I have been interested in discovering the process of making high quality poker chips for a long time. This forum has been a huge help in figuring out the basic process. I feel like I would have a better chance finding the original Coca-Cola recipe than a recipe for "clay" used in compression molding poker chips. I understand manufacturing, having a basic idea of how a real poker chip is made and have an idea that I would love feedback on and possibly test the idea if it is deemed feasible.
Please keep in mind that I am definitely not an expert on poker chip manufacturing. The information that I have is based on internet research full of speculation. I know there are some real pros on this forum who may be able to steer me in the right direction. All ideas and feedback are welcome, and I look forward to it. Here is my idea...
Design and build a 3d printer that can use a "clay" filament material that is printed into the desired shape of a blank that would then go into the compression molding step to complete the part. It seems that there is a lot of work in placing the edge spots and arranging the basic design of the chip before molding. The 3d printer could complete this step using 5 toolheads, with 5 different color combinations. The detail of the edge spots would allow for more complex designs and color combinations. I imagine that there would be a "Damascus" type texture/finish on areas of the chip where colors are compressed and overlapped in the mold. This principle could even be engineered into the design to create a more unique and dynamic color scheme.
The trickiest part of this idea is to get the material into a printable filament. Currently, there are plastic filaments that have various composites including glass fiber, carbon fiber, carbon nano tubes, metals with binder and some of these additives are centered as the core of the filament and sheathed with a plastic like nylon, PET, PPS, etc. These are well established materials that are very impressive from an engineering standpoint and perform in extreme conditions. From what I know (and what i think i know) getting a clay recipe into a printable filament isn't that difficult. To be clear, the 3d printed phase of production does not print a finished chip. It creates the shape and color scheme of the blank that goes into the compression mold saving time (man hours) and allowing for more complex designs.
Another idea involving 3d printers: Nylon 12 powder used as a polymer binder in a "clay recipe?"
One of the 3d printing processes I use is called Selective Laser Sintering. These machines weigh tons and are design for production. They could print 1000 Poker chips in a day or 2 and with pretty fine detail. The problem is that the material used in this process is nylon-12 powder with a nominal particle size of 30 microns. Its basically like plastic flour. If its on the floor, its like ice. Extremely small plastic ball bearings. Its white, and any color variation must be done post process with synthetic dyes (or hand painted). If you want multicolor, then each piece must be printed separately, dyed appropriately and assembled. After all this, the result for a poker chip would be sub-par for us Poker Chip Snobs. So why bring it up? This process produces tons (literally 4 tons of this powder in my shop) of unusable powder for the 3d printers. While 66% of the used powder can be recycled into the next job, there is still 33%ish that cant as the particle size has thermally expanded and disfigured from exposure to approx 200C heat. This exhausted powder cannot print accurate parts with a good surface finish, but can we use it in a "clay recipe" as a binding agent then use this recipe for "poker chip clay filament production?
Am I nuts, or am I on to something?
Please keep in mind that I am definitely not an expert on poker chip manufacturing. The information that I have is based on internet research full of speculation. I know there are some real pros on this forum who may be able to steer me in the right direction. All ideas and feedback are welcome, and I look forward to it. Here is my idea...
Design and build a 3d printer that can use a "clay" filament material that is printed into the desired shape of a blank that would then go into the compression molding step to complete the part. It seems that there is a lot of work in placing the edge spots and arranging the basic design of the chip before molding. The 3d printer could complete this step using 5 toolheads, with 5 different color combinations. The detail of the edge spots would allow for more complex designs and color combinations. I imagine that there would be a "Damascus" type texture/finish on areas of the chip where colors are compressed and overlapped in the mold. This principle could even be engineered into the design to create a more unique and dynamic color scheme.
The trickiest part of this idea is to get the material into a printable filament. Currently, there are plastic filaments that have various composites including glass fiber, carbon fiber, carbon nano tubes, metals with binder and some of these additives are centered as the core of the filament and sheathed with a plastic like nylon, PET, PPS, etc. These are well established materials that are very impressive from an engineering standpoint and perform in extreme conditions. From what I know (and what i think i know) getting a clay recipe into a printable filament isn't that difficult. To be clear, the 3d printed phase of production does not print a finished chip. It creates the shape and color scheme of the blank that goes into the compression mold saving time (man hours) and allowing for more complex designs.
Another idea involving 3d printers: Nylon 12 powder used as a polymer binder in a "clay recipe?"
One of the 3d printing processes I use is called Selective Laser Sintering. These machines weigh tons and are design for production. They could print 1000 Poker chips in a day or 2 and with pretty fine detail. The problem is that the material used in this process is nylon-12 powder with a nominal particle size of 30 microns. Its basically like plastic flour. If its on the floor, its like ice. Extremely small plastic ball bearings. Its white, and any color variation must be done post process with synthetic dyes (or hand painted). If you want multicolor, then each piece must be printed separately, dyed appropriately and assembled. After all this, the result for a poker chip would be sub-par for us Poker Chip Snobs. So why bring it up? This process produces tons (literally 4 tons of this powder in my shop) of unusable powder for the 3d printers. While 66% of the used powder can be recycled into the next job, there is still 33%ish that cant as the particle size has thermally expanded and disfigured from exposure to approx 200C heat. This exhausted powder cannot print accurate parts with a good surface finish, but can we use it in a "clay recipe" as a binding agent then use this recipe for "poker chip clay filament production?
Am I nuts, or am I on to something?
