Printing on top of PVC

I thinking about the possibility of printing on the surface of PVC pipe.
One of the axis would thus be rotary. That's not a really big issue.
What I'm concerned about is what will stick well to that surface?

The idea, I make musical instruments using PVC pipe and other materials. I current make the keystocks (holders for the keys) in ABS.
So my "what if?" today is if components could be made right on top of the surface.
They would need to hold well since the keys have some light spring force on them.

As a long time woodwind player I'm all ears
I've made some bamboo flutes myself with ancient / rare hole spacing...
The latest was a didgeridoo from electric conduit pipe.

PVC is horrible stuff to glue to other materials. Best way is to melt and mesh both parts together, I guess.
Another option is to make keystocks that bolt on the PVC pipe. You'd need a cylindric printbed with same OD to make those keystocks.

Here's a saxophone made off a plastic kit: Vibrato T1

Awesome Percussions from PVC-pipes

Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 12/29/2018 03:00AM by o_lampe.

Before you build a rotating bed that uses PVC pipe, you could try buying a cheap, flat PVC plate and printing on it to see if prints will stick.

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

Before printing on pvc, I'd check to see at what temperature it starts off gassing chlorine.

Yes, please do not print on PVC. When it burns, it releases Hydrochloric acid, which YOU DO NOT WANT TO BREATHE.
Safety first

Max

Basic rules of thumb when dealing with PVC is to not let it turn to carbon and release the nasty stuff. Up to that point it can be heated and shaped or hot air welded. Being dissimilar materials will probably be a bigger issue when trying to join PVC and ABS together. While they both have similar "melt" points and burn points, they tend to stick together like oil and water. It why plastics are so cool - we can engineer different properties into them, so they won't combine. I've never used PVC around the printer, but like shaping and welding it. Just have to be careful with the heat. Outside practice with a heat gun is best, the paradox being the dangerous out-gassing starts when white PVC is heated to the point it starts turning yellow brown, which you won't know until it starts turning yellow brown. I've been at this point lots of times and why I work with lots of ventilation. There's a few hundred degrees between soft and burn, so I just keep the heat moving and worry about discoloration more for the fact that it ruins the piece than health issues, (Carbon is brittle and can't be reshaped like "plastic".) Be careful heating sharp edges and clean the crumbles, sawing leaves, before heating.

One trick that might help. Using the property that PVC shrinks a little when it cools... I've made manifolds by drilling holes in PVC pipe, heating, and then inserting smaller pipe which will somewhat seal as it cools. Not so much fusing as creating a snug fit. I picture two holes per keystock. One for the valve and the other to secure the keystock to the PVC pipe. Print ABS keystocks with a little nub that can be shoved into the drilled PVC hole. Takes a little trial and error with maybe undersizing the hole a little, but attaching cool ABS to hot PVC is do-able this way.

There are certain dangers with heating any plastic to the point they release VOC's. Treat all with respect.

I dint find the link but if seen so eone printig bracelets around a pvc pipe covered with kapton tape so it is doable but i wonder howo you setup the slicer and FW guess qould be to just use the circumferences als y bed length and calculate stepps per mm respective, than fold up your model ... Somehow xD

Kind of an old topic, but I thought I might throw in my 2 cents worth...

Also, I can't carry a tune in a bucket, so if PVC has the acoustic properties you need, this won't work...
but I noticed at Lowe's / HomeDepot have ABS pipe. Wipe it down with a little Acetone and go-to-town!

Good luck!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2019 09:42PM by Inq.