My First Attempt At Making A 3D Stamp (And What I've Learned Is....)

[Studio-N]

If you don't mind me asking what kind of cnc are you getting? what programing are you going to run it with?

Ross

Its a small Shark Pirahna from Nextwaveautomation. I've already got ASPIRE for my laser as the software which does 2D and 3D design.

[Rossr]

Thanks for the response. I am learning as I go and trying to figure out what cnc and software I need. Biggest thing I have noticed is the amount of options that are out there

[irishsuperfly]

I put my first 3D printed stamp to test, and it didn't take long at all to break it. I just sent off a revised version to get printed and hopefully will have that one tomorrow or Friday. It's only costing me 25 cents to have these printed so I didn't mind playing a game of "stamping roulette" with it. The impression actually came out pretty good. Unfortunately, the leather I need to use for my project is very thin and I'm not sure that I'll be able to get a good imprint due to the leather (2/3 oz). I was being a little more gentle with it on the first two presses too, so that may be why the thinner leather didn't show as well. It looks great on 8/9 oz. I should add that it was printed with ABS.

I've never added pics before so hopefully this works.

Just for scale:

And the outcome:

Edited October 16, 2014 by irishsuperfly

[Studio-N]

what part broke?

I know you can add some 'bridges' for support between the open spots for strength. As long as they are below the surface enough to not be pressed in it might help.

You might also make the base with a bit of a bevel so that if bottoms out you don't get much of the base impressed.

Great looking experiment. Keep going.

-Nick

[irishsuperfly]

Surprisingly, the base broke. It should have been solid, but I'm not sure that it ended up that way. The letters sort of cave inward just a fraction and there's a slight buckle along the side of the base with a barely noticeable concave to the top of the block where the text meets it. The pics didn't really show it well so I didn't bother to post them.

After my coworkers see it, we'll probably dissect it to see if there was some empty space in the block or something. Or maybe it's as you said, and the text caused the buckling by shifting under the pressure.

I might try making a resin mold out of the next one so I don't have to keep bugging the 3D printer guy for a 1" block. Unfortunately, this is probably going to be just a one time product for my aunt so it's not like I'll a need a tiny "Donna" stamp often. I do want to make sure I can get a good imprint in the thin leather, though, so I might have to go with resin - I'm guessing that would hold up to more pressure in the press than the 3D stamp would.

Nick, how small of a stamp have you made with your laser engraver? Seems like you get some pretty good detail on your stamps.

[Studio-N]

Nick, how small of a stamp have you made with your laser engraver? Seems like you get some pretty good detail on your stamps.

I've done 1/2" but it was a solid figure with no real details. I've done just letters like MADE IN USA down to 1/4" with good results.

For stuff that has figure/lines/detail, I try to keep everyone at 1" or more, but somethings work out fine at 3/4" except that the lettering gets small.

[Studio-N]

My CNC machine finally came in and after a few bad starts I finally got a 3D embossing plate that I'm happy with.

It's of an adult nature so I won't post it here but it is in the adult section.

It was really smooth after being machined and was usable with only a washing of the plate. I'll post some as I get them done.

Cheers!

[irishsuperfly]

So, an update. I have a slightly better feeling about the 3D printed stamps now. It turns out the first attempt was not a solid block but honeycombed - that's why it caved. For the second print the guy specified that the block "base" should be solid fill and it held up great for the imprint I needed. I haven't put it through a test to see how many imprints I can get out of it, but I was very happy with the result on my aunt's guitar pick case and the stamp held up to me really cranking down on the press.

Nick, glad to hear your CNC router is working so well! I still want one, but it will have to wait awhile. I'll stick with 3D printing and if I need a stamp to last a little longer I might try casting a resin mold of it. Much cheaper route than a CNC or laser for now.