
In addition to substrate selection, it’s also wise to add radii to internal corners. Radiused edges
reduce stress concentrations that might contribute to delamination, but also help in other ways;
radiused internal corners clean more easily, and therefore metallize more reliably. Plating
thickness is also more uniform in radiused corners than in a perfectly sharp corner.
It’s also a good idea to build in a larger factor of safety than you would with a homogenous
material, to avoid stressing plated parts near their predicted limits. This can be done very easily
via generative design, where surface area and volume density can be parametrized.
LEVERAGING GENERATIVE DESIGN

3D printing has the well known advantage of being capable of producing complex geometry with
no added manufacturing cost. New techniques such as latticing and topology optimization, often
seen in expensive direct-to-metal 3D printing, have emerged to take advantage of this feature.
Definitions: Topology optimization involves computationally reducing a part to the minimum

material necessary to achieve specified design goals, while latticed parts replace solid mass with
a light porous 3D mesh to reduce weight.
Both of these techniques have the side
effect of increasing surface area and
generating geometry with complex
curvature, and together act synergistically
to increase the stiffness of your design.
When the surface-area to volume ratio is
high, such as in a latticed structure, it is
easier to achieve a higher metal volume
fraction with a thinner plate - and that
means your parts can be made both stiffer
and more accurate.
Besides modifying the underlying shape Intentionally texturing parts can increase plate
adhesion, or be used for cosmetic enhancement.
of your parts, generative design tools such
as nTopology Platform make it easy to add
design features such as ribs, gussets, through-holes, and even surface texturing. These features
improve the mechanical grip or “key” between the 3D printed resin substrate and the plate layer. As a
general rule: the better the adhesion between substrate and coating, the stronger your part will be.
Case Study: Designing a Composite Bracket
How does an electroplated resin part solve a problem compared to other solutions? In order to
study this question, Formlabs examined a 3D printed bracket used to mount a rack inset from
the corner of a test enclosure. If a 3D printed bracket could stand in for the custom aluminum
bracket, it could be produced with no shop time, for a fraction of the cost.
Let's look at the decision-making process involved in designing a reinforced part
with structural electroplating.
APPLYING THE RULE OF MIXTURES

The first step in engineering a plated part is to decide what our objective for part stiffness is. The
reference part is made from 6061 aluminum, and deflects about 0.15 mm under the 100N load - barely
at all. When the same geometry is 3D printed in Rigid 10K Resin, it deflects 1.05 mm under load.
We know that even a small amount of plated metal will resist creep at room temperatures. But
what kind of stiffness improvement can be expected through plating alone, without fundamentally
changing the design of the original part?
For a like-to-like comparison, we used the same plating composition as our tensile test. Three
layers of metal of equal thickness were applied totalling 150 microns. The rule of mixtures predicts
that our part will have a tensile modulus of at least 18 GPa. A finite element analysis using this
modulus predicts the loaded end will flex 0.54mm, roughly half the deflection of the unplated part.
See the Appendix for details on how to calculate the Rule of Mixtures for multiple plated layers.
FE analysis using ROM modulus. Left: Unplated, Right, 150μm Plated (note: displacement
scaled by 10x)
PLATED PERFORMANCE
How close is the ROM value to the behavior
of the real plated part? We loaded the end
and compared actual deflection with a 3D
scanner accurate to within 50 microns.
We know that these parts are actually

experiencing bending (flexure), so we
expect the experimentally tested values
for flexural modulus to be closer to
representative. The rule of mixtures does
not capture the difference between flexural and tensile stiffness for electroplated parts - that’s
why we were not too surprised to see that the real plated parts were stiffer than the simulation
predicted. However, we still see ROM as a useful tool for establishing a baseline for likely
performance, and deciding the necessary plating thickness for your application.
3D scanning the plated bracket shows that it deflects 0.44mm (±25 μm) under 100N load, less
than half the deflection of the plain resin part. Furthermore, the plated bracket is at least
2.4 times stronger than the unplated bracket: the unplated Rigid 10K Resin part snapped at a
maximum load of 405N, while the plated bracket reached 1000N (exceeding the maximum rating
of our load cell) without failure.
STACKING RIGIDITY
Structural electroplating and topology optimization are complementary strategies. Working
together, they produce a class of strong, stiff, and lightweight parts that break the mold of what is
possible with polymer 3D printing alone.
The SIMP method of topology optimization maximizes stiffness for a given volume fraction
constraint. We used TopOpt to find a stiffer geometry within the bounding box of the existing
bracket with equal (or less) material, by setting the SIMP volume fraction equal to:
[VolOriginal Part ] / [VolBounding Box ], and by using the tensile modulus estimated by the Rule of Mixtures
as the bulk modulus of the finite element material.
Left: Original bracket Middle: TopOpt result merged with screw hole geometry to create a functional
part via nTopology. Right: TopOpt result used as a guide to make modifications to the original
bracket CAD.
Depending on the software you choose to

generate a TopOpt solution, it may or may
not be possible to directly use the output
as a functional part. Comparing the three,
the original bracket has a slightly higher
volume and material cost (5%). The right
two brackets are much more rigid due to
their optimized geometry.
Formlabs tested the CAD-remodeled brackets

with the same plating composition and 100N
load case as before, and measured an
average deflection of 0.2 mm (±25 μm). The Deflection analysis of the plated TopOpt part. 3D
new design puts the part remarkably close to Scanned from fixed view, unloaded and loaded.
the stiffness of the original aluminum bracket.
While perfect parity with aluminum isn’t the goal, it’s easy to dramatically transform the behavior
of a part with a relatively small amount of metal applied to the outer surface of the bracket.
Of course, topology optimization takes extra design effort and additional software tools. Simply
plating your basic design will get you most of the way with strength, stiffness, and longevity
improvements. But if you are looking for ways to produce small numbers of end-use parts using
your existing 3D printing capacity, these strategies can extend your reach.
Left to right: Bending failure of unoptimized part at 405N. Plated basic bracket after deflection
testing to 1000N. Shear failure of TopOpt part at 774N at load mounting point. TopOpt bracket after
deflection testing to 1000N.
PART SAMPLE OBSERVED DEFLECTION (±25 µm)
1.05 mm
Original design (Unplated)
0.67 mm
Topology Optimized (Unplated)
0.44 mm
Original (Plated)
0.20 mm
Topology Optimized (Plated)
PLANNING FOR THICKNESS OF PLATE

Electroplating adds thickness to parts. The nominal amount of thickness, anywhere from 10 to
300 microns or more, is an important decision for the part designer, which should be based
on their application requirements. The degree of control one has over coating thickness is
determined by the specific geometry of the part, and the capability of the plater. Usually, once
you have decided on a plate thickness for your application, you can simply use an Offset or
Move Face tool as needed in CAD, to remove that thickness from your part before printing.
In general, electroplating adds more thickness on positive features than recesses, due to the
line-of-sight nature of the plating process. The difference between plate thickness in high regions
and recesses increases over the course of plating, which means that thinner layers tend to
have more controllable accuracy. Some electroplating services can combine an initial ultra-thin
electroplate with “electroless” plating, a related process which is capable of depositing (a more
limited set of metals, most commonly hard and brittle nickel) uniformly.
Engineering oriented plating services will aim to achieve a specified tolerance in a given
region of your model. This allows you to adjust your parts in CAD to compensate for plate
thickness despite some global variation. For most practical purposes, a tolerance of ±0.005”
can be achieved, but we recommend asking your plating service provider about their expected
tolerance for your specific part.
Tip: When compensating for plated thickness in CAD, think about which surfaces have critical
dimensions. Not all surfaces can be plated with precisely the same thickness of metal.
For cosmetic finishes, plated coatings can be exceptionally thin if desired. As little as 10 microns
will give a part a metallic appearance. Thicker plate layers will be more durable and forgiving if
additional post-finishing steps are needed, such as polishing or buffing.
This Volkswagen hub concept was nickel plated and polished to a mirror surface. Read more on
the Formlabs blog.
Some electroplating processes will start to smooth the surface of your part on their own. This
property, known as “self-leveling” can be desirable, as the plated surface can hide layer lines and
even produce a glossy finish with no additional polishing. However, plate thicknesses over 50
microns thick will start to round out sharp edges as well. If you require a very high level of surface
detail, consider using a thinner plate layer.
Albatross Bikes: Functional Prototyping

and Badging
These aren’t your average wheels from your local bike shop. Albatross engineers performance
bicycles to meet the demands of riders who want a completely unique riding experience. That
means they don’t just build from off the shelf parts - they manufacture bikes from the ground up:
frame to fender. And while Albatross has the in-house ability to CNC machine and mold, they
are evaluating structural electroplating for a wide range of their on-bike prototype - and even
production - components, due to the ease of design and manufacturing.
Albatross needed lightweight, high stiffness parts with excellent weathering resistance. When
designing new components, Albatross puts them to the test in the sun, rain, and gravel of
Northern California. Although they’re equipped with a Form 3, resin only goes so far when
dealing with prolonged UV exposure, not to mention the abrasion of a bicycle chain. To address
these conditions, they see great potential in using electroplated 3D printed parts with a hard
nickel finish. And since Albatross produces components unique to each bicycle, 3D printing
provides a level of geometric freedom that helps them meet the ergonomic requirements of each
customer - without compromising on a classic design style that looks better in metal.
A year ago, structural electroplating was new to Will Hilgenberg (Albatross CEO). Since then,
he’s worked with large and small electroplated parts, including full-scale carbon-fiber layup mold
tooling printed on a Form 3L. We asked him about the value he sees in this approach, and what
he’s learned about better incorporating electroplating into his manufacturing toolkit.
WHAT WERE YOUR FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE PLATED PARTS?
Will: My first impression of the plated parts was that they didn't feel like printed parts at all. They
had a certain heft, feel, and look to them that made them feel completely different from printed
parts that I am used to handling. They also looked amazing!
HOW ARE YOU GOING TO MODIFY YOUR DESIGNS IN THE FUTURE TO TAKE
ADVANTAGE OF THIS MANUFACTURING METHOD?
Will: We’ve found that it’s useful to add a small radius to any angles/transitions sharper than 90
degrees, in order to improve the durability of the coating. We’re also working with varying print
orientation to see if highlighting layer lines could be a desirable aesthetic feature in metal. Some
of our plated parts have precision features, so we offset those surfaces to ensure that the plated
part remains dimensionally accurate.
WHAT VALUE DOES ELECTROPLATING BRING TO YOUR WORKFLOW?

Will: Electroplating allows 3D printed parts to have much-improved surface properties such as
reduced friction, increased durability, and increased chemical resistance and conductivity. We
are able to combine the geometry capabilities and no-tooling benefits of additive manufacturing
to be combined with more mechanical properties of metals.
DOES HAVING YOUR OWN PRINTER IN-HOUSE MAKE YOUR PRODUCTION

PROCESS MORE EFFICIENT?
Will: Having our own printer helps address supply chain issues in two ways; by reducing
development time of new products, and replacing end-use products made using traditional
methods. In-house printing speeds up the development process on long-lead time components
and reduces the number of pre-production samples required, allowing us to place orders sooner
and be able to receive the parts quickly. We’ve also started to replace injection molded parts
with printed components that we’re able to produce in-house. Unlike molding, we can now
modify and customize those parts to suit the customers needs.
WHAT OTHER TOOLS OR METHODS DID YOU USE BEFORE ADOPTING
ELECTROPLATED COMPOSITES?
Will: These parts would traditionally be made using a combination of forging, CNC, and EDM for
some of the tight interior features. All of these methods require an extensive amount of tooling
that would only be viable for large production runs. Plating allows us to produce small volumes
of components that replace some of our traditionally made parts, and do so at reduced cost.
Electroplating allows a small company like Albatross to avoid some of the costly work of metal
parts manufacturing. Instead of spending extra hours designing CNC-friendly parts, custom
fixturing, or tending the mill, Will Hilgenberg uses that newly saved time on what matters most:
designing beautiful bicycles.
Economics of Electroplating: Cost and Lead Time

Since electroplating is most frequently
done by external services, lead times of
one to two weeks between shipping parts
and receiving them plated are the norm.
Since electroplated 3D printed parts can
sometimes be used in place of machined
metal parts for prototyping, in particular
when geometries are complex enough to
require 5-axis machining, this lead time is
comparable to custom machined parts, but
generally at a lower cost.
COST OVERVIEW
PLATING COST
PART + FLAT 2-DAY
PART SIZE / TYPE DESCRIPTION RESIN COST SHIPPING TOTAL COST
$55
Small & Simple Chain Guide $2 $33+20
$82
Small w/ Complex Brake Lever $2 $60+20
Masking
$112
Small w/ Polishing Tube Frame Logo $2 $90+20
Badge
$149
Medium Aero Fairing Bracket $11 $118+20
$623
Large TopOpt Caliper Model $53 $550+20
$686
Large w/ Polishing Auto Hub Plate $29 $637+20
Even if your business is equipped with machining capabilities, electroplating looks-like

prototypes can be a valuable stop-gap measure when your machine shop bandwidth is limited.
And compared to machining, an engineer can print, ship out, and receive plated parts with barely
more effort than in-house plastic prototyping.
Note: Electroplating complex shapes with deep recessed areas can be difficult; however,
auxiliary anodes can be incorporated in the electroplating rack design to improve coverage in
recessed features. This will increase the cost of plating.
Elevated Temperature Applications

Some applications require structural-electroplated parts to survive thermal cycling. For example,
structural electroplating can be used to produce parts with a high thermal conductivity, such as
heat exchangers, or compression mold tools, that might experience 150°C. As you might expect,
thermal cycling stresses the adhesive bond between the resin substrate and plated metal, and
the most common failure mode due to thermal cycling is delamination.
Formlabs and RePliForm have found that some resins perform better than others in thermal
cycling. Filled resins perform the best, with Rigid 10K Resin showing the least delamination
of all Formlabs resins. Rigid 4000 Resin and Tough 2000 Resin had similar performance, while
High Temp Resin surprisingly showed the most thermal delamination.
RePliForm also found that high ratios between plate thickness, and underlying resin thickness,
are less prone to thermal delamination. If your application involves heat exposure, Formlabs
recommends using a thick plate ( > 80μm), and attempting to keep resin wall thickness low (1-
3mm) if possible.
Do It Yourself, Or Not?
Although it is possible to electroplate resin parts yourself, amateur users may run into difficulty.
The main reason is quality and capability. Laminate adhesion strength using DIY methods is
usually lower than what is achieved by a professional plating service. Structural plating, which
requires long plate times, multiple baths, and compatibility between metals, is quite difficult to
execute reliably. Successful applications of in-house plating are typically simple and small, such
as jewelry prototyping, and thin (single layer) RF copper coatings.
SAFETY AND CHEMICAL DISPOSAL

Most electroplating requires chemicals which are often corrosive, and sometimes carcinogenic.
If you do decide to bring electroplating in-house, please follow strict safety protocols to
protect against exposure.
In addition to health dangers, electroplating chemicals are often environmental hazards. Plating
chemicals contaminate wash water, and require eventual disposal. If you are considering the DIY
path, be sure to factor in costs for chemical disposal services and local disposal regulation.
Jentner “Comfort II” plating machine
PLATING EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES

If you do have plating experience, existing equipment can also be used to plate over resin. Silver
spray paint, sold by Caswell Plating (North America) and Pino Technology (China) is a reasonably
effective an electroplatable coating, if low adhesion strength is not a concern.
LOW VOLUME PLATING
To make it easier for our customers to create and use electroplated composites, Formlabs has
compiled a list of services in addition to RePliForm, which is searchable by region and job size.
ELECTROPLATING SERVICES
Based on services available as of March 2021
OTHER
CONTACT FOR FINISHING
PLATING SERVICE QUOTE LOCATION SERVICES ONE OFFS? SERVICES? CERTIFICATION
General purpose
RePliForm Online quote Maryland Structural and decorative coatings Yes
Bel Air Finishing Online quote Rhode Island Structural and decorative coatings
3d-Squared Online quote UK Structural and decorative coatings
Solution4plastic Online quote India Structural and decorative coatings Contact for info
Decorative Plating
Artcraft Plating Online quote Southern Decorative coatings Yes
California
Cal-tron plating Online quote Southern Decorative coatings Polishing,
California Masking
Hollywood 3D Printing Online quote Southern Decorative coatings Yes
California
Precision and Industrial Coatings
Epner Technology Online quote Precision and structural coatings Polishing ITAR/EAR
certified
Sharretts plating Online quote Pennsylvania Structural coatings for commercial
customers
SAT Plating Online quote Michigan Precision and structural coatings for
industrial customers
Component Surfaces Contact for quote Precision and structural coatings
Techmetals Contact for quote Precision and structural coatings Medical:
ISO 13485:2016
ENS Technology Contact for quote Southern Precision and RF coatings ISO 9001:2015
California
Tanury Industries Contact for quote UK Precision and precious metal coatings Polishing
PRODUCTION PLATING
PLATING CONTACT FOR OTHER FINISHING
SERVICE QUOTE LOCATION SERVICES QUANTITIES SERVICES? CERTIFICATION
Precision Plating Contact for quote Chicago Illinois RF-spec precision coatings Small pre-production
Company batch to full
production
Lacks Enterprises Contact for quote Michigan Automotive electroplating
Cybershield inc. Contact for quote Texas Selective coating
Conclusion
Electroplated composites are a means to a wide variety of ends. More and more, Formlabs
customers are finding value in functional coatings; for greater strength than resin alone, for
outgassing protection, or superior weathering and chemical resistance for outdoor or corrosive
applications. In the world of product design, electroplating is a simple and straightforward way to
produce prototypes and end-use parts that look and feel like metal, often at lower cost and with
less waste. If you use a Formlabs SLA printer in your workflow, you may already be producing
resin prototypes that, in a matter of days, can be converted into functional components that take
on even more utility as you test, refine, and approach production.
If you’re unsure whether electroplating is right for your project, contact Formlabs sales to learn
more about applicability for your project, as well as other potential options.
Contact Sales
North America Sales Inquiries Europe Sales Inquiries International Sales Inquiries
sales@formlabs.com eu-sales@formlabs.com Find a reseller in your region:
617-702-8476 +44 330 027 0040 (UK) formlabs.com/find-a-reseller
+49 1573 5993322 (EU)
formlabs.com formlabs.com/eu
Appendix:
Calculating Rule of Mixtures with Multiple Layers
In most cases, structural electroplating involves multiple plated layers in different metals
(or similar metals with different grain structures and hardnesses). The Rule of Mixtures
calculation can still be used with more than one constituent component. In the bracket case
study, we have the moduli of three different metals to account for. As a result, the Rule of
Mixtures equation becomes:
Ec = (_3f ) El1+ (_3f ) El2+ (_3f ) El3+(1– f) Es

Each layer’s modulus is multiplied by its share of the total volume of the part.
f Total volume fraction of metal laminate.
El1 = 181 GPa Modulus of metal layer #1: Hard Nickel
El2 = 114 GPa Modulus of metal layer #2: Soft Nickel
El3 = 61 GPa Modulus of metal layer #3: Copper
Es = 10 GPa Modulus of substrate. In this case, Rigid 10K Resin
We can get the approximate laminate volume fraction ( f ) from the surface area and volume of
the part, which are easily pulled from CAD.
[plate thickness] X [surface area]

f= [original part volume]
Coated in 150 microns of metal, the total volume fraction of the laminate for this part is 8 percent.
Substituting in known moduli and volume fraction, we can now solve for Ec.
Ec = ( 8%
— ) 181 + ( — ) 114 + ( — ) 6 + (1– 8%) 10

3

8%
3

8%
3
The rule of mixtures predicts that our part will have a tensile modulus of at least 18 GPa.
Ec = 18.4
If you are starting with a constraint requiring that your part does not deflect more than a certain
amount, you can also work backwards, to find out how much polymer will need to be replaced
with metal to achieve a certain modulus. In this case, a static analysis will tell you the necessary
tensile modulus to achieve a maximum allowable deflection. Substituting this target modulus
in for and solving for f gives us the volume fraction of metal that is likely to remain below
the maximum deflection.

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WHITE PAPER

Strength from Metal:

September 2021 | formlabs.com

How Plating Over Plastic Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Case Study: Designing a Composite Bracket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Albatross Bikes: Functional Prototyping and Badging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Economics of Electroplating: Cost and Lead Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Elevated Temperature Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Plating design Receive and

STRENGTH AND PROPERTIES OF ELECTROPLATED PARTS

Electroplated Rigid 10K Composite

VOLUME FRACTION OF METAL EXPLAINED

achieve a volume fraction of metal of

Later on, we’ll show you how volume

fraction of metal relates well to tensile RESIN SUBSTRATE 3 mm

and flexural modulus, why it’s the right

of your final part, and how to calculate the

desired part stiffness.

Ec is the Modulus of Elasticity of the composite

f is the volume fraction of the laminate in the composite

El is the Modulus of Elasticity of the electroplated laminate

Es is the Modulus of Elasticity of the 3D printed resin substrate

TENSILE MODULUS (GPa)

METAL LAMINATE VOLUME FRACTION METAL LAMINATE VOLUME FRACTION

FLEXURAL MODULUS (GPa)

METAL LAMINATE VOLUME FRACTION METAL LAMINATE VOLUME FRACTION

Note: Values given for electrodeposited metals provided by RePliForm, Inc.

METAL LAMINATE VOLUME FRACTION METAL LAMINATE VOLUME FRACTION

Rule of Mixtures (ED Metal Properties)

Since structural electroplating usually aims

LEVERAGING GENERATIVE DESIGN

Definitions: Topology optimization involves computationally reducing a part to the minimum

Case Study: Designing a Composite Bracket

APPLYING THE RULE OF MIXTURES

We know that these parts are actually

Depending on the software you choose to

Formlabs tested the CAD-remodeled brackets

the stiffness of the original aluminum bracket.

PART SAMPLE OBSERVED DEFLECTION (±25 µm)

PLANNING FOR THICKNESS OF PLATE

Albatross Bikes: Functional Prototyping

WHAT VALUE DOES ELECTROPLATING BRING TO YOUR WORKFLOW?

DOES HAVING YOUR OWN PRINTER IN-HOUSE MAKE YOUR PRODUCTION

Economics of Electroplating: Cost and Lead Time

Even if your business is equipped with machining capabilities, electroplating looks-like

Elevated Temperature Applications

SAFETY AND CHEMICAL DISPOSAL

PLATING EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES

3d-Squared Online quote UK Structural and decorative coatings

Ec = (_3f ) El1+ (_3f ) El2+ (_3f ) El3+(1– f) Es

f Total volume fraction of metal laminate.

El1 = 181 GPa Modulus of metal layer #1: Hard Nickel

El2 = 114 GPa Modulus of metal layer #2: Soft Nickel

El3 = 61 GPa Modulus of metal layer #3: Copper

Es = 10 GPa Modulus of substrate. In this case, Rigid 10K Resin

[plate thickness] X [surface area]

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