Hi folks- we are a RP service bureau in the northeast. I am looking for someone (preferably not on the other side of the country) who has a Stratasys smoothing station, and who I can work with to get ABS parts smoothed and sealed. Drop a note to shawn@rnd-tech.com. Thanks a bunch.
I have a Dimension BST 768. As far as the vapor smoothing goes it really isn't anything too special. Acetone in a cup will work. The smoothing is more of an art form than an automated science. I've done it a few times. Vapor smoothing is not necessarily guaranteed to seal a part but dipping in a sealing epoxy will.
Ben
10 years, 1 month ago
0
rndtech
- Great stuff. I also engaged a resource at Stratasys, who shared this with me-
There are two main ways that we use. Solvent, and epoxy infiltration.
With the solvent method you simply brush on a solvent to the surface you want sealed. The solvent will dissolve the outer layer of plastic and seal up all the voids and pinholes in the part. Then you let it air dry for 24 hours and the solvent will gas out of the part. This is similar to how our ready part process works. This is a simple easy method if you need a part to hold water or air at low pressure, but will usually leak at anything over 5 psi or so. A good solvent to use is Weld-On #3.
The other method is epoxy infiltration. This method is best if you need to seal against high pressures or if you are sealing a solvent resistant material such as ultem or nylon. In this method you brush on a thick coat of liquid epoxy on all surfaces of the part. The porosity of the FDM part will soak up the epoxy into the inside of the part. After about 5 minutes all of the excess epoxy can be wiped from the surface with a lint free towel. The epoxy that has soaked into the part will remain inside and cure. If done correctly this does not add any material to the outside dimensions of the part. This method will seal up to several hundred PSI of pressure assuming the part is strong enough to hold up to this. The best epoxy to use is called Adtech ProBuild. It is a marine laminating epoxy.
Another method that we have not tested but is said to work well is to paint the outside of the part with a clear coat. We have heard from our Belgian office that they us spray can high temp engine enamel clear with good results.
10 years, 1 month ago
0
ovile
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3 years, 9 months ago
0
wadegaylord
- Nicely introduced the epoxy infiltration method by John and I want you to go for it because it looks pretty easy method as compare to traditional method. I visit https://www.dissertation-service.org/write-my-dissertation/ source to get assistance while writing my dissertation online. I am glad that here you shared amazing blog with us.
3 years, 9 months ago
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I have a Dimension BST 768. As far as the vapor smoothing goes it really isn't anything too special. Acetone in a cup will work. The smoothing is more of an art form than an automated science. I've done it a few times. Vapor smoothing is not necessarily guaranteed to seal a part but dipping in a sealing epoxy will.
Ben
There are two main ways that we use. Solvent, and epoxy infiltration.
With the solvent method you simply brush on a solvent to the surface you want sealed. The solvent will dissolve the outer layer of plastic and seal up all the voids and pinholes in the part. Then you let it air dry for 24 hours and the solvent will gas out of the part. This is similar to how our ready part process works. This is a simple easy method if you need a part to hold water or air at low pressure, but will usually leak at anything over 5 psi or so. A good solvent to use is Weld-On #3.
The other method is epoxy infiltration. This method is best if you need to seal against high pressures or if you are sealing a solvent resistant material such as ultem or nylon. In this method you brush on a thick coat of liquid epoxy on all surfaces of the part. The porosity of the FDM part will soak up the epoxy into the inside of the part. After about 5 minutes all of the excess epoxy can be wiped from the surface with a lint free towel. The epoxy that has soaked into the part will remain inside and cure. If done correctly this does not add any material to the outside dimensions of the part. This method will seal up to several hundred PSI of pressure assuming the part is strong enough to hold up to this. The best epoxy to use is called Adtech ProBuild. It is a marine laminating epoxy.
Another method that we have not tested but is said to work well is to paint the outside of the part with a clear coat. We have heard from our Belgian office that they us spray can high temp engine enamel clear with good results.