Sanding Device

Hi everyone,

I'm wondering whether there is a machine that can uniformly wears down the printed surface so that I can get a smooth surface instead of seeing toolpaths and layer lines??

Right now I use an extra fine sandpaper and managed to remove the vertical layers, but this is ok for one off job.. if I have 100's then it will be a problem.

So is there anything like... 3d sander... surface wearer... or chemicals to dissolve PLA?

Thanks very much.

Adrian

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/01/2012 01:50PM by ahbtsang.

Perhaps you could trace the outline of your printed object with a shaped hot end, melting the surface and smoothing it like a lathe taking the surface off a piece of metal.
This would of course require development of software and a special hot end.

Try printing at a lower layer height. 0.05mm layer height results in the layers becoming almost imperceptible. For example:



Of course, reducing your layer height won't really help if your layer edges aren't perfectly aligned. For that, you need real leadscrews, filament with a highly consistent diameter, and a machine that doesn't wobble at the speed you print at.

I have had some ideas about sanding.

Since most objects have a rough finish, some sanding would be presumed to be needed. But sticking with the design that makes the object. Why use grit to smooth the sanding surface when heat could be used.

If an object has a flat side that needs to be sanded. build a device like a miter saw.

Have a flat piece of wood with a tool end that comes out the bottom, but instead of it being a drill bit, have it be a heated rotatable metal cylinder. Have a guide on the other side of the object, and push the product through to soften and smooth any flat side of an object setting the entire side to the exact same dimensions away from the guide on other side of object.

It would work like a ban saw, but without cutting, and instead having a heated roller like when making sheet metal, but would only heat the outer surface of the side to be smoothed.

Could also be used to heat and attach some layer over joints or to add in some plastic where needed by smoothing an abs sheet onto a flat side.



So the printing process would be first to print the object, then refine it using heat at some depth to smooth a surface.

Although it would only work for flat surfaces it would remove much of the sanding time by pressing any excess material either off of an item or into any crevices. Then just cut off any excess pushed out.

That might work.

Robert Eastwood

An acetone vapor bath works absolute wonders for ABS. PLA, not so much.

---

www.Fablicator.com

I tend to use PLA only for working parts that do not need to be smooth. However, I use ABS for any art pieces that do need to be smoothed because acetone does wonders on ABS.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/15/2012 06:05AM by Zimtower.

Andrew Diehl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> An acetone vapor bath works absolute wonders for
> ABS. PLA, not so much.

How does that work? Could you elaborate?

Wauter

Wauter Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Andrew Diehl Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > An acetone vapor bath works absolute wonders
> for
> > ABS. PLA, not so much.
>
> How does that work? Could you elaborate?
>
> Wauter


+1 please!