3-D Printed Frag Rack Code

[dantimdad]

I draw some, my son does most of the rendering.

Some stuff for personal use comes off tinkercad

 

[erk]

The only reason I wouldn't use PLA in a constant submerged case is because as a bioplastic, it could potentially fuel bacteria. I doubt it would break down quick enough to cause a structural problem. I've used PLA mostly for structures that see occasional use in saltwater. As for ABS, many of the plastic fittings we use, i.e. bulkheads, are ABS. Just because it is extruded vs cast doesn't change it's chemical stability. Structural stability is a different situation. If you are using it to hold up 50 lbs of rock, then sure, it is going to have issues if you do 10% infill and have a bad structural design. PETG is also saltwater resistant and will hold up as well if not better than ABS. The main issue with building with ABS is its large CTE and high extrusion temperature. I have had decent luck printing ABS on my Creality 3D Ender 3 at home. But I had to experiment until I found the best build parameters.

Those parameters are as follows:
Bed temp: 100°C
Extruder temp: 245°C
Layer Fan: OFF

I also make sure to turn off the ceiling fan.

 

[dantimdad]

I found that the ceiling fan needs to be off in the little office my printers are in no matter what I am printing. Especially if it's flat. It'll warp like nobody's business no matter what material I am using on the Ender 3.

 

[erk]

I found that the ceiling fan needs to be off in the little office my printers are in no matter what I am printing. Especially if it's flat. It'll warp like nobody's business no matter what material I am using on the Ender 3.

I haven't had any issues with PLA. But I do clean the plastic sheet on the bed before every build with IPA. ABS was a different story. Took me 3 tries to successfully print riser legs. Since then, I have no issues building with it using the parameters I stated before. I ordered some PETG as from what I've read, it doesn't shrink as much or maybe its that it takes longer to shrink.

Also, my 3D printer is in the same room as my tank. Everything is in my office and I don't run a dehumidifier. I've had no issues associated with moisture absorption of the plastics. No popping or rough builds. What's even more surprising is that the material I've been using was bought off eBay for $13. I expected all sorts of issues and so far I've run into none of the ones that I used to encounter when using the enormous Stratasys FDM machines.

 

[dantimdad]

I haven't had any issues with PLA. But I do clean the plastic sheet on the bed before every build with IPA. ABS was a different story. Took me 3 tries to successfully print riser legs. Since then, I have no issues building with it using the parameters I stated before. I ordered some PETG as from what I've read, it doesn't shrink as much or maybe its that it takes longer to shrink.

Also, my 3D printer is in the same room as my tank. Everything is in my office and I don't run a dehumidifier. I've had no issues associated with moisture absorption of the plastics. No popping or rough builds. What's even more surprising is that the material I've been using was bought off eBay for $13. I expected all sorts of issues and so far I've run into none of the ones that I used to encounter when using the enormous Stratasys FDM machines.

Wow! That is surprising I had popping with novamaker and 3dhero. Nothing else and my house stays humid.

I haven't tried ABS yet. Just don't see the need.

 

[JDowns]

Pretty interesting article on 3D printing and how it revolutionizing some industries.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/amyfel...-his-plan-for-giant-3d-printers/#21966b003669

 

[dantimdad]

Very interesting article.

What still surprises me is the first time I saw a 3d printer in action was 17 years ago at a demo. It would print a 3x3x3 object and it took forever. The machine also cost $37K from what the guy running it said. I was like "Meh. Call me when you can print about 8x8x8 for under $500." He laughed and so did the people watching the demo.

Who's laughing now?

 

[Cyclone-G]

Hey guys this topic sounds like some great material for a video on my YouTube channel! Those of you that have printers and are willing to share your experiences, successes and photos of parts, please contact me via email. I’d be happy to include your opinions as well. Everyone seems pretty excited to use the FDM technology. Contact me at [email protected]

 

[wadesims2000]

Try it and you’ll see. The parts are porous and the internal walls are honeycomb thin. It’s not like injection molded plastic, it’s just for making rapid prototypes. Some of the super high end $50k+ machines can do better parts but the home use machines aren’t designed to make high usage parts. HP has a pretty cool new printer that might work. It’s like $250k tho

Completely wrong I have parts that have been in my tank for years specifically Petg

 

[ethipelagic]

Stumbled on this thread today. Some of the comments on here have aged like a fine milk.

 

[dantimdad]

Wow! That is surprising I had popping with novamaker and 3dhero. Nothing else and my house stays humid.

I haven't tried ABS yet. Just don't see the need.

Stumbled on this thread today. Some of the comments on here have aged like a fine milk.

Like my own post above. I mainly use ABS and ASA now, some PETG and PLA but not nearly as much.

Still no issues with popping and my printers are in a room with my reef and a 12 foot long planted tank.

 

[cilyjr]

Stumbled on this thread today. Some of the comments on here have aged like a fine milk.

Lol. That's true.

 

[cilyjr]

Like my own post above. I mainly use ABS and ASA now, some PETG and PLA but not nearly as much.

Still no issues with popping and my printers are in a room with my reef and a 12 foot long planted tank.

I was mostly an abs user for internal fixed parts but I too have primarily moved to asa. I will still do a fair number of easily removed parts in petg

I find that at even at a 100% infill is not quite dense enough to sink and will at the very least remain neutral bouyant so things that need to sink will be petg.

 

[TikiGreg]

Try it and you’ll see. The parts are porous and the internal walls are honeycomb thin. It’s not like injection molded plastic, it’s just for making rapid prototypes. Some of the super high end $50k+ machines can do better parts but the home use machines aren’t designed to make high usage parts. HP has a pretty cool new printer that might work. It’s like $250k tho

this is nonsense, I can print solid objects on my $400 printer. its all in how much infill and how many walls you select, petg and abs do not breakdown at all in saltwater