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Posted (edited) · Printing with 2 materials

Hello,

 

I know that we can print a part with two different materials by splitting it into two parts, but is it possible to change the material at a specific layer ?

I’m trying to print a base using blue TPU, while printing the rest of the part in PLA.

Edited by mathieu33
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    Posted · Printing with 2 materials

    You can use a post processing script (in the Extensions menu) to do a material change at a certain layer (I use the "Pause at height" script, but the change filament script is probably easier for someone who isn't as 🤓 as me).

    The big BUT:

    TPU and PLA don't adhere to each other. You start printing the main part on top of the base and it's entirely possible that the PLA will just slide off when it comes out of the nozzle (or get pulled around by the nozzle, or whatever).

     

    If you have a dual extruder printer you can design interlocking internal parts to help hold it in place, but on a single extruder printer that would require changing filament manually twice a layer for many layers (also known as too much hassle).

     

    You could use a couple of different colours of PLA and that'd work fine. PETG adheres maybe a tiny bit better than TPU but in the past I've relied on its property of not adhering to PLA to my advantage.

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    Posted · Printing with 2 materials

    I chose TPU because I’m designing a mask for smalls animals, and the base will be in contact with the muzzle. TPU is quite flexible, and I need a material as flexible as rubber. The base needs to be slightly flexible to avoid irritating the muzzle.

     

    Yes, we have some Ultimaker S5 printers with dual extruders.

     

    Perhaps it would be better to print the mask as two separate parts on different printers.

     

     

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    Posted · Printing with 2 materials
    6 hours ago, mathieu33 said:

    I chose TPU because I’m designing a mask for smalls animals, and the base will be in contact with the muzzle. TPU is quite flexible, and I need a material as flexible as rubber. The base needs to be slightly flexible to avoid irritating the muzzle.

    Better reason for saying you're using TPU in that situation: unlike PLA, it's food safe if they want try and take a nip at it 😉 

    (n.b. You still shouldn't deliberately consume it)

     

    Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but why not print the whole thing out of different colours of TPU? I don't know what animals you're working with but a PLA mask won't stand up to huge amounts of rough treatment due to how brittle it is and you don't want a broken mask leaving sharp splinters of plastic laying on the ground.

    (n.b. "PLA+" and "Tough PLA" only count as less brittle - many brands achieve this by adding a bit of TPU to the mix)

     

    If you do want to print it as two separate pieces, cyanoacrylate (plain old superglue) works great on PLA and pretty well on TPU, you just need a bit bigger a contact patch (whereas you can superglue tiny bits of PLA back together).

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    Posted · Printing with 2 materials

    They might not take a bite of it, lol.

     

    I tried printing the whole mask in TPU, but I have a small chamber that helps with anesthesia. This requires supports only in contact with the buildplate. Also, we have connection area with a silicone tube, the TPU is quite soft, it's harder to connect the tube and the mask compared to using PLA.

     

    I’m currently working on a mask for small animals, like rodents.

     

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