Dissoluble plastic on a spool for Rep 1

[Royce Pipkins]

I wanted to make sure you 3D guys saw this post on Adafruit about a dissoluble plastic that some group was able to run through their dual head Replicator 1 to get massive overhangs.

http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2013/02/28/breaking-news-a-new-soluble-support-material-3dthursday/

Seems pretty neat, but I hope you like oranges.

--
The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do.
B. F. Skinner

[Royce Pipkins]

Oh yeah. We have an automatic agitator that we used to use for PCBs. But we don't really bother with it any more now that we have our newer PCB processes. So it could live near the printer instead, if desired.

[Pete Prodoehl]

Nice... though this is what I really want to try once I get a giant jar... and get my RepRap running again. (Though really I just need a heat source.)

    http://blog.reprap.org/2013/02/vapor-treating-abs-rp-parts.html


Pete

[Joseph Bozarth]

I want to try that too. Are there any considerations you need to make before playing with those fumes, though? It seems like something you really don't want to breath in. It heavy enough that it does not get out of the jar?

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[Pete Prodoehl]

There's conflicting info in the comments... My own thoughts: do it in a well ventilated area, with a mask and safety goggles.. but I'm no chemist, and if someone else wants to speak up, please do.

Maybe this is something we could try at the 3D Printing Meetup on the 9th.

Pete

[Joseph Bozarth]

Yeah. I will ask the Chemist I know. We should give it a shot at the meetup. It would be interesting. Do we have a hot plate? We could do it outside.

[Tom Gralewicz]

There is an electric skillet, used primarilary for reflow of surface mount components, and an electric griddle.  Both should be able to deliver the heat you need.

I can try to have the fan and some outlets wired in the chem lab by the 9th and you can do it there.

Tom

Tom Gralewicz
Miller Electronics Recycling
(414) 380-1716
www.deadcomputers.com

[Have Blue]

Just a note - the limonene attacks styrene, which is the 'S' in both ABS and HIPS.  While it will indeed dissolve HIPS away more quickly, strength of the ABS will still be affected:  http://hydraraptor.blogspot.com/2012/04/abs-fudge.html

Best method is to break away as much HIPS as is practical, and then dunk it.

[Pete Prodoehl]

Thanks Tom!

We should already have acetone at the space... Do we have a large glass jar? If not, I'll try to find one.

Then we just need some nice ABS prints to test with.

Pete

[Matt Czapar]

Has anyone taken a look at Makerbot's soluble filament?  I see it's out of stock now, but it sounds like it's water soluble. Could be pretty cool.

http://store.makerbot.com/makerbotr-water-soluble-pva-1kg-spool-1-75mm.html

[Have Blue]

It's water soluble, but is extremely hygroscopic - need to keep it super dry.

[Ed Hagopian]

Last I read it was considered experimental because while it was water soluble it expanded while dissolving potentially breaking parts.