3D printing material

[NJBob]

I see many users 3D print items for the Mav. I understand most home 3D printers use a material called pla for the items. I also understand this will not hold up under the heat of the summer. Anyone who has experience with this please comment.

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[sriram]

I would not use PLA for in-car parts since it will typically start to soften at 140F/60C. At a minimum, I'd do PETG which typically starts to soften at 185F/85C. More information is available here.

 

[Dmthomp32]

Correct PTEG, ABS or ASA, would be the better options for car parts. Out of those options, PTEG is the most accessible and easiest to print. PLA+ or PLA Pro have better thermal properties than PLA but still don’t hold up temperature wise to PTEG I believe.

 

[NJBob]

What do these parts you buy of etsy use? Anyone know of a service that can print parts for you?

 

[E30andrew]

I've printed a handful of parts for my previous vehicles in PLA with very few issues. I think a lot of people have this idea in their head that PLA will turn to goo and melt in a hot car, which is not the case. Granted, if you have a part that is supporting a good bit of weight, or has some force applied to it, yes it will start to bend and flex when it gets hot enough. However, if the part is not under any stress, it'll do just fine.

With that said, yes PETG or even PLA+ are probably 'better' options. PETG can be finicky to print with if all you know is PLA, but its not too bad once you get your settings dialed.

 

[NJBob]

I've printed a handful of parts for my previous vehicles in PLA with very few issues. I think a lot of people have this idea in their head that PLA will turn to goo and melt in a hot car, which is not the case. Granted, if you have a part that is supporting a good bit of weight, or has some force applied to it, yes it will start to bend and flex when it gets hot enough. However, if the part is not under any stress, it'll do just fine.

With that said, yes PETG or even PLA+ are probably 'better' options. PETG can be finicky to print with if all you know is PLA, but its not too bad once you get your settings dialed.

Interesting, thought pla would be useless.

 

[gvsubonnie]

Just as reference I modeled a water bottle holder and printed in PLA and its held up great so far. Several 90 degree days sitting in the driveway and it still held 2 40oz water bottles like a champ.
That said I printed it in PLA expecting that I most likely will need to reprint later in a different material like PETG or ABS.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6057157

Modeled to fit two of these:
https://www.lttstore.com/products/insulated-water-bottle-40oz
Not the lightest of bottles.

 

[NJBob]

Makes me want to get a 3d printer. Are other resins that much harder to use?

 

[gvsubonnie]

Makes me want to get a 3d printer. Are other resins that much harder to use?

From my experience its all just a game of fine tuning. I've only used FDM printers that take the spools of plastic and melt it through a nozzle to extrude it. Different plastic types just require different settings like nozzle temperature, print bed temperature, print speed, etc. Once you find out what works for the printer you have its pretty repeatable.

The liquid resin printers I'm not too familiar with but it seems a lot messier but the trade off is they print much faster. Also no sure of the strength of those prints.

I would highly recommend it as a hobby if you enjoy tinkering with settings and there are plenty of printer options in various price ranges nowadays. Mine is an Ender 3 S1 Pro which can be had for around 400 bucks and it was ready to print right out of the box after leveling the bed. I have a friend who has a Bamboo X1 Carbon which is more premium at 1500 but it definitely is more user friendly and easier to learn on.

 

[NJBob]

Thanks for the recommendations. I'd spend 500 but not 1500. My home is not the most vibration free around. Sounds like maybe I can get my son to get one.

 

[acapaldi]

I've used a few different types of filaments for printing items for mine. PLA and PETG have worked nicely.

My trash can was run out of Prusament Marble PLA. Close enough to the textured dash material to make me happy. I've given it a test bend after a few really hot days, no softening.

Divider is Prusament PETG. PETG is a little bit gummier than PLA when it prints, getting the retraction setting right and keeping it dry is the trick. But, functionally, no issues there either. I have plans to remake it from TPU, edges are a little sharp.

I've been prototyping my water bottle holder out of PLA, even loaded up and in a hot car I haven't bent it. Probably because it's way overbuilt for what it is. I'll run it out of TPU for the final copy. Worried about it getting hit and breaking the FITS slot.

As far as printers, I'm running a Prusa i3 MK3S. Not the best bang-for-buck, but they are reliable little turds. They do not die, and parts are plentiful. Kit can be had for $650 from Prusa.

Happy printing!

Relevant links and pictures:

https://www.printables.com/@acapaldi_58629
https://www.prusa3d.com/product/original-prusa-i3-mk3s-3d-printer-kit/
https://www.prusa3d.com/category/prusament/

Edit: Oh, and 3DHubs can do mail order 3D printing. I've had decent-ish results with them. Expensive, and really only you can make what you really want. You get what you get from an outside party.

https://www.hubs.com/3d-printing/plastic/

 

[NJBob]

Do some of these filaments have to be dried? I worked in plastics for 45 years. Mostly engineering plastics all had to be put into desiccant dryers before processing.

 

[Darnon]

Do some of these filaments have to be dried? I worked in plastics for 45 years. Mostly engineering plastics all had to be put into desiccant dryers before processing.

Yes. Most filaments are hygroscopic to some degree and are best stored in a container with desiccant and possibly heat-dried for best results when printing.

 

[bombast]

Do some of these filaments have to be dried? I worked in plastics for 45 years. Mostly engineering plastics all had to be put into desiccant dryers before processing.

You can get purpose built dryers that spool out filament while drying, or repurpose a 5 dollar yard sale dehydrator.

 

[NJBob]

Nice in my job each hopper held 100 lbs of reisin. Had to be a -40f dewpoint. Some more picky than others. ABS was not to sensitive but nylon was. If nylon was not dry it would spit and thats one material you certainly did not want to get it on you. Was a pain in the butt had to keep on top of the residence time. If a hopper ran out had to wait 3 hours before we could start molding again.

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