PLA solvent.

We deal with a variety of both general and commercial glues and solvents, so I thought I would try a few to see which ones work the best.

So far ABS to PVC transition cement seems to work the best.



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Works best to do what?

 

To glue parts together.

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good to know.

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I haven't tried a slurry yet, but yesterday I applied lacquer thinner to PLA and it did soften the material. I was just rubbing the layers with a paper towel and it smoothed the PLA right out. I'll try more experiments soon but it might be easier to control than acetone especially for small areas with a q-tip. A slurry could be a good color matching solution.

 

Post pictures please. They are worth a thousand words.

 

Tough to show the effect as well as it appears to the eye, but here you go, Peter. This was with a minimum amount of rubbing with lacquer thinner on a paper towel. Sort of like smooth sanding...

 

I have printed some objects that seem to have a very smooth surface. I think it all has to do with the resolution of your final object and the type of program you used to export it. For instance, look at this smooth model:



Modelled in Sculptris. Printed in white PLA @ 190

 

Interesting point. I wonder how much of a difference the software plays in the finished product versus the hardware to print it. 50/50? Also, what is the difference in PLA quality. Does anyone have an example (pics) of a variety of these?

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Download Sculptris. Make something. Print it. Then go back into the program and re-edit the object adding more subdivisions. Smooth out the object as much as possible. Re-print and see the difference.

The more you subdivide, the more memory it takes, so be careful,
Don't go too crazy.

 

I might just give that a go.

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@Peter Krska - I generally print at larger resolutions as layer size doesn't matter a lot to me - larger is faster, so, yay! I mentioned the polishing as an interesting possibility for some applications and also as a potential for making your own glue for PLA (the actual thread...). And imagine how smooth your already smooth surfaces could become with a little bit of "smooth sanding"...if you wanted that, anyway. Your subdivisions trick is very interesting. I was reading on another forum about how a larger board with far more memory resulted in actual roundness in printing instead of a series of connected straight lines. As your model shows, roundness is possible even with what we have for memory, but the Arduino is somewhat self limiting in this regard. Interesting stuff!

 

Here you go, Matt: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Klean-Strip-1-Pint-Lacquer-Thinner-PA12782/203713864
I don't think it is all that impressive as is, but it could be with just a bit more effort. Or getting it close, then zapping with an acetone vapor polish.

 

im confused, would this be able to glue PLA or dissolve it?

 

In the same way that Acetone + ABS can be combined to make a glue, or slurry, PLA + lacquer thinner should also work as well. I haven't actually tried it beyond rubbing down some layers, and it does "melt" the PLA enough to do this, so it should, in theory, melt PLA when saturated or left to soak. I'll try it today or tomorrow and let you know. You are an Awesome3der - try it yourself! MEK substitute might so it too. HOme Depot carries them both.

 

There you go. On this forum I find somebody else has always tried my ideas first. Too bad that didn't work but thanks for your efforts, Matt!