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Hollow 3D Print with Resin Infill

Posted by AusPhil 
Hollow 3D Print with Resin Infill
February 24, 2014 06:23PM
G'day Everyone,

I am relatively new to 3D printing, have had my 3D printer for only a couple of months. Its been an interesting experience learning the capabilities and the pitfalls of 3D printing.

I would like to build some structural items, knowing the structural limitations of an object printed in filament layers I was thinking that it may be possible to print an object with a low percentage infill (possibly using a honeycomb pattern) and fill the voids with an epoxy resin. The resin would need to be quite viscous to flow into the small voids, with a suitable curing time to be workable.

Has anyone tried this before or have any hints in regards to a suitable resin type filler?

I am using ABS, also built a acetone vapour chamber which improves the appearance of the print and strengthens it also, but the item I need must be stronger than what I can currently produce.

I have search for this topic, but have not found anything yet.

Any advice would be great.

Regards Phil.
Re: Hollow 3D Print with Resin Infill
February 24, 2014 06:30PM
There is some discussion of this idea in this thread: Epoxy Resin filling?
Re: Hollow 3D Print with Resin Infill
February 24, 2014 07:36PM
This should be easy as long as the part is water tight. (I sell epoxy resin for a living for decorative use ). If you use 2 part epoxy resin you can expect a 30 minute work time and 24 hour full cure. If you use a urethane 2 part resin you can have a cure time from 5 minutes to around 30 but work time for these is between 3 minutes to 5 minutes. If you have any infill the epoxy needs a path to go through to get between infill.

You say "quite viscous" but I think you mean low viscosity. The higher viscosities equals thicker. Low viscosity epoxy can be like light vegetable oil while some urethane resins can be nearly like water. If you had something like a simple cube that was printed with no top layer, it would be very easy to fill with resin but odd shapes may be impossible if they have any infill or inner support as these would act as walls preventing penetration of the resin. It's possible that certain types of infill may be more compatible than others.

Look at RichRaps blog to see the types of infill and you can see how some may work better [richrap.blogspot.com]

I've spent the last 20 years learning about resins so if you have any specific questions, let me know.
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