EMDX6043
Chairman
Future ex-modeler
Posts: 837
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Post by EMDX6043 on Mar 10, 2016 9:19:03 GMT -5
My wife brought this technique to my attention. Has anyone tried this with any Shapeways parts? I'm not sure I'd be brave enough...
It did slightly even out all of those printing lines, but the loss of detail might be troublesome for our purposes.
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Post by tjmfishing on Mar 10, 2016 18:28:29 GMT -5
As soon as I read "Shapeways" and "acteone" in the same sentence I knew something was amiss. The only materials worth printing in from Shapeways are FUD and FXD. Both of these use polyamide for the medium (nylon). Acetone won't dissolve nylon and there are a very select few solvents that will so unfortunately this wouldn't work with Shapeways stuff. Nylon is used in industrial settings for its extremely high resistance to solvents, wear and tear and temperatures.
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Post by lajmdlr on Mar 10, 2016 19:45:46 GMT -5
Was told to soak my Shapeways MR parts in Bestine for 24 hours. It helps the parts in taking paint & it works very well!
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fr8kar
Chairman
Little man raise the cotton, beer joints get the money
Posts: 309
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Post by fr8kar on Mar 12, 2016 11:49:59 GMT -5
I would caution against using acetone to smooth or clean shapeways' FUD or FXD parts. Exposure for more than a couple minutes will begin to distort and soften the parts. exposure to isopropyl alcohol for more than ten minutes will cause the parts to shrink.
Bestine works, but it works slowly and isn't always effective at removing the stubborn waxy support material (60-120 seconds of acetone can be effective for this purpose). It also roughs up the surface slightly, which is why translucent parts become opaque. This may be desirable and it can help paint adhere.
I use Simple Green to clean FUD and FXD parts. I end up worth smooth, clean parts that remain translucent and (depending on the orientation the parts were printed in) can be made transparent with CA or Future applied to the surface of the part.
Depending on the finish you desire, choose the cleaning/finishing product that best suits your needs.
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Post by shinobi on Mar 18, 2016 1:25:09 GMT -5
For reasons that continue to escape me, shapeways use (in their FUD and FXD process) a plastic that is not well suited to models. It's brittle, and the finish has visible build lines or "grain". There IS a better material, which is intended for prototyping jewellery (IE for making a master for lost wax casting). It's a higher detail fidelity than FXD, and it's slightly flexible. However I've since lost track of the printer that uses this material. IIRC they are based in Toronto.
I've heard that the best way to deal with shapeways prints is to wash them using warm water and dish soap to remove the support wax. Then give the model a coat of auto shop plastic primer, and begin wet-sanding it smooth. Avoid the temptation to print objects with a lot of fine detail such as rivets, as this tends not to come out very well. IMO the best way to use shapeways is for prototyping kitbash parts to use as mold masters for casting resin duplicates. It CAN be used directly on models, but resin is much more resilient.
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Post by sbhunterca on Dec 30, 2016 12:08:03 GMT -5
Vapour smoothing is intended for smoothing the surface on parts printed in materials such as ABS, on extrusion printers.
It will NOT smooth the nylon or acrylic parts from Shapeways. Acetone will destroy acrylic parts fairly quickly. You don't want to go there!
Also note, even if you have a decent print from an extrusion machine (think glue gun), vapour smoothing breaks down the surface and allows the material to ooze together into a smoother glop. Any fine detail or sharp corners will be destroyed, or at least damaged.
Steve Hunter
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