Questions tagged [post-processing]
Use this tag for questions about post processing, i.e. additional methods and processes after a print has been completed.
89
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How do I give 3D-printed parts in PLA a shiny smooth finish?
The surfaces of my printed parts using PLA plastic look rough and uneven.
Would changing filament to a better one make any difference?
If not, what kind of methods can I use to achieve a smoother ...
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votes
4
answers
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What glues for bonding printed PLA to injection-molded plastic?
I will be creating a small tube styled piece to use as a junction between two pieces of plastic. The idea is to reattach the two pieces and provide strength so they don't break apart again. I plan on ...
- 2,423
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votes
3
answers
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Are there any ways to make a 3D print transparent?
I am aware of several "clear" filaments for a ABS or PLA printer. They, however, have a cloudy or frosted glass appearance. I do not believe this is possible to eliminate but I believe it can be ...
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18
votes
6
answers
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Drilling 3D-printed plastic
I need to do some post processing of my 3D-printed models that includes adding some holes. For each of PLA, ABS, PETG and other 3D-printing materials:
In what ways is drilling a hole in a model made ...
- 650
18
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6
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How to remove white marks from PLA
When you cut or break a PLA model (for example to remove support) it often leaves an ugly while mark where the removed piece was connected.
Sanding also tend to leave dull white scratches on the ...
- 2,461
17
votes
7
answers
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What can I use to "sand" my ABS prints?
I have a 3d printer that uses ABS filament. The software I use will generate vertical supports for my objects before printing that can be easily broken off after they have been used during print to ...
- 281
17
votes
6
answers
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Prints are now sticking too well to the bed. What to do?
I'm a beginner. I've a Printrbot Play with a heated bed add-on. I'm using it exclusively with PLA.
It worked great initially, but then I took the nozzle out and put it back in, and the Z calibration ...
- 271
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votes
4
answers
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How to easily get rid of rafts and support structures?
My printed parts consist rafts, supports and other extraneous filament when printing with ABS or PLA.
What are efficient general techniques of removing them?
- 2,685
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votes
5
answers
462
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Secure disposal of 3D prints
The company I work for is protective of IP and has security procedures for disposing of anything that could be stolen for industrial espionage. Paper gets shredded and sent to trusted recycling ...
- 109
10
votes
2
answers
5k
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Water does not flow through 4 mm hole when there is a small amount, how to let water flow through small hole even when there is low pressure?
I have a 3D print where there are 5 holes with a diameter of 4 mm in a cup, and I would like liquid to flow through all 5 holes at once while slowly draining the cup (by slowly I mean: just take a few ...
- 103
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2
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Practical concerns smoothing PLA print with chloroform vapours
One way to give PLA prints a smooth finish is treatment with chloroform vapours (or other solvents, as mentioned in this answer). This method is even featured on Ultimaker website. I would like to try ...
- 193
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votes
2
answers
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How do I remove a 3D print stuck to the glass build plate
I printed a model and now I can't remove it.
I have been chiselling away with a putty knife and made little or no progress. I even heated the bed up to 70 °C. That really didn't seem to ...
- 265
7
votes
1
answer
953
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Bonding PETG to glass
I'm thinking of trying my hand at fabricating microfluidic devices. I'll be using a filament based on PETG (Zortrax's Z-glass filament, which is translucent and resistant to acids and bases). For my ...
- 1,529
7
votes
1
answer
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Maintaining fine details while applying smoothing methods
I've been reading and experimenting with Acetone vapour smoothing on some printed ABS parts. My problem is that I need to selectively smoothen the printed parts which vapor smoothing doesn't allow. In ...
- 673
6
votes
3
answers
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What is the best way to connect 3D printed parts? [closed]
I want to print a model of an animal cell.
What I have so far: I managed to use different colors to print out the different parts of the cell.
My question is: what is the best way to connect plastic ...
- 179
6
votes
3
answers
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How to remove a PLA print stuck to a BuildTak sheet
BuildTak is great because the printed plastic really sticks to it, it pretty much solved all the problems I had with prints detaching from the buildplate during printing.
However, it does sometimes ...
- 2,461
6
votes
1
answer
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Sandable primer suitable for PLA?
What kind of primer should I be using for my PLA prints?
I want to be able to sand the object after applying the primer for a smooth finish before painting.
Would something like this work?
https://...
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6
votes
2
answers
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Is Tetrahydrofuran viable for dissolving PLA and sticking PLA objects together?
According to Wikipedia, Tetrahydrofuran dissolves PLA. It also apparently dissolves PET.
THF is considered a relatively nontoxic solvent, with the median lethal dose (LD50) comparable to that for ...
- 512
5
votes
6
answers
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How can you both reliably print and remove your item, without breaking it when detaching it?
I have had problems with items sticking on the build plate, especially when they were big (as they didn't stick well, they corners warped -> all kind of problems).
I also wanted to upgrade my printer ...
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5
votes
3
answers
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How do you remove rough edges from completed prints?
All of my completed prints come out with rough edges. What are some methods for removing rough edges from 3D prints? Also, are there any ways to reduce rough edges on prints? For reference, I use a ...
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What temperature should I bake PLA prints at to increase strength?
I recall seeing that it's possible to "bake" or "anneal" or even "remelt" PLA prints to strengthen them. As I understand it, the main effect is improving layer adhesion, ...
- 1,641
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votes
3
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How should I go about printing easily removable rafts?
I have had a 3d printer for a while now, and I have a lot of the quality settings dialed in pretty well, but one thing that constantly bugs me is removing the raft from my finished prints. I am using ...
- 153
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What glues to use for PETG?
In analogy to: What glues for bonding printed PLA to injection-molded plastic?, what are the best glues to use for PETG?
I mostly print in PETG and have occasional failed prints which I usually ...
- 34.1k
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votes
2
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PLA coating for water irrigation 3D printed parts
I was considering printing some pieces for my irrigation system, like tube connectors and such. I am aware that PLA is hydrophilic so I was wondering with what kind of product I could coat the pieces, ...
- 446
5
votes
1
answer
2k
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How do I give 3D-printed parts in ABS a shiny smooth finish?
The surfaces of my printed parts using ABS plastic look rough and uneven.
What methods can I use to achieve a smoother finish for my for 3D-printed objects?
- 209
5
votes
1
answer
690
views
Stone-look surface via painting?
Has anyone tried painting a PLA (or other) print with stone-look spray paints? In particular, how does the result look compared to printing with stone-fill filaments? It looks a lot cheaper, but will ...
- 3,201
5
votes
2
answers
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How to smooth the surface of parts printed with Co-polyester (PET) filament
Are there any techniques for getting a smooth finish for parts printed with co-polyester (PET) filaments? More specifically, I am looking for an alternative that does not roughen the look of the part -...
- 3,977
5
votes
2
answers
12k
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Methylated spirits or turpentine to clean resin printer?
I'm new to 3D printing and have bought a resin printer.
Cleaning with Isopropol Alcohol seems to be the rage, however I think this is unaware of cost savings. It appears methylated spirits is ok and ...
- 51
5
votes
5
answers
1k
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Glue for attaching PLA pieces to titanium
I'd like to attach a piece I printed out of PLA to a small titanium rod. I've previously used Superglue (cyanoacrylate) to glue PLA pieces to each other with great success, but the problem is that if ...
- 243
4
votes
1
answer
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Would PC be considered food-safe in this setup?
I have one 3D printer with Makerbot mk10 extruder and I would like to print my custom cup for tea or coffee from PC.
Other than that, I came across idea that FDM printer will always leave small holes ...
- 310
4
votes
2
answers
21k
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How to remove exess filament from bed after removing model
Recently got an Anycubic I3 Mega Printer and I've been playing with what it can do, but after a model is done it leaves residue on the build plate behind that is bugging me. Do I NEED to remove it? If ...
- 133
4
votes
2
answers
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Cement or another solid pore filler suitable for ABS?
I want to paint my ABS parts. But I foresee a problem that will arise from 0.16mm layer - those layers will be perfectly visible, even with primer. Sanding them wouldn't be a good idea, because walls ...
- 43
4
votes
0
answers
656
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Perimeters/shells not properly fusing - delamination
I come to you all in my time of need, as I have nowhere else to turn. I’ve been a 3D printer for about two years now. I have an Ender 5 Plus.
Up to this point, all of my prints were fine straight out ...
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3
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How could I print a large sphere-like object?
I have a STL file with a rather large roughly-spherical object. I'd like to 3D print it to be fairly large, and hollow inside. Since the printer I'd be using has a max size of (18–20 cm)^3, I'd have ...
- 133
3
votes
2
answers
792
views
Post processing FDM for strength
I'm looking for a post processing method for increasing the functional strength of a 3d printed part originally made by FDM. I've tried printing my part with solid infill but the layer separation is ...
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3
votes
1
answer
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I painted an uncured UV resin print, now it feels sticky through the paint
I know that you are not supposed to cure resin prints in the window, but mostly it has been working OK for me. I mostly print minis and props for D&D.
Last week I printed some walls and was a bit ...
3
votes
2
answers
1k
views
How to get superglue off PLA filament?
So I'm making my friend a Monado sword replica and I've printed the handle in 2 pieces as to fill it with electronics and then superglue the 2 halves together.
I seem to have put too much on and it's ...
- 181
3
votes
3
answers
431
views
What's the best way to connect pieces of a large print after printing?
I have a number of fairly large printed pieces. The parts, when assembled, form a very large sword. (The model is this: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4178060, and is not mine.) It is about 7' ...
- 328
3
votes
2
answers
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SLA resin post-processing: gluing parts together
I've recently purchased an Elegoo Mars Pro 3d printer, and I was wondering when printing large pieces that need to be printed in different steps: is there some kind of post-processing to make it more ...
- 239
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votes
1
answer
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Should I cure my 3D printed resin model before or after sanding down imperfections?
When printing a 3D model on a resin printer should I sand down imperfections and marks left by supports before or after curing?
What are the benefits and drawbacks of doing it either way?
- 1,510
3
votes
3
answers
435
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Painting Text on Model
For a model that has raised text on it, how do go about painting the very top layer of text, to make it stand out from the background? Lets say I printed the whole model the same color, what type of ...
3
votes
2
answers
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Finishing sunken text in 3D prints
On several occasions I've wanted lettering/numbering printed as part of a design, but with the ability to make it stand out more effectively in the printed object without having to do detailed manual ...
3
votes
2
answers
924
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3D print retouch with soldering iron
Does anyone have any information about using a soldering iron to fix and retouch 3D prints?
On the market, for example, we can find Modifi3D pen. Why has nobody created a simple soldering tip for this ...
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3
votes
1
answer
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Why do most manufacturers recommend curing resin models before removing supports?
Why do manufacturers such as Elegoo always recommend that you cure your resin 3D prints before removing the supports, while hobbyist such as Uncle Joey usually recommend that you soak your models in ...
- 1,510
3
votes
1
answer
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overlaying epoxy resin on PLA
I've been experimenting with FDM 3D printers and PLA for about a year now.
I'm at the point where I'd like to produce something considerably stronger than PLA, and was wondering if there is a faux-pas ...
- 131
3
votes
1
answer
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What alternatives are there to sanding resin parts with fine details?
I have some transparent resin parts printed with a polyjet printer. Where the support contacted the part it has a matte finish. The recommended finishing technique for these parts is to sand them with ...
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3
votes
1
answer
994
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What kind of colors should I use to paint my PLA prints?
I'd like to paint my prints, which I printed using white PLA, with some colors. I have no idea what type of paint should stick to PLA well. I need paint that will not be soluble in water and will ...
- 512
2
votes
5
answers
137
views
Tips for printing and being able to get of base easily
I'm very new to 3D printing and I've had numerous failed prints. Sometimes, the print is good but while trying to get it off the base I end up bending or breaking the print.
My question is: How to I ...
- 227
2
votes
4
answers
11k
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Good lubricants for moving parts?
What materials work well for lubricating moving PLA, ABS, or PETG parts? I'm talking items like the
the Gear Bearings or Print in Place Engine.
I've played with a few lubricants on my own, including ...
- 2,234
2
votes
2
answers
142
views
Unbonding Hot Glue
I made a print that involves joining two halves together to create the full model. I decided to use hot glue to bond the halves and on one model, the parts came together slightly skewed. Is there any ...
