Delrin/POM for 3d printing?

Has anyone tried this?

Apart from the obvious requirement for high powered all metal hotend for the high temps (300c+?) required, is there somekind of problem with this?

Printing Delrin would be so awesome!

I was looking at this too. The main issue it seems is that the very reason people want POM is for its rigidness and that makes it hard to use as a filament, with I guess 3mm worse than 1.75? I see that McMaster-Carr has some rods that might be able to be used on a 3MM machine (7/64-2,78mm). My thought was that you take something near the diameter of that you want and then you emboss the filament with dimples on each side and then at another set at 90 degrees further up the filament and repeat. You then would have some flex built into the filament to make it pliable so it could be spooled. The 'extruding' diameter would be lower than the measured diameter due to the dimples, but should be something that you could define in the slicer.

My belief was that POM is not *that* rigid, rigid but not that rigid.
I have a spool of Acetal, ie. POM here with me ordered from China, but haven't tried it and no idea what they have mixed in with POM :/

I think i might have to visit a local plastics specialist company to get what i need and make my own filament, since i need engineering quality. Intending to use for rally car bushings.

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PulsedMedia
I have a spool of Acetal, ie. POM here with me ordered from China

I'm very interested in your source of POM filament.

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PulsedMedia
I think i might have to visit a local plastics specialist company to get what i need and make my own filament, since i need engineering quality. Intending to use for rally car bushings.

Probably best/safer that you turn your own bushings from bar stock than print them. But I would like to see you try to print POM bushings to size, and test them to see if it's a viable option.

There are clever ways to use a boring bar, steel V forms, bearings, drill rod, and a drill to machine a fairly accurate hole.

DIY Line Boring Tool
[www.youtube.com]



Delrin Sheets and Delrin Rods have many of the same characteristics of industrial metals such as brass, aluminum, zinc, and stainless steel.
[www.polymerplastics.com]

Delrin II Data Sheet:
[www.polymerplastics.com]


The data in Figure 27 shows that Delrin 500 has good resistance to repeated impacts over the rates tested. As the loading rate increases, so does the capability of Delrin 500 to withstand shock without rupture. Data comparison of Delrin acetal resin, other plastics, and die-cast metals shows Delrin acetal resin to be exceptionally resistant to repeated impact loads. Delrin 100ST, 100, and 500T provide even greater impact performance. [www2.dupont.com]


Delrin®, a homopolymer acetal, is also manufactured and stocked in rod and plate. It offers slightly higher mechanical properties than Acetron® GP Acetal, but may contain a low-density center, especially in larger cross-sections.
Alro Plastics offers both homopolymer (Delrin®) and copolymer (Acetal and Acetron® GP) grades of acetal including enhanced bearing grade materials.
[www.alro.com]

Delrin® Typical Properties
[www.alro.com]


Annealed 6061 Aluminum:
Young's Modulus is 10×106 psi (69 GPa)
Tensile 18,000 psi (125 MPa)

Delrin Acetal
Tensile 73°F 11,000
Compressive 73°F 16,000
Flexural Strength, 73°F. 13,000
Flexural Modulus of Elasticity, 73°F.450,000
Hardness, Rockwell, Scale as noted, 73°F. M89 (R122)
Hardness, Durometer, Shore “D” Scale, 73°F. D86
[www.connecticutplastics.com]

Here's a guy who printed with Delrin.
And another who used rods.

EDIT: And if you're bold, you can get actual filament.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/2014 11:15AM by MrDoctorDIV.

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Realizer- One who realizes dreams by making them a reality either by possibility or by completion. Also creating or renewing hopes of dreams.
"keep in mind, even the best printer can not print with the best filament if the user is the problem." -Ohmarinus

@MrDoctorDIV, Tks!

Stratum3D Acetal 613 filament
[www.stratum3d.com]
[twitter.com]

Any one know of a USA supplier of Delrin/Acetal/POM homopolymer, or copolymer filament?

DuPont
Design Guide—Module III
Delrin
acetal resin
[www2.dupont.com]

Interesting info A2!

I should probably get a filastruder or somethign and make my own, choosing the specific material from that standpoint.

Yes, i could get a lathe and make my own bushings that way - it would be easy, faster achieved and expensive.... and boring

I want to make them using 3D Printing, because then i can achieve shapes that couldn't be done by lathe and milling, and do whatever bushings as needed

I got the filament off ebay: [www.ebay.com]

Seems they have increased the price.

I don't sell it, but I can order samples of Delrin pellets for you.

Just use the contact page @ 3DSupplySource.com

-Mandy

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3DSupplySource.com

Sorry for bringing this topic alive again, but I wanted to know if anyone has experiences with printing temps?

In the opening post there is guessed that it might be 300º Celsius, but I am pretty sure I've seen it being printed around 220~225º Celsius.

Anyone who knows?

I've found a Dutch seller:
[mtb3d.com]
And I might just try it

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/28/2014 06:54PM by Ohmarinus.

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http://www.marinusdebeer.nl/

Hi,
I've found this from E3D, [e3d-online.com]
They say around 250°c....
No one knows ^^
Could be great to test!

Hey all,

I've been messing around with a bit actually, trying to get it to work without a heated bed.

A few quick observations:

-As the technical literature on the resin shows, it doesn't actually contract all that quickly. However, POM cools off really quickly, so whereas PLA stays warm and pliable for sometime after, the POM material cools down incredibly quickly. Almost entirely certain this is because POM is significantly more crystalline than PLA in its structure, so it resists heat well (while also letting go of it easily).
-You should almost certainly have some sort of venting solution that feeds out of your work area when printing with this.
-The few things I was able to kind of print had some pretty fantastic properties. The stuff is very hard, and very smooth.
-The filament is incredibly slick, and uncoils easily since it doesn't hang up on itself.

For all the pain it is to work with, there is a clear cut utility to it. POM has a significantly lower COF than Nylon, and low elongation. For anyone building parts where friction is a component, such as slip fittings or clasps, I think there's a very clear-cut reason to consider working with this. Gears are another application that comes to mind.

I'll post more as I get further along with this.

I doubt is cools much faster than PLA, it is simply that PLA doesn't set hard until it is below 55C, so it takes longer to set hard even if it cools at the same speed.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

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nophead
I doubt is cools much faster than PLA, it is simply that PLA doesn't set hard until it is below 55C, so it takes longer to set hard even if it cools at the same speed.

Right. PLA and POM have similar % of shrinkage, but the temperature range of POM/Acetal is significantly higher than PLA because of its higher degree of crystallinity.

I've been mostly messing around with trying to print it without a heated bed as a purely academic exercise.

I swapped out my aluminum bed for an acrylic one last night to see what would happen. I got a pretty solid print for the first 3 or 4 layers, but eventually the material cooled off enough to warp and pop off around the 7th layer. Can't use tape either, that appears to eliminate the ability of the material to adhere for some reason, and it pops off the build plate super quick. The downside of this is that when acrylic sheet meets a plastic being extruded at 245C, it tends to leave an impression in the sheet. Not really sustainable at all...

I have a wooden bed I'm going to try next; I think the Acetal should form stronger mechanical bonds at the interface of the plastic and the "porous" surface of the board, which will hopefully go a ways towards reducing the tendency of the print to let go of the surface.

I'm also ordering in the parts to upgrade to a heated bed, as that's been a bit of an overdue upgrade anyways.

PLA doesn't warp much because it isn't solid enough to exert force on the layer below until it drops below 55C and then it doesn't shrink much from 55C to room temp. If POM has a similar expansion coefficient but a higher glass transition then it will warp more because it will set at a higher temperature and then shrink more.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

Makes sense. Delrin has a Tm (melting point) around 175 C if I remember correctly.

Delrin has some unusual properties with regards to Tg if you're interested in reading more, due to its high crystallinity vs something like PLA or TPE.

[www2.dupont.com]

Page 4 lays out the main details. It's pretty cool stuff, and I'm honestly surprised that the material doesn't see more attention.

Very interesting read!
POM indeed has some interesting properties

Hi All,

i am new to this forum and just read your posts about using POM. I hope you all did some research about safety before using it. The advised processing temperature for POM is between 190-210C. Higher temperatures are not recommended because of possible decomposition into formaldehyde. It should never be heated to temperatures over 250C!
Also at lower temperatures make sure that you dont inhale any fumes.
It is also important to work in a good ventilated room to prevent irritantion of your eyes.

Good luck!

You are right AnneNL, POM can be a problem when heated beyond normal extrusion temperatures. Ventalation is important.
POM is the common chemical call out for Dupont Delrin Homopolymer or the common Acetal Copolymer. Both are great for making parts. Delrin takes about 10 degrees more heat to melt.