Ultimaker 3 printing with PLA for air tight structure

[LeckieInstalls 0]

Hello everyone,

I have a project that requires a large piece to be air tight. I have printed it a few times now and find air is escaping between my laminates. I am using Ultimaker black filament with "recommended" settings. Anybody have some better settings for this?

[Nicolinux 288]

I think some general tips apply for airtight prints:

 

• print hotter than usual. try 230°
  
• print slower
  
• increase the flow (increase line width under "quality")
  

 

[ultiarjan 1,223]

I agree with increasing flow (I do it to create a watertight spiralized vase) but it's something different than increasing line width.....

I would say keep line width the same, but increase flow on your machine (in case of UM2) so you basically over-extrude material.

If you can reach inside somehow, a coating of PVC glue inside will also help...

[Nicolinux 288]

The title says UM3, that's why I thought of an alternative to increasing flow on the machine.

[ultiarjan 1,223]

LOL, i did not see that, I must be blind ....

But still line width will not help IMHO, so how to really increase flow ...?

[Nicolinux 288]

My thinking is that increased width works by internally increasing flow and slightly lowering the layer height. At least thats how I'd do it if I had a toothpaste tube and had to "increase flow"

Edited February 21, 2017 by Guest

[ultiarjan 1,223]

So it's actually pretty simple.... just increase flow...

[ultiarjan 1,223]

My thinking is that increased width works by internally increasing flow and slightly lowering the layer height. At least thats how I'd do it if I had a toothpaste tube and had to "increase flow"

 

Increasing line width will also increase the distance between lines, so the extra material will need to cover extra area, so the effect is zero..... I think, correct me if I'm wrong.

Increase flow actually puts out more material on the same area....

[LeckieInstalls 0]

Thanks for the input guys. I spent the money on the UM3 because I didnt want to have to experiment with settings and was under the impression that the machine will print well with PLA out of the box. Its clear this is not the case.

my current piece is a 22 hour print. So I will make a smaller test piece and try out some of your suggestions. It would make sense to increase heat and maybe slow down the print head travel slightly. Once I find the best settings I will post them here unless someone else has those settings!

[LeckieInstalls 0]

I think some general tips apply for airtight prints:

 

• print hotter than usual. try 230°

• print slower

• increase the flow (increase line width under "quality")

 

 

Thanks for the tip. The current preset actually runs 265c on the print core.. Im sure you can go too hot too that will cause the same thing to happen.

[ultiarjan 1,223]

you have a cura preset for PLA at 265c ??? where? seems very unlikely....

 

was under the impression that the machine will print well with PLA out of the box. Its clear this is not the case.

We'll that's put a bit strong. all depends on expectations.

Default profiles are just average. If you want a print to look the best visually or a mechanical print to be very strong will require different settings. The profiles are 'best for most people' but can never be best for every single situation, thats just simply impossible.

[Nicolinux 288]

 

@LeckieInstalls: Which profile are you using that it needs 265° for PLA? Are you sure you have selected the right material/profile?

[andreowicz 0]

Sorry for refreshing this thread so late.

I will try printing some airtight samples too. We will see, which results 260°C, raised material flow and reduced printing speed will provide!

I want to test it with a pressure transducer

If someone earned more experiences about airtight 3D printing with UM, let me know

greetz

greetz

[andreowicz 0]

I printed a little hollow cylinder and it is airtight as far as possible. The printer printed the model "cyclewise" and at the positions where the nozzle move from an outer to an inner cycle are the problems. Thats why the model loses 1mm H2O per second at a start pressure of 80cm H2O, which is not much at all but too much for my application. I will try innoflex filament and ABS and will report

greetz