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Best Filament for Irragation Fittings

Discussion in 'Printing Filament' started by aliedholm, Apr 22, 2016.

  1. aliedholm

    aliedholm New Member

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    I am looking in to setting up a garden with custom irrigation and using 3d printed parts for the fittings. These pieces will be outside in the elements and sun and have sometimes up to 100psi in them.

    Which filament would be best for creating a water tight seal and also standing up to the pressure and elements?

    Thanks
     
  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Probably Polycarb

    FilamentTypes.jpg
     
  3. aliedholm

    aliedholm New Member

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    Do you know if PC holds up to water well over time and if there is a good solvent bonding solution to PVC for it?
     
  4. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Sorry, no. Not a use-case I have needed to research.
    My best-guess would be that it would work. It is probably the closest to PVC performance-wise.

    You might want to experiment with Nylon, that would be a possible candidate as well.

    [Even if there was a PVC filament readily available that stuff is noxious (PVC) so I wouldn't want to print it.]
     
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  5. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Not all plastics are created equal :)
    There is a lot of material science involved when you start looking for specific applications. Sorry, but this is one application I have not considered.
     
  6. aliedholm

    aliedholm New Member

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    Thanks for your help, I am new to making things so its really helpful to at least have some directions to start researching.
     
  7. Chris Rollison

    Chris Rollison New Member

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    I've looked at a similar application (aquarium) and have read a lot about ABS to PVC on the internet. As these two materials are readily available for plumbing there are off the shelf adhesives available to join the two. Though polycarbonate is a stronger material I suspect the ABS to PVC could work also. Print a standard end cap, bond it to a piece of PVC pipe and with the right adapters and your garden hose you can get a verdict in no time!
     
  8. BenMac

    BenMac Member

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    If you don't mind me piggy-backing on this question, I was wondering what filament would work best for a weather station? I basically would expect it to be out in the elements, exposed to the sun year around. Ease of printing would be welcome, but I would be open to other filaments if there were some print tips behind it.

    I have been looking at Alloy 910, Blueprint, and eSUN's ePC as possible options. What are your thoughts and suggestions?
     
  9. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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  10. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    If you don't then UV will eventually break down pretty much anything :) It will discolor and get brittle.
    For the irrigation stuff I assumed under-dirt and UV would not be an issue :)
     
  11. BenMac

    BenMac Member

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    Cool, thank you! :)

    Where do you typically get your Alloy 910? I found some on Amazon, but it seems fairly expensive for relatively little filament.
    $37 for a pound
     
  12. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    I used to buy it from folks like @Printed Solid, but he is now a ColorFab store and dropped most of the rest.
    I have also bought direct from Taulman ($36 a spool).

    It is not the cheapest filament out there, but well worth it for applications that need it.
     
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  13. BenMac

    BenMac Member

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    Ok, thank you. :)
     

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