4 ms·

Seems to me that the worst part of 3d printed stuff is "the grain" is there any way to fix that?

by woah 12y ago

durkie 12y ago
i was about to propose some sort of annealing process like they do with metals, and it seems like someone has already beaten me to it: http://3dprint.com/3388/study-how-to-make-3d-prints-stronger/ http://3dprint.com/3388/study-how-to-make-3d-prints-stronger... as a side note, this looks like kind of a cool way to smooth pla prints, for which up till now there wasn't really a great option.
- Vendan 12y ago
  that is a horrible article, considering the picture they are using is ripped off of a reprap blog on smoothing abs prints using acetone vapors. http://blog.reprap.org/2013/02/vapor-treating-abs-rp-parts.html http://blog.reprap.org/2013/02/vapor-treating-abs-rp-parts.h.... (I'm actually a member of Fablocker, so I'd seen those squirrels before)
  - durkie 12y ago
    well shit. we tried putting some big pla prints in the oven last night and they definitely just started warping and caving.
    - Vendan 12y ago
      on that note though, from my experiments, acetone vapor bath does seem to strengthen abs prints some, cause it melts the surface together. Not terribly big effect, but it actually helps a lot for low infill parts and stuff.
mistercow 12y ago
That's a pretty big area of research apparently.
lsaferite 12y ago
You can give the parts a vapor bath, but you lose some of the exactness. The longer you do it the smoother the part but the more it loses it's dimensions. You are basically melting the plastic with fumes. http://hackaday.com/2013/02/26/giving-3d-printed-parts-a-shiny-smooth-finish/ http://hackaday.com/2013/02/26/giving-3d-printed-parts-a-shi...
TaylorAlexander 12y ago
Well, parts made in a powder bed printer don't typically have nearly as much grain, if any. I'm a big fan of that style printer in the future, so one solution to the problem is to use those instead. For typical FDM/FFM printers like the hobby ones you see everywhere, there are chemicals that can be used to smooth the print out. I use my parts for robot prototypes where the function of the part is more important than cosmetics, so I don't worry about the grain. If I want a nice part though, I can use very fine layers.

Seems to me that the worst part of 3d printed stuff is "the grain" is there any way to fix that?

by woah 12y ago

Seems to me that the worst part of 3d printed stuff is "the grain" is there any way to fix that?

i was about to propose some sort of annealing process like they do with metals, and it seems like someone has already beaten me to it: http://3dprint.com/3388/study-how-to-make-3d-prints-stronger/ http://3dprint.com/3388/study-how-to-make-3d-prints-stronger... as a side note, this looks like kind of a cool way to smooth pla prints, for which up till now there wasn't really a great option.

Vendan 12y ago
that is a horrible article, considering the picture they are using is ripped off of a reprap blog on smoothing abs prints using acetone vapors. http://blog.reprap.org/2013/02/vapor-treating-abs-rp-parts.html http://blog.reprap.org/2013/02/vapor-treating-abs-rp-parts.h.... (I'm actually a member of Fablocker, so I'd seen those squirrels before)
- durkie 12y ago
  well shit. we tried putting some big pla prints in the oven last night and they definitely just started warping and caving.
  - Vendan 12y ago
    on that note though, from my experiments, acetone vapor bath does seem to strengthen abs prints some, cause it melts the surface together. Not terribly big effect, but it actually helps a lot for low infill parts and stuff.

mistercow 12y ago

That's a pretty big area of research apparently.

lsaferite 12y ago

You can give the parts a vapor bath, but you lose some of the exactness. The longer you do it the smoother the part but the more it loses it's dimensions. You are basically melting the plastic with fumes. http://hackaday.com/2013/02/26/giving-3d-printed-parts-a-shiny-smooth-finish/ http://hackaday.com/2013/02/26/giving-3d-printed-parts-a-shi...

TaylorAlexander 12y ago

Well, parts made in a powder bed printer don't typically have nearly as much grain, if any. I'm a big fan of that style printer in the future, so one solution to the problem is to use those instead. For typical FDM/FFM printers like the hobby ones you see everywhere, there are chemicals that can be used to smooth the print out. I use my parts for robot prototypes where the function of the part is more important than cosmetics, so I don't worry about the grain. If I want a nice part though, I can use very fine layers.