Hey, I have very limited knowledge as to what filaments really work. I am looking for a filament that’s tough like ABS yet can be more transparent, doesn’t have to be perfectly clear, I just want leds to shine brightly from inside the print. I’ve used clear abs and that was pretty good. And just ordered T glase but am pretty unsatisfied, very weak and hardly transparent. Any suggestions?
Enza3D
2
You could try clear/natural PETG, such as the one Matterhackers sells. PETG is similar to ABS in terms of material properties, and has a crystalline appearance if printed at the correct temperature.
t-glase and petg are pretty much the same material
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So if petg and t glase are very similar could it be I just got a poor print. It feels like my t glase spacer has a very string like texture and is less transparent than the abs one I ordered.
cobnut
5
PETG is great - when you get the settings dialled in correctly. I’ve found it’s much less forgiving than PLA or ABS in this respect, and small changes to nozzle and bed temp can make a big difference. I tend to use a test model that prints a variety of shapes allowing me to live tune the settings. Stringy texture and low transparency sounds like it might need a higher nozzle temp, PETG sometimes needs as much as 260C. What are you set at?
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For Transparency… I would use a High Temp Translucent Plastic like MakerGeeks Crystal Series…WIth a large diameter nozzle and larger layer heights! SO in the short this would be the clearest in my opinion… I just finished 300 displays in a clear pla, and this works nicely for a light diffuser. as far as strength goes Not all plastic PLA’s are created equal or even close to equal… PETG is nice also and PC but the clearest… OH or an even better solution would to have a SLA print in clear resin! such as a Form2 can produce, but more expensive, but also way better print quality.
I don’t personally have a printer, I’ve just been having it printed through here. I currently have an order for one out of pmma, and was looking at one out of PC also. But in your opinion a clear resin would give the best results? As far as transparency I only really need probably 80-90% clear, it doesn’t have to be perfect, but better than I have now. However, impact resistance is very important given the abuse and g forces this will see.
Enza3D
8
Definitely don’t get anything SLA’d; I work a lot with the Form2 (most of my Hub orders are for it) and the Clear resin is too brittle for a drone application. It is also sensitive to UV light and will break down/embrittle over time if you are frequently flying outside in the sun. The only SLA material you maybe could use would be the Durable or Tough resin from Formlabs, but even then, those will be UV sensitive and just won’t last outside.
PC is a bit of overkill for this (in my opinion) and it’s also a pain to print with. I struggle to maintain tolerances when I print with PC, as it just never wants to lay flat and hold shape or it sticks too well and is wrestling match to get off the build plate. It also requires a lot of heat (1101-120degC+ print bed and 260degC+ nozzle) which means my printers are complete energy hogs when printing PC (which drives up the cost of printing PC even further). If you have had issues with Tglase and PETG, it was most likely the print operator not having settings tuned properly or it was a poor quality/improperly stored batch. I really like PETG for printing mechanical/functional prototypes, and it does have nice impact resistance. It’s definitely more durable than ABS or PLA (it has a bit more flex, and behaves more like Nylon in terms of durablity) and it’s similar in strength to ABS, although it is not as brittle so it will scratch more easily. I have used it to replace rotor bumpers on drones and it worked fantastically, better than the originals, so I fully recommend it for your application.
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Sorry, but this client wants something clearer than his FDM prints he currently has… I feel that if a clear print is desired print with the clear resin, Assuming the last hub executed the prints correctly (as I am) they were not what was expected or desired thus reaching my conclusion of of SLA with a clear resin. I own and operate a FORM2…My printers are fully calibrated, FDM and SLA. dimensions are not a problem for me. I am not sure if PC would even hold up to 100mph impact(pretty sure it won’t).
Enza try to calibrate your printer specifically with PC befor you try to print it again… it may help. but actually I print PC anywhere from 290-320c with an all metal hot end. I know there are a lot of blends out there… but if you can find a source for real PC it is quit nice. I have four machines set up to run this, but I prefer to run it on my FT-5 and CTC which is fully rebuilt and set up with real e3d v6 hotends.
Enza3D
10
Suggesting Clear for visual purposes is fine, but Formlabs Clear resin is not designed for this kind of application and will not work. He will pay for an expensive print that will fail for this application, so it is wrong to suggest he print in clear resin and misleading to tell him to do so.
I think my issues with the PC are just that it’s not a great batch. I had good luck with a batch of Matterhackers a few months ago, but this most recent batch is being problematic at best. I just think it’s more effort than it’s worth most of the time, as it doesn’t have the same material properties as molded PC does anyway.
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cobnut
11
I’d also add that the customer has not asked for fully “clear”, only transparent enough to adequately reveal LED lights inside, for which PETG is entirely suitable…
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You guy’s are awesome!! Thank you for all your input, this is definitely helping me find the appropriate print. As a side note I don’t expect it to hold to a full 100mph impact lol. Pretty sure I’ll just find powder if I do that… But it will definitely see impacts in 10-20 mph range often. And the UV is definitely a concern then since it will spend most of its life in the hot sun
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