The Shop > Composites & Plastics
3D Printing. How to (And not to)
yorkie_chris:
I'm really interested in this.
How does it rate in terms of mechanical strength? What about if you wanted to machine some accurate features onto a part afterwards?
Chris
ParCan:
Hi Yorkie_chris
The 2 plastics that Print well are ABS and PLA.
ABS is softer and more forgiving than PLA but is not as strong.
PLA is fairly hard and more brittle than ABS.
How strong. Well most repRap printers are printed in PLA and it's more than strong enough to survive.
I have Coat Hooks that I printed many months ago and none have broken.
Both plastics are machinable with care. PLA gets hot very fast and can melt as you machine it.
Alex.
buffalow bill:
Alex,
I’m interested, and this looks like a project. :nrocks: :nrocks: :nrocks:
What is the surface finish like, What’s of interest to me is using the printer for production of patterns for casting. But I suspect the surface would require finishing, is this correct?
Bill
ParCan:
Hi Bill
The Bottom is always flat and smooth.
The sides will have micro ridges as it builds up the layers. They are good but not smooth.
The top is usually fairly good.
This technology builds up the part in ~0.4mm layers.
Can you cast using the printed part at the template ? probably.
People have used PVA glue to improve the sides.
You can sand and machine the plastic or maybe you could reflow the surface.
I'll try and do some high res pictures of some parts for you.
Alex.
buffalow bill:
Hi Alex,
Thanks for the quick reply – but it has given me more questions !!!
Presumably you can print onto a rotating (along a horizontal axis) cylinder held in a rotating table set vertically. Thereby printing all the detail on a wooden core, or have got to far ahead with the wooden core?
Bill
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version