Advice on material + support to use that can sustain 60-80C

[Piachnp 0]

Hello everyone, this is my first post in the forum.

I am a student a Columbia University and my lab recently bought a UM3. The parts I need to print are molds that will be filled with PDMS and other rubber like materials. This means that after the mold is printed and filled with these materials they need to be cured in an oven at temperatures between 60 and 80C.

Because of the nature of most of these molds, it is also important to have some sort of dissolvable support material. Support materials that need to be broken off are a no-go, since most of the time the support material is in inaccessible or hard to reach locations.

I initially printed with the PLA+PVA combo, but the mold got completed warped when put in the oven. Temperatures as low as 50C were enough to completely deform the mold.

So now I am looking for advice on which material should I use both for the mold and for the support material. I have previously used ABS+SR-30 support material in a different printer, but that combo doesn't seem to be available for the UM3. From what I've read ABS doesn't really bond with PVA either.

Is there any UM3 filament that will play nice with PVA and support high temperatures ??? Or maybe any other combo where the support material is dissolvable ??

Thanks in advance!

Pedro

[kmanstudios 1,120]

Have you looked at Polycarbonate (PC)?

I have used the UM PC material with great success and, if I rmember correctly, it has the highest Tg temp of the standard materials. It also has it included in their presets now for both Cura software use and firmware for loading.

That stuff is strong. Here is a quick link to the PC material for the UM type. Just know it is the only PC materials I have tried.

[Piachnp 0]

In the materials combination matrix the PC+PVA combo is marked as experimental. Have you had any experience working with these 2??? Do they bond well ?

[kmanstudios 1,120]

The only answer I can give you is yes and no.

It works nicely as a cradle and if your PVA is very dry, it does ok.

But, it is so strong, I would not be opposed to using it in concert with something softer like PLA as a support. Also, if you use the support (PC) defaults, they actually come off quite nicely as well as the raft. You just have to catch the raft as it finishes printing before it cools down.

Nylon may be another option.