PressureVessel for My Brother

[kmanstudios 1,120]

Finally this model is finished!

Printed vertically to maximize size. Not sure how those really long tubes will print. Usually they are better printed horizontally.

This is a clean view of the top down and one with a US quarter sitting on top to give a size comparison.

 

 

I have no idea how long it will take to soak off the PVA. I just started the whole unit assembled. It is a 204 hour print. I will be on a bidness trip for a week and what better time to do a print that will just take forever? Be printing or be off. I will at least be able to monitor it until Tuesday. Usually at that point, they are bullet proof unless something really stupid happens.....and it does sometimes.

We will see.......

 

Edit: This print was due to be finished at 2:30AM local time. But, it took until 8:30AM. It just seemed to keep growing in time. Same with another print I am doing.

Usually the times are fairly close, but this one really grew.

 

Edited February 18, 2018 by kmanstudios

[cloakfiend 995]

Should look very nice once all the pva is gone!

[kmanstudios 1,120]

Sigh...due to the way the model is made and printed, it did a banana when soaking. Apparently there was enough heat differential in the interior and exterior that it bent really crazy. I know what went wrong and will fix it when I get back in about a week. May take it with me and work on it while away to start printing when I get back.

 

But I made it worse when I tried to use warm water to bend it back into shape and it cracked and then just separated.

 

The funny thing is that I think the changes I need to make will make it not only print better, but also print faster. And, the finish on the surface was not really nice at all. It felt weird. So, back to the virtual board and make changes. A learning experience indeed.

[kmanstudios 1,120]

Well, I had a massive headache last night.....the kind that just makes you wake up and have to get out of bed kind. So, while vertical and waiting for the Ibuprofen to take effect, I did make the changes.

 

These changes really affected my printing times too. The straight heat exchanger tubey thing went from right at 80 hours down to 46 hours. And the full assembly went from 204 hours down to 145.5 hours. They also sliced a  good bit faster. That is because I got rid of tubes and replaced all with cylinders except where it counts for visual purposes. It was cool, but not structurally sound for plastics.

[geert_2 557]

Wouldn't it fit in the printer diagonally, if you cut off the end parts, the support stands, and only keep the tubes? That might print faster and in better quality for the little tubes? And then only print the end parts and the supports vertically?

 

I am surprised that it doesn't fall over, for such a high but narrow print.

 

[kmanstudios 1,120]

I am actually trying different things at slightly different scales and even the cutoff. The first print was to try an maximize size. The others will be tests to see how it prints. The first one just did not work for a variety of reasons, but I am much more confident on the new one since I made changes. I just had to see what a direct import of the model would do print wise. But with the model being made as an actual piece of equipment with tubes and such with all interiors and thin walls, it just did not hold up. I made changes this morning and it did not take long to do. Thickened a few walls, made the tubes into cylinders, and such to make it more sturdy. There was a whole section of tubes that are not seen so I took them out and replaced them with a solid piece to increase strength.

 

The changes radically reduced my print times too, so that is a major plus.

[kmanstudios 1,120]

I finally got the skid with the heat exchangers  printed. This is the raw print with just a bit of cleanup needed to make it right. It does have some really tight details though

This thing pushed the limits of the UM3X buildplate size. I actually had to bring it inside a few times because even though the images in Cura showed it inside the available areas, it would not let me print. Sigh....more space...more space....click heels 3 times and say, "There is no place like more space...."

 

Edit:

 

Oh yeah...thanks to @korneel and @tinkergnome for the assist with the UM PVA. It has a very nice crystalline quality that support tiny stuff very well. Just takes forever to get the alien snot out of tight areas.

Edited March 13, 2018 by kmanstudios