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Dye and gloss on nylon

Discussion in 'Off Topic' started by keraynopoylos, Jun 20, 2013.

  1. keraynopoylos

    keraynopoylos New Member

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    Hi all,

    I'm having some small swimming ring duck(about 20x20x13mm) ornaments printed with nylon using an sls printer.

    I've found this tutorial on how to use rit dye to color them(yellow). http://makezine.com/2013/05/09/how-to-dye-your-3d-prints/

    It says it is still going to be porous so a polymer varnish (like liquitex) or clear acrylic paint should be used afterwards. Additionally I'd like it to have a glossy finish(as swimming rings have!).

    As the parts are this small, I'm thinking maybe it would be better to submerge them in the substance and then remove and let them dry. In this case the varnish or clear paint has to be quite thin.

    Anyone knows anything about these things?

    (They're for my wedding in a couple of weeks so it has to be done fast)

    Thanks!
     
    #1 keraynopoylos, Jun 20, 2013
  2. Harry

    Harry Team ROBO 3D
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    #2 Harry, Jun 20, 2013
  3. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    Not sure the answer to your specific question, but laser sintered nylon needs to have an escape hole to get the unsintered material out so you won't be able to make it hollow and watertight unless you glue on a plug.

    I have yellow abs and a fairly open schedule this weekend. I bet vapor polished fdm printed abs will float just fine. Pm me if interested.
     
    #3 Printed Solid, Jun 20, 2013
  4. keraynopoylos

    keraynopoylos New Member

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    Thanks Harry. I've seen the video and rit seems to be the way to go regarding dying. It's the "glossing" I'm mostly concerned about now...

    Thanks for the offer PrintedSolid, but you misunderstood. It's not supposed to be floating. It's just an imitation of the swimming rings. Here's a sample print of it. On the right sls nylon, on the left ABS.
    image.jpg
     
    #4 keraynopoylos, Jun 20, 2013
  5. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    Ah, I see. I thought that you were trying to make it nonporous because you wanted it to float. You just want the surface to be super smooth. Not sure what happened with your print in the pic, but the looks pretty easily printable and it will be quite smooth in vapor polished ABS so offer still stands.

    I also misread this as being a wedding gift for someone else, didn't realize it was yours. Congrats!
     
    #5 Printed Solid, Jun 20, 2013
  6. keraynopoylos

    keraynopoylos New Member

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    Thanks again, but the full number of ducks has already been ordered with the sls. I'm in London and the wedding will be in Greece(flying out next Sat), so we wouldn't have the time away...

    Regarding the finish, I'll prob try the spray ones first... And see how it goes... All in all, very "bespoke" wedding... We've used laser cutting(twice!), 3d printing and heat sealing..!

    Fun. I'll post pics after the wedding!
     
    #6 keraynopoylos, Jun 20, 2013
    3 people like this.

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