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PLA outdoors survival ?

Posted by Enlightx

Enlightx

PLA outdoors survival ?
September 29, 2012 09:37AM

Registered: 14 years ago
Posts: 329

Any one have any experience with PLA lasting the outdoors ?

need to print a reducer for my guttering downpipe and wondering if PLA will be up to the job

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orcinus

Re: PLA outdoors survival ?
September 29, 2012 11:02AM

Registered: 14 years ago
Posts: 156

No direct experience, but check this out (page 200):
[jimluntllc.com]

(among other things)

Quote

UV resistance. Unlike other synthetic fibers, PLA does not absorb light in
the visible region of the spectrum; this leads to very low strength loss
compared to petroleum-based fibers when exposed to ultraviolet light.

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Enlightx

Re: PLA outdoors survival ?
September 29, 2012 03:03PM

Registered: 14 years ago
Posts: 329

well adapter is designed and printed now lol

will have to see how its holding up in a years time

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Beekeeper

Re: PLA outdoors survival ?
September 29, 2012 05:40PM

Registered: 14 years ago
Posts: 115

The glass transition temp at 55°C (131° F) would be a problem outside if the sun warms it too much. I had several objects warp because they were sitting on the front seat of my car on a day that peaked at only 32°C (90 °F). The parts were in direct sunlight for a couple of hours with the windows closed.

This would especially be a problem if it has some force acting on it that would deform it more readily.

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Doug

Re: PLA outdoors survival ?
October 31, 2012 08:03AM

Enlightx, how is your part holding up? I need a special y-corrector for my down spout and was thinking about printing it.

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Twitchy

Re: PLA outdoors survival ?
October 31, 2012 03:02PM

Registered: 13 years ago
Posts: 47

What about a hybrid approach? Print a slightly smaller ABS part then glue PLA to the outside. Or get really fancy if you have dual extruders and print the whole thing at once. Maybe the ABS would provide some strength and hold the PLA in its shape even if it softens, and the PLA would provide a UV resistant coating to the ABS.

No idea if this would work at all though.

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crispy1

Re: PLA outdoors survival ?
October 31, 2012 04:59PM

Registered: 14 years ago
Posts: 374

I have been using PLA brackets as part of a mounting system for my motorcycle side bags for 4 months or so. They have been exposed to rain, road debris, vibration, and heat over 4000+ miles with no issues. These parts are load bearing. About the only thing they have not been exposed to is direct sunlight (they are under the tail section).

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Doug

Re: PLA outdoors survival ?
February 07, 2013 02:40AM

What if one were to coat the PLA part with UV resistant paint? I don't know if paint will stick, because I'm such a newbie to this world of 3D printing.

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VDX

Re: PLA outdoors survival ?
February 07, 2013 02:46AM

Admin
Registered: 19 years ago
Posts: 14,198

... PLA-filament could be blended with TiO2 or other UV-shielding/absorbing pigments, so it would survive long time UV-exposure even without painting ...

Viktor
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