3D printing smooth recessed areas
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 24 июл 2024
- I always try to finish my homebrew electronics modules with as professional-looking faceplate as possible. After being fitted with the necessary openings and holes, this should ideally be able to be glued into a slightly recessed part of the final faceplate or lid. In recent years, I have found several ways to print such a lid with raised edge all around.
However, the most obvious printing method takes a lot of support material, relatively a lot of post-processing and does not produce the smoothest surface of the recessed part. Finally I found a method that works well for me without all these disadvantages.
More info on the project page on www.whizzbizz.com/en/3d-print... 
Наука
For the insert, you could try the aluminum plate and put some blue painters tape on top. That used to be how you'd get a lot of filaments to stick before as it provides a slight-textured surface and can be peeled off after.
Okay, never tried that. Good tip! The PETG printed plates are however easier to make (on different heights). I think I'll stick (no pun intended) to that until I find out that they may e.g. warp after being used a few times. Aluminum may then perhaps be the better choice. We'll see! Thanks!
@@arnoud-whizzbizz in addition to what @kylek29 has said, i think "preheating" the metal insert might help so that the next layer of pla doesn't cool too rapidly.
i have worked in a 3d printing factory with blue painters tape on the bed and no bed heat at all and it was quite crazy how good the pla stuck to the blue painters tape.
I found that using aluminium or steel inserts with PLA that glue stick is the best thing to use, letting the insert heat up a little before printing also helps. PETG however is the perfect support material for PLA and you can print the insert to ensure it is the perfect size for your final part.
While everyone thinks the aluminum plate method can still work with some 'prep' like painters tape on top - the question then becomes, how reusable will it be? a tear in the tape means replacement, and the aluminum is going to be a heat sink for the incoming plastic. The PETG system seems like it is working well, and won't need as much effort to replace tape all the time.
So sure, you could use some glue stick and warm the aluminum up before inserting and printing on top - and even changing the print speed at those first 2-3 layers on top of the aluminum plate, to treat it like a second bed....
but that seems like more hassle than just a PETG insert. Which for those that don't know, PETG doesn't really like to stick to anything but itself, so PLA is pretty much always gonna pop right off. PETG will absorb less heat than aluminum as well, allowing for less finnicky needs to texture or slow down to ensure the layer is going down smooth. And best of all, if a PETG plate does get ruined somehow... it's easy to just print another. (unlike a bent or marred aluminum plate)
I also think you are right. By now I have four petg plates in use and all of them have been reused several times. Although I expect warping at some point, it hasn't happened yet. I briefly considered making a part 2 of the video, but I think using a reusable petg plate is the easiest solution in practice. The tip, printing the recessed front section separately and putting it in some sort of frame at the pause, would certainly also be a possibility. But this is more complex because then there will be two print runs and one will have to experiment with the degree of overprinting after the break to sufficiently anchor the inserted plate. An additional problem is that I make many versions of these fronts, each with its own hole pattern and often print several at once. This then becomes quite an administration as to where which plate (and in what orientation!) the plates should be inserted, unless the locking edge only needs to be small.
Cool idea… thanks for sharing 🙏
Reusable! I love it. All this time I have been using a very wasteful multi-filament changer (purge waste) and trashing the PETG part every time! Duh. Thanks!
I think your attempt using that metal piece might still work with some preparations.
When I use the stop at layer height to insert magnets into my prints, I do a few things first: 1) use gluestick on the magnet's side that will be printed on 2) put the magnet on the heated plate before they're needed (to heat them up a bit) and 3) slow the printer down on that first layer.
I've had decent success using these preparations.
Your idea to use PETG with PLA is really good for doing that recessed printing. I think that's probably the best way since the PETG has good texture to temporarily bond to. For anyone unaware, PETG does not bond well to PLA and vice versa so you can use either to support the other.
if you use petg to support pla or pla to support petg, it will separate quite easy
Exactly, you can of course use this method even if you can change filament while printing. PETG easily detaches from PLA, while the PLA still has good adhesion during printing.
I have some experience putting metal parts into 3d prints, and a little gluestick on the top surface of your aluminum will help immensely with adhesion.
EDIT: Wrote this before watching the whole video and yeah, PETG works a lot better. But if you ever need to insert a metal part. Glue stick is what got me the best results
Sounds great. However, my experiences with glue stick were the complete opposite. I experimented with it once when PETG just wouldn't come off the printer bed. Just to reduce adhesion! It took a very thorough cleaning of my printer bed plate before I could print on it somewhat normally with PLA again.
Fantastic video! Ha ha .... you're definitely not the only one experimenting with this! There is a second Dutch guy working this! My approach is a little different bij printing the border on the box rather than the faceplate. Still work in progress but already some nice results. Keep up the experimenting 🙂
Thanx. Yep, I've seen your results and they are great! I think this 45x75mm 'Silberling' is an excellent test case (no pun intented) for this. The protruding edge around is quite slim and you're forced to be creative because there are screw feet behind on one side of the recessed panel. Keep me posted about your ideas and results!
Hi, whizz bizz. Try the following, I did it in the past and it works like magic. Design your part as two separate prints. Print the plate first. Stop the print at the correct point and drop in the plate. Let the print finish. Now it looks like you printed the plate in mid air.
Maybe I don't quite understand what you mean. The border around it is quite thin, but you could print a thin frame in here that you could then put a pre-printed (recessed) front in during a printer stop, but then you would have to overprint it with at least a few layers before that is fixed, right? After all, on the back side there are also the screw tubes.... With a (universal, reusable) plate, you can print the front, except for the temporary stop, in one go.
@@arnoud-whizzbizz Yes this is exactly that I used, like a picture frame, put in the plate and print the remaining parts on top.
@@chipcode5538 Although it is not simple to do in the slicer and requires modification of your STL files, it is certainly a good idea. I guess in this case (thin edge) I would then overprint at least half the thickness of the deeper (then floating) part after the stop to properly embed the support plate into the print?
after that buildup, it's very disappointing to not see comments about the music 😎. great technique!
Haha, indeed! And also no comments yet about the text scrolling by too fast or other completely unrelated issues (as with many previous videos of mine). All meaningful comments so far! A new record! Thanks! 😁
Nice video. I’ll try to remember these techniques for when I need them.
Just a thought … Spray mount glue for your printed front plates might be easier to apply than the manually applied glue you use.
Possibly... Spraying on the lid does require some masking, and if you spray the paper fronts from behind, the glue might bleed through the holes? But with the recessed areas now smooth, it might be a good idea. In the movie, I still glue the "old" fronts (printed with removed support material) in place. These have a fairly coarse surface. I'm also using a contact adhesive, which in theory makes what I'm doing (only smearing only one surface) not perfect anyway. However, I was mainly trying to use the filling properties of the glue a bit with those fronts. Further: there are obviously very few forces on the glued-in faceplate once it is glued on the recessed area. It is really only to hold it in place a bit during assembly. But, thanks for your tip!👍
Since you’re printing a lot of them, consider creating a stack of 10 connected in maybe 6 places that you can easily clip from the sides and short enough that your printer can easily bridge. Then print the whole set on a side.
I understand your idea of the stack to give it enough support on the bed at all. And it is in itself a tantalizing idea good to see if indeed you cannot print such a lid standing up (with less or no support material). But I don't think you can, because in this particular case you will have to support the screw legs all the way from the bed, for example, right?
@@arnoud-whizzbizz chamfer the legs such that there’s no direct 90 deg overhang and you’re good!
@@nosenseofhumor1 See what you mean. Thanx for the idea!
bravo!!
👍👍😎👍👍