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Filament for automotive projects

Discussion in 'General Questions' started by dbvanhorn, Apr 26, 2017.

  1. dbvanhorn

    dbvanhorn Active Member

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    Long story, but the old car died, and the new car needs some 3d printed bits in the passenger compartment.

    I printed some prototypes in PLA, and that will do for now, but as summer approaches, a young (at heart) 3D printer enthusiasts thoughts turn to ABS. Unfortunately every attempt to print these with rafts, etc has ended up looking a lot more like a "U" than a plane.

    So I'm wondering if there are other filaments that I could use in a passenger compartment application that are compatible with the Robo's temperature range.

    Ideas?
     
    #1 dbvanhorn, Apr 26, 2017
  2. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    Two that come to mind are Alloy 910 or BluPrint from Taulman. There are also some polycarbonate filaments (which I find harder to print but not quite as difficult as ABS) that might work.
     
    #2 WheresWaldo, Apr 26, 2017
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  3. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    Colorfabb HT has been working well for me as of now. I use buildtak or glue stick on the glass to keep it from chipping.
     
    #3 Geof, Apr 26, 2017
  4. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    BluPrint actually has a higher deflection temperature than ABS
     
    #4 mark tomlinson, Apr 26, 2017
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  5. KTMDirtFace

    KTMDirtFace Well-Known Member

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    PETG? thats all I use anymore.
     
    #5 KTMDirtFace, Apr 26, 2017
  6. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    I like PETG, but if temperature really is the issue then nope... it has about the same tG as as PLA (slightly better, but not wildly so). Lets be generous and say 80* C :) ABS is 100 (close at least) and BluPrint is 110.

    There are a few nylons that are higher still (some as high as 150c for the glass transition) but... they are a pain to setup to print consistently.


    edit: Polycarbonate is 110 too...

    * it is actually glass transition temperature of 88 C
     
    #6 mark tomlinson, Apr 26, 2017
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2017
  7. KTMDirtFace

    KTMDirtFace Well-Known Member

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    And PLA is 60-65.

    Edit: havn't left PETG in my truck before, but I left a small thin PLA print in my cup holder once for like an hour and it was warped to heck.
     
    #7 KTMDirtFace, Apr 26, 2017
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  8. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    I can believe that. Tg (glass transition) is where it starts to soften (but not fully flow) and can much more easily be deformed.
    Sadly hot car means hot... so in my experience you want at least BluPrint or polycarbonate. The higher temp nylons will work, but they are not as easy to print as BluPrint. (Alloy910 only has a 90c Tg sadly)


    edit: So after some "hot car" research :) You are looking at 80c-90c for a peak there (unless you are in death valley). Use your own judgement.
     
    #8 mark tomlinson, Apr 26, 2017
    Last edited: Apr 27, 2017
  9. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    Polycarbonate for the win :D I'm a fanboy, not a huge fan of PETG, not sure why, just dont see the appeal to it or advantages I suppose. if I need tough I need TOUGH lol, if not meh pla is fine. in between those two? XT, NGEN, HT.

    I'm that oddbird that has abs printers so I print a large amount of abs but still not a fan of it.
     
    #9 Geof, Apr 27, 2017
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