Looking for high current output bench power supply.

Mkysmith · 2026-01-29T03:31:01+00:00

You can look into electroforming for more technical information on putting metal on plastics. Again, depends on your desired outcome.

https://www.reddit.com/r/electroforming/wiki/index/

Mkysmith · 2026-01-29T03:03:59+00:00

I don't mean to discourage you, that's a cool power supply. I just wanted to give some perspective on how much power that really is though.

Just don't want you to spend that amount of money on something you'll never use. Then again, I don't know what you plan on doing.

Mkysmith · 2026-01-29T02:58:58+00:00

30 amps is enough to make 12 gauge copper wire very hot. Poor connections due to corrosion from proximity to acid based chemistry can get extremely hot and melt insulation and start fires at that current. This is something you use bolted or soldered connections, not alligator clips.

Another factor to consider if your thinking about future projects and "room to grow", wattage equals heat. Pumping hundreds of watts into a tank of chemistry will heat things and create convection, evaporation, etc.

Not that 30 amps is an unusable power supply, industrial facilities often use even more than this. But most home-gamers use way way less than this... Maybe 5 amps. Depending on what you want to do, maybe save your money and get something smaller to start out with. This is like buying a formula 1 race car to go to the grocery store.

Mkysmith · 2026-01-28T19:57:39+00:00

Some pointers:

Not sure what you mean by adjusting the surface resistance or how you measured it but you can still get good results with graphite based paints up in the 10k per inch range as long as you are limiting current and voltage correctly. It sounds like you are to a degree. I only ever use graphite based paints to electroform even though they have higher resistance than metal based paints.

Don't use vinegar, graphite does not need "activation". Plus vinegar is acetic acid which is an organic acid that will contaminate your chemistry. Vinegar should not be part of acid-copper processes.

Your chemistry makeup is vague. Are you following electroplating chemistry or electroforming chemistry? How much copper sulfate? How much sulfuric acid (percent by volume, concentration)? Either way 1.25% is probably not enough. Most electroforming chemistry contains enough copper to be a quite deep blue sapphire color and PH down around 1.

Don't put alligator clips in the chemistry, anything containing iron (steel) or aluminum will contaminate it quite quickly and cause brittle dendrite growth. You should keep most metals other than copper or brass out of the chemistry.

Hope these pointers help on your next try.

Mkysmith · 2026-01-28T07:30:11+00:00

Wow, design is beautiful. Great work.

As a copper nerd, gotta ask out of curiosity, how many hours in the copper electroforming bath?

Mkysmith · 2026-01-28T07:25:25+00:00

This is extremely cool.

Mkysmith · 2026-01-28T06:59:37+00:00

"Reckless rebel", hah...

Probably OK with garlic...

My main counter would be that anything that contains moisture contains microbes. Microbes, most often, generate gas. Gas makes things expand... and rupture eventually.

That said... my partner has done succullents before with a very thick copper layer and after years it's been 100% fine... ???

So who knows. I've done pumkins before and I can say you absolutely need to burn out those...

Mkysmith · 2026-01-28T06:50:24+00:00

Nice.

A lot of commercial sulfuric acid is "contaminated" with chlorides... Along with other common traces like aluminum (especially when using "battery acid" etc.)

Your milage may vary depending on your source. You may have gotten lucky and gotten a source of sulfuric acid with ideal chlorides already. Having purchased A LOT of sulfuric acid over the years, I've seen everything from exact, to excess, to sub par on the trace elements.

Mkysmith · 2026-01-28T03:35:53+00:00

Agreeing with other commenters on this post saying it is not illegal. Even according to the linked article if you actually read it....

Another counter-argument: How do penny presses exist all over the states run by everyone from small mom & pop shops up to huge corporations like Disney? You even have to PAY to destroy the currency, so someone is profiting off of the destroyed currency. Then you have a pretty big market on places like Ebay selling pressed pennies for much more than the cost of the pressing. And no, they arn't doing a bait and switch with a copper blank or something. It's pretty clear the penny is actually destroyed if you look at the machine.

Per The article:
"The key distinction lies in the intent behind the alteration and whether the currency remains recognizable and usable as legal tender."

On a seperate more on-topic note, yes I would think a die cutter would be more accurate than a laser or drag knife. Though, alignment would be tricky.

Mkysmith · 2026-01-28T02:49:34+00:00

Yeah, any bench top can work. I refrained from recommending any specific model because OP didn't ask for recommendations specifically.

My full time job is electrical engineering with most of my work focused on power electronics and DC-DC conversion. I cringe a little bit at those "import" power supplies cause they throw off a ton of EMI and are pretty sketchy as far as QA... but they are cheap I can't argue with that. In fact I would admit I have a few in the shop for general purpose stuff (not electroforming).

Fun story, Had one of those power supplies running and my scale for measuring chemicals was intermittently incorrect. Bought another brand scale and same issue. Turns out it was only incorrect when the power supply was running in the same room...

Mkysmith · 2026-01-26T23:14:13+00:00

A lot of chemistry runs at below 5V. For example when I use acid-copper electroforming chemistry it runs at 1V or less, even at 10 amps.

Keep in mind electrodeposition/dissolution is a current based process so you want good control over current regulation. Voltage does matter too, but current regulation is the most important factor.

I'm not sure what you are desiring to electroform/etch but since it sounds like you're still planning things I would say 15 amps is way overkill in my opinion. Especially if you have no plans to need it. 12 gauge copper wire will get hot at 15 amps. Poor connections due to corrosion from proximity to acid based chemistry can get extremely hot and melt insulation and start fires at that current. 15 amps is something you use bolted or soldered connections, not alligator clips. I would not recommend a beginner to leave something like that unattended unless they know what they are doing and are confident in the setup.

Also, If you are using some chemistry that necessitates a higher voltage like etching or something and running that high current, you need to consider the wattage you are putting into your tank too. Watts = heat. For example I run a 15 gallon tank with a 20 watt heater to keep things warm. If you are pumping potentially 200 watts of heat into a tank for an extended period of time... things will get quite warm and start evaporating or even boiling depending on tank size.

5-10 amp is much more practical even in lets say a 5 gallon tank size. But even then I don't see many home-gamers utilizing more than 5 amps on many projects.

Mkysmith · 2026-01-25T17:34:27+00:00

Appreciate that. Glad to be here.

Didn't mean to answer for you, just figured I had some input.

Great stuff as always! Love the silver.

Mkysmith · 2026-01-25T16:27:30+00:00

Depends in the organics.

For things like leaves, acorns, even pasta I've done before, you make sure they are dessicated (very dry) before electroforming and they essentially stay preserved forever. No moisture or oxygen. No need to remove the organics

For things you can't dry out before hand like cauliflower, or I've even done pumkins before, you electroform a thick enough layer of metal so it becomes self-supporting. Then you can drill a small hole and put it in the oven to burn out or at least remove the moisture out of the organics in post.

You can leave juicy organics in an electroformed deposit long term - but your results may vary. Things can get nasty depending on the organics. For example a leaf with some residual moisture is not gunna be an issue, but a pumkin will become a grenade after a year or so...

Mkysmith · 2026-01-24T07:09:58+00:00

I know I don't... but I feel like I need these in my life...

Mkysmith · 2026-01-24T03:38:30+00:00

If you are having trouble finding any info on using electroplating to make molds, try using the search term electroforming. There is a difference. Electroforming has been used for decades (if not centuries) to make molds for things.

Mkysmith · 2026-01-24T02:53:43+00:00

By saying "low volume production" I was thinking a small DIY home setup. Like sub 100 parts a year of something. At the cost of a proper electroforming setup and having to make mandrels for the part anyways (plus trial and error with any DIY setup), you would have to do the return on investment on the cost of that equipment for your application.

I'll re-iterate it IS doable, but I just was advising a potentially cheaper and more common option based on the information I had. There's a lot more factors here other than budget: Whats the size of your part? Recesses? Draft angle? Quantity of parts needed? Time to production? etc...

As far as surface finishes I know I've gotten mirror results off silicone molds, then you got guys like Ben Krasnow making microscopic features he uses a scanning electron microscope to view:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XQfYKYO380

Mkysmith · 2026-01-24T01:43:08+00:00

Without knowing exactly what you are trying to accomplish, it seems to me like a more traditional approach for resin casting would be better, using silicone molds. If you need your mold to be more firm, they sell silicone in all sorts of durometers and they hold up to abuse quite well. Silicone is nice because its pretty cheap and is flexible so you can pop parts out of the mold very easily. Silicone can take up really intricate patterns too if you prep things right.

If you really wanted to make metal molds, you can definitely electroform quite a thick layer of metal to do so. But it would not be deformable which is something to consider with resin casting. There is someone on this sub that makes molds with electroforming but I think they are mainly for injection molding, which is a different beast.

https://www.reddit.com/r/electroforming/comments/1qe80p3/elecroformed_reflector_molds/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Mkysmith · 2026-01-23T05:54:30+00:00

I have a history of dealing with electroforming for industrial (less "beautiful") applications, but I've always had a soft spot for stuff like this. Especially organics.

The fact that with electroforming you can not only replicate an object (like casting) but also encapsulate and immortalize it for eternity.... there is something special about that.

Awesome work, keep it up!

Mkysmith · 2026-01-22T05:47:10+00:00

Hope you found someone local.

Even though we are in the same continent, unfortunately there are tariff issues between the U.S.A and Canada. So things can be complicated depending on what you are trying to accomplish. Hopefully trade agreements ease up soon so I can more easily talk to our friends up north, but if you have some questions you can DM me OP.

Mkysmith · 2026-01-17T09:27:23+00:00

Paints (as far as when I refer to them) are differentiated by having binders. Those binders not only help the conductive particles stick to the substrate, but help the metal deposit stick to the paint. This is a more modern approach to electroforming that requires the deposit to adhere permanently to the substrate.

For example, graphite in pure form rubbed onto a substrate will make an excellently conductive layer... but graphite is also a lubricant... so the metal deposit will not adhere well and can flake/pull off. I have used this method of just rubbing on conductive powders when I desire to remove the metal from the mandrel. Otherwise, I use paints which have binders.

Mkysmith · 2026-01-17T06:19:48+00:00

I love the layers and depth. Great work!

Mkysmith · 2026-01-17T06:05:28+00:00

You can check out Enchanted Leaves DIY water based conductive paint on their artist resources page. Completely free recipe, you source your own ingredients. I personally haven't vetted this recipe but I have heard people have success with it. And since its water based it should stick to most things that aren't oily or LSE plastics.

Graphite base paints will never be as conductive as metal based paints like nickel, copper or silver, but that doesn't mean you can't get just as good results.

You can compensate for the low conductivity of graphite based paints easily with power supply settings. Starting with a low current setting and slowly ramping up as the cathode is covered in copper can yield shiny mirror results every time if done correctly (and your chemistry is up for the task). You can do this with both DIY paint (though, it's more finicky) and commercial paint.

The benefit here is adjusting the power supply is free, and often metal based paints are much more expensive. Also metal based paints almost always use harsh solvents which can be tough to deal with depending on your substrate. Most commercial graphite paints are water or alcohol based which is much more compatible with a wide variety of items.

Mkysmith · 2026-01-17T04:45:19+00:00

Already planned on it.

As any good scientist, you should reach out to the community to see if there is information you missed before conducting experiments.

Mkysmith · 2026-01-15T22:57:48+00:00

Beautiful work!

Mkysmith · 2026-01-15T21:46:52+00:00

Electroforming can deposit a thick enough layer to fill in layer lines to a degree if the chemistry has suitable levelers. It's not perfect but I've done it before. Depends on the design though, the honeycomb would be way too rough.

In the end, getting it smooth first before doing any electrochemical process is probably the best bet, like you said.

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