3D Printing PET-G

[Shaun Burrows]

Hi all,

I came to the last Welcome Wednesday (Newcastle) and am likely to join soon. I was told it would be best to ask my questions here.

I want to 3D print the housing for a caving torch I am making, and from the research I have done so far PET-G seems the best choice. I need good layer adhesion for strength and waterproofing, and impact resistance. I would like to avoid the problems associated with ABS and have a higher glass transition temperature than PLA. I would like to use clear PET-G to increase the usable sideways light output and I think it will look quite good.

So has anyone used PET-G on the printers available? Would anyone like to help me try?

It's quite a complex print, with overhangs (circular arches max 20mm ID). However, I am open to modifications to reduce the printing difficulty.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwvXCAzNISLPa3EyR2Z6dlJ2ZUE

The print temperature is just below ABS, with apparently no need for a heated bed, so a printer than can use PLA should have no problems (unless the manufacturer prevents it).

I've heard 3D Thursdays are temporarily suspended, but may happen next week. So I should be able to come to that if it goes ahead.

Cheers,

Shaun

[Jon Davies]

I don't know if 3D Thu exists any more,or if there will be one more.  I'd suggest Welcome Wednesday as an alternative, and perhaps even try to arrange a meetup with someone on the Wednesday if you want to guarantee help with 3D related stuff :)

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Cheers,

Jon.

[Glen Beestone]

Shaun was already at our welcome Wednesday last week and Chris is going to do a 3D Thurs next week (may be just a one off) so it's probably best left for him to answer. I will say though they we have no PET filament so Shaun would need to bring his own and we also (to my knowledge ) have no experience of printing with it. Just PLA and ABS


Glen
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[Cay Green]

I'll come along to open wedneadsy this evening - I've had a look at the model - it isnt ideal for printing using FDM as a single part - there might be options for splitting the model but i'd have to understand design intent before making suggestions. I've not tried printing with pet-g (Taulman do a good quality variant I tihnk) but would be happy to give it a go on my Prusa Mk2 is you (Shaun) don't have your own printer... Maybe speak later this evening if you are in. 

c

Note: I check Gmail a couple of times per week so response time can vary.    

On 14 January 2017 at 15:46, Glen Beestone <gl...@technologist.com> wrote:

Shaun was already at our welcome Wednesday last week and Chris is going to do a 3D Thurs next week (may be just a one off) so it's probably best left for him to answer. I will say though they we have no PET filament so Shaun would need to bring his own and we also (to my knowledge ) have no experience of printing with it. Just PLA and ABS


Glen
--
Sent from my Android phone with mail.com Mail. Please excuse my brevity.

On 14/01/2017, 15:25 Jon Davies <jon.d...@gmail.com> wrote:

I don't know if 3D Thu exists any more,or if there will be one more.  I'd suggest Welcome Wednesday as an alternative, and perhaps even try to arrange a meetup with someone on the Wednesday if you want to guarantee help with 3D related stuff :)

On Fri, 13 Jan 2017, 12:08 Shaun Burrows, <shaunb...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi all,

I came to the last Welcome Wednesday (Newcastle) and am likely to join soon. I was told it would be best to ask my questions here.

I want to 3D print the housing for a caving torch I am making, and from the research I have done so far PET-G seems the best choice. I need good layer adhesion for strength and waterproofing, and impact resistance. I would like to avoid the problems associated with ABS and have a higher glass transition temperature than PLA. I would like to use clear PET-G to increase the usable sideways light output and I think it will look quite good.

So has anyone used PET-G on the printers available? Would anyone like to help me try?

It's quite a complex print, with overhangs (circular arches max 20mm ID). However, I am open to modifications to reduce the printing difficulty.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwvXCAzNISLPa3EyR2Z6dlJ2ZUE

The print temperature is just below ABS, with apparently no need for a heated bed, so a printer than can use PLA should have no problems (unless the manufacturer prevents it).

I've heard 3D Thursdays are temporarily suspended, but may happen next week. So I should be able to come to that if it goes ahead.

Cheers,

Shaun

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Cheers,

Jon.

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[Shaun Burrows]

There are places I could split the model, it needs to be waterproof (one of the reasons for using PET-G), so I was hoping to avoid this. There is no readily available solvent that can be used for solvent welding (like acetone for ABS), that I know of?

I am designing a housing for a caving torch, with two lenses (near/far). The holes in the side of the lens mounts are for heat pipes that the LED will mount to. Two of the heat sink plates will go inside the body to cool the current regulators. It's designed to be two independent torches in one body to reduce the chances of complete failure.

Yes, it would be great to speak to someone with more experience in this. I'll pop down tonight, thanks. I should get there about 6:30 depending on traffic. No, I don't have my own printer.

Cheers,

Shaun

On Wednesday, 18 January 2017 10:13:26 UTC, caygreen wrote:

I'll come along to open wedneadsy this evening - I've had a look at the model - it isnt ideal for printing using FDM as a single part - there might be options for splitting the model but i'd have to understand design intent before making suggestions. I've not tried printing with pet-g (Taulman do a good quality variant I tihnk) but would be happy to give it a go on my Prusa Mk2 is you (Shaun) don't have your own printer... Maybe speak later this evening if you are in. 

c

Note: I check Gmail a couple of times per week so response time can vary.    

On 14 January 2017 at 15:46, Glen Beestone <gl...@technologist.com> wrote:

Shaun was already at our welcome Wednesday last week and Chris is going to do a 3D Thurs next week (may be just a one off) so it's probably best left for him to answer. I will say though they we have no PET filament so Shaun would need to bring his own and we also (to my knowledge ) have no experience of printing with it. Just PLA and ABS


Glen
--
Sent from my Android phone with mail.com Mail. Please excuse my brevity.

On 14/01/2017, 15:25 Jon Davies <jon.d...@gmail.com> wrote:

I don't know if 3D Thu exists any more,or if there will be one more.  I'd suggest Welcome Wednesday as an alternative, and perhaps even try to arrange a meetup with someone on the Wednesday if you want to guarantee help with 3D related stuff :)

On Fri, 13 Jan 2017, 12:08 Shaun Burrows, <shaunb...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi all,

I came to the last Welcome Wednesday (Newcastle) and am likely to join soon. I was told it would be best to ask my questions here.

I want to 3D print the housing for a caving torch I am making, and from the research I have done so far PET-G seems the best choice. I need good layer adhesion for strength and waterproofing, and impact resistance. I would like to avoid the problems associated with ABS and have a higher glass transition temperature than PLA. I would like to use clear PET-G to increase the usable sideways light output and I think it will look quite good.

So has anyone used PET-G on the printers available? Would anyone like to help me try?

It's quite a complex print, with overhangs (circular arches max 20mm ID). However, I am open to modifications to reduce the printing difficulty.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwvXCAzNISLPa3EyR2Z6dlJ2ZUE

The print temperature is just below ABS, with apparently no need for a heated bed, so a printer than can use PLA should have no problems (unless the manufacturer prevents it).

I've heard 3D Thursdays are temporarily suspended, but may happen next week. So I should be able to come to that if it goes ahead.

Cheers,

Shaun

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Cheers,

Jon.

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[David Pye]

here's my two penneth:

I think you're very unlikely to be able to make something truly waterproof on a standard 3d printer.

Most decent torches etc are machined out of delrin for good reason.   Certainly if you have any expectation that it will be able to handle pressure (ie at a depth of a few m even) it will be pretty much guaranteed to seep.  

David

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[David Pye]

PS Surely having two torches in one body is likely ignoring the most common reason a lot of torches fail - ie water ingress?

David

[Cay Green]

Heading to the space now. 

Note: I check Gmail a couple of times per week so response time can vary.    

[Shaun Burrows]

I am referring to just normal caving/potholing rather than cave diving BTW. So it doesn't have to stand up to too much pressure, the worst will likely be at the bottom of a waterfall, and this will (hopefully) be only temporary.

Perhaps I should of explained the two torches in one body better. The two sections will be totally separate from one another, with a reasonable amount of plastic between them. Think of it as like two complete torches stuck together (this may be clearer if you can view the model). The main reason for doing this was to prevent any water ingress affecting all of the torch.

I had a good conversation with Cay (thanks again), and have a few pointers for improving the design/ease of printing. I'll upload the modified design when I've made the changes.

Delrin is also a thermoplastic (Polyoxymethylene (POM)). So a variant may be available for 3D printing eventually, especially if it is better than what we currently have available.

[Shaun Burrows]

Hi,

This message is mainly for Cay, but I might as well make it public in case anyone else is interested.

Apologies for the lack of communication, I haven't had that much time to work on the model, and have misplaced your email address. (I currently only have the software at work, so can only work on it between work/waiting for analysis results.)

I've made some changes to make it easier to print, using 45deg slopes and horizontal bridges. I think printing it with the lenses facing up would be best, as the shape of these is fairly critical.

I've also changed some through holes to pilot holes to enable a full bridge to be produced, and prevent overhangs.

  

This (left image) needs to remain circular as rotation is required. Hopefully this will bridge in the direction of the battery axis. The hole on the bottom is a pilot location hole, so doesn't have to print that well; but likely needs a 2mm shell around it.

I've added filets where possible.

I reckon a 1mm shell thickness would be adequate, with maybe a bit more on top of the large bridges. If you could make the shell above the bridge go to the bottom of the pilot holes in the lens mounts, so drilling through doesn't cause problems.

What do you think? I'm open to additional improvements.

From what I have read PET-G isn't the best at bridging, so I've tried to reduce the length of any bridges. The consensus seems to be 100% fan for any bridging, with 0% fan at other times to increase layer adhesion. However you may know more about this anyway?

I've also heard there is little benefit going beyond 40% infill, however this may not include PET-G. I think a few layers of shell will be adequate for waterproofing.

The PET-G spool has arrived, if you want to have a go at printing with it? (Feel free to print some samples.) I can bring it down when you are next in?

Cheers,

Shaun

STL and inventor models:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwvXCAzNISLPUi1FWEVoQnl6bmc

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwvXCAzNISLPeU11UGEwQndueGM

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwvXCAzNISLPcXFNc1VORHJLTlk

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwvXCAzNISLPYjd4WkptOG9hMVk

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwvXCAzNISLPaGRLRTEtVV9SbWM

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwvXCAzNISLPTGViQWtFTVN1NGM