Hello,

I have an idea today for make Big printer part, and with less warping problems maybe and more strong final part.

There is anybody who have try to filling a printed part with some epoxy or polyvinyle or different resine ?

You print the part with only perimeter (outside and inside perimeter), no infill at all, very good bridging capability, make an small hole on your finish part, and filling is with resin.

I have some doubt on the dilatation and heat the resin have when it's cure. And maybe the porosity of the printer part.

What do you think about that? There is already somebody with some research on it?

this is what was first done 4 years ago for Huxley. several bfb users were making parts and doing that very thing. the end result is it does not look that good, and not everyone has access to resins.

Ok, so stupid idea, I can remove from my head :-D

Thanks you!

zelogik,

I've actually been experimenting with this very idea for about 2 months now.

I'm writing a full post with pictures and explanation, but to summarize, there are a few easily found resins out there that work very well for this sort of thing, however not exactly as you are imagining.

An external application of a resin (I like the Bondo Fiberglass Resin) that contains a small percentage of MEK to an ABS part has a similar effect as an acetone vapor bath. MEK dissolves ABS, so the resin actually chemically bonds to the part, and bonds the layers of the print together - adding a significant amount of strength, as well as improving the appearance of the print (smoothing lines, glossy finish, etc).

I brush on a thin coat to a part we sell to consumers, and it's produced fantastic results.

Not a stupid idea at all! I hope to try epoxy fills of sparsely printed parts myself soon. And there is an epoxy product already on the market specifically for strengthening porous 3D printed parts: [www.bjbenterprises.com]


zelogik Wrote:
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> Ok, so stupid idea, I can remove from my head :-D
>
> Thanks you!

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[haveblue.org]

There is another idea that is proven to work. It's really only for parts you make over and over but you make one good part then make a silicone mold and replicate the part in resin. There are some very good urethane resins that set up in 10-15 minutes that are very strong and machinable.

... or design some 'paperwork' and fill it with resin or concrete: [forums.reprap.org]

I've done something similar with milled and folded dibond sheets, filled with sand-filled resin (="Polymer-Beton" in German) -- but couldn't make images from the complete machine then ... maybe when 'pepakura-moulding' a solid base for my own rigid micro-machining system ...

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Viktor
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Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

Hi Cope,

Would be very interesting on know more about your experience filling 3D parts with epoxy.

Thank you!

A friend of mine rocked this all-epoxy self-made y-axis bearing holder when they first built their printer. It worked without issue for months until it was replaced for cosmetic reasons.

Pic: [i.imgur.com]

this sort of thing is done all the time.

but no need to print the parts differently.

Just soak them in epoxy resin. put into a vacuum chamber and suck all the air out. Once the bubbles stop. remove the part and wipe off the excess epoxy, and let cure overnight or however long the resin needs.

The printed part has lots of little voids everywhere and acts like a sponge and soaks up the epoxy so you end up with a very strong solid part.