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Can you make a smooth cylinder?

Posted by stackman

stackman

Can you make a smooth cylinder?
June 06, 2011 08:57PM

Registered: 12 years ago
Posts: 5

I've only seen pictures of models produced with 3D printers. If you make a cylinder on a 3D printer, would the surface of the cylinder be smoother or would it have ridges? I realize there are probably different settings, but is it possible to get a fairly smooth cylindrical part?

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Andrew Diehl

Re: Can you make a smooth cylinder?
June 06, 2011 09:24PM

Registered: 13 years ago
Posts: 581

It can feel smooth to the touch, but running your finger nail across the surface will reveal it is definitely layered.

What are you trying to do that requires smoothness? It may help us explain if it is feasible.

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stackman

Re: Can you make a smooth cylinder?
June 06, 2011 10:21PM

Registered: 12 years ago
Posts: 5

I have a small wind tunnel, and I wanted to use the prints to build models to put in my wind tunnels. It doesn't have to be perfectly smooth, but something reasonable that approximates steel cylinders.

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NelsonRap

Re: Can you make a smooth cylinder?
June 06, 2011 11:36PM

Registered: 13 years ago
Posts: 862

I have found that you can sand them up after printing and get reasonably good results if you have the time

__________________________________________________________________________
Experimenting in 3D in New Zealand

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VDX

Re: Can you make a smooth cylinder?
June 07, 2011 01:52AM

Admin
Registered: 16 years ago
Posts: 13,886

... you can smooth the surface to perfect smoothness with sanding and melting with a torch - but be carefully not to overheat the body or it will distort ... especially thin walls are delicate ...

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Traumflug

Re: Can you make a smooth cylinder?
June 07, 2011 05:48AM

Registered: 13 years ago
Posts: 7,616

Another approach is to get the ridges in direction of the air flow (by turning the STL file before slicing it).

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droftarts

Re: Can you make a smooth cylinder?
June 07, 2011 07:15AM

Registered: 12 years ago
Posts: 1,611

Or lightly wiping the part with acetone on a lint-free cloth will melt the ridges, if printing with ABS. I think PLA isn't affected by acetone?

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mark2

Re: Can you make a smooth cylinder?
June 07, 2011 09:08AM

Registered: 13 years ago
Posts: 12

You can definitely get smoother edges than what you see online, but people like to show off the calibration of their machines via unaltered productions. That's why almost everything that you see has ridges on it. Either that or they post a pic as soon as it's done but before they do final clean-up on it.

But, there's also this un-touched-up print from a makergear mosaic machine:

[www.flickr.com]

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brnrd

Re: Can you make a smooth cylinder?
June 07, 2011 09:22AM

Registered: 13 years ago
Posts: 1,780

droftarts Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Or lightly wiping the part with acetone on a
> lint-free cloth will melt the ridges, if printing
> with ABS. I think PLA isn't affected by acetone?

PLA will also dissolve in acetone. I have glued parts made of PLA with acetone.