I am looking for printing settings for my Bambu Lab X1 Carbon for waterproof G1/2" fittings for the sanitary and hydraulic area. I have already tried some tests with standard print settings and the Printing surface looks good, but nevertheless often micro cracks seem to be present, so that in a pressure test, for example, even with a blind plug water presses directly through the lid. You can then see that water drops slowly come out of the material. One adapter was actually tight so far, but on the 4th try with identical settings.
Does anyone here have experience with waterproof parts? If not, does anyone have an idea how I can make waterproof parts?
Maybe someone can help me for the optmalen settings.
The material itself should be waterproof, so the goal is to make sure the print quality had back that up, aka no tiny gaps.
Slight overextrusion, higher then normal temps, slow print speed and many wall layers will help.
One thing I found was I got better results printing the parts are a 45Ā° angle on the print bed and using Tree supports. Gave better surfaces for the interface points.
This was for a project for an AC Drain system, so virtually no pressureā¦
Generally Iād suggest a very slight over extrusion and slow it down (Silent) during printing to ensure adhesion. Raise the nozzle temp just a bit too.
Also, lower the Fans a little. You really want adhered layers. Add another wall if you can. donāt get crazy on adding infill for strength, generally 25% is all you need for most things unless highly stressed.
The problem with the over extrusion of course, is parts not fitting together ā¦ {Sigh}
Overall, if you want waterproof you must sacrifice some time. Everything in 3D printing is compromises.
first of all, thank you very much for your contribution.
So far, there is a maximum operating pressure of 8 bar.
So I do not necessarily need solid material? But the wall and top and bottom layers must be properly sealed? Possibly the Z seams are not that good either. These are troublesome for a fitting anyway, especially if there are parts in the thread. There I would wish a function like Z-seam inwards or hide.
Increasing the pressure temperature could already be helpful. I would be cautious about over-extrusion. As you say, then the part might not fit anymore.
I have tried several variations. With printed thread and with half printed and cut variant. Both work from the thread.
Does it possibly make sense to increase the line overlap? To avoid micro holes?
Grade also the printing speed I would like to keep as possible.
I noticed that some layers are not generated very nicely or densely. I still have a resin 3D printer, but the material is very expensive compared to PETG and the impact strength is also worse. But a fitting from it has passed the leak test anyway.
Down the road, Iām planning not only an adapter, but also housing parts that have to withstand the pressure. If I canāt get a fitting tight, Iāll probably have very similar problems with the case parts.
Changes to the temperature, fan and speed have not yet brought any improvement.
Ill try to experiment with some settings, but im not sure how i can fix this problem.
Iāll second the advice to make sure the PETG is dry.
If thereās moisture you can get micro steam bubbles from the water boiling off in the nozzle. When they āpopā in the nozzle it puts small holes in the print.
Hmmm, interesting thought, I canāt see it hurting, thatās why I suggested to up the wall count.
Is it possible for you to post what this object is or is there some issue with security?
One other thought I had was if youāre doing the design in Fusion 360 or whatever, you might add Fillets at all the wall junctions instead of having 90Ā° connections, it should increase weathertightness and a touch of strength.
Thanks again. How was that? I mean the AMS system can also dry the filament? Or have I misunderstood? Somewhere I have seen something.
I have already used the corners with radii angled in the latest version to increase the number of individual lines for the transition. The wall lines are already increased so much that the whole thread and cylinder consists only of wall parts, so to speak.
What I noticed is that Bambu Studio does not always slice the same and that the top surface in my case consists of two parts. In this course it does not look very tight.
Only when I work with smoothing does the view in the slicer improve. I have also considered printing the complete part using all the flats smoothing function.
A next problem for the bottom could also arise from the PEI plate. Since a structure in dense places is not good. But in this case of a blind plug, this should be not a problem.
In my field test I also used resin objects. Logically, these are completely closed and smooth on the lid and base. Therefore, it seals very well here. On the other hand, I can clearly see that there are some unclean, crumbly spots in the thread from the recutting. Which is why I would definitely prefer PETG for durability.
I have also considered a post-treatment, but ultimately you should not forget that the goal should be the objects from the 3D printer are directly ready for use.
Hi,
thank you for the settings. What do you mean exactly with point
?
I have run another Test.
I printed with liniewidth 0,3mm and with Arachne with standard values and use the smooting option. The part was tight for only some secounds. You can see that the Water find a way between the bottom layers and comes out. A little bit like a smal filter. You can see the drops rising slowly.
The AMS System cannot dry already wet filament. It contains some silica gel and is airtight to prevent filament from getting wet (too much). The X1C Printer has a drying option for the build plate, how good it works I have no idea though.
If you have water running through the Z-Axis, you could also try to use ironing for every single layer. It will significantly increase print time though, but should keep the layers water tight much better.
What was all your settings on this last test can you screen shot them ?
If you right click on your part when you are in the prepare screen it will allow you to add modifier ( I would use a cylinder for this part and adjust the size and position of the cylinder to cover the threads only ) this way you can change the layer height on the threads to 0.16
@3DTech
That is a really good tip. Unfortunately, I have not really saved the last setting, because it also failed. Therefore, I have not remembered the exact settings.
As you can see, Iām currently also gone over only a few threads to print and the full thread with the appropriate tap to cut itself. This way I am more sure that no leakage occurs on the thread.
But it is a pity, to be able to produce really pressure-resistant parts even with this very good printer seems to be a not inconsiderable challenge. Especially because my housing parts in my project have to withstand the same pressure. I think almost without some trickery I will despair of the tightness.
@Thrawn Yes you are right. But there is a function directly on the printer that you can dry the material, but not in AMS System directly as i has imagine but you can place the material on the heatbed. For PETG drying there is a time reommanded around 12 hours. I think this is very long for only a drying process.
Thanks for the pictures! So this is a threaded cap? Are you designing this is Fusion 360?
The ātop surface consists of two partsā I do not understand. You are having the slicer show you two parts when you put it on the ābedā in the slicer??
Drying - As @Thrawn said, the AMS can help keep filament dry, but it is not a dryer.
Some filaments like PETG or any Nylon blends will absorb moisture from the air. Some Nylon can become compromised in as little as a few hours!
Filament that has too much moisture can exhibit many problems when printed - poor finish, bad layer adhesion, bad surface quality, and if thereās enough water in it it will pop bubbles as printing, scarring the print!
The solution is long slow heating, preferably in a low humidity environment. PETG usually needs 60-65Ā°C for 4 hours, but it varies by maker as all the plastics we use are blends and each varies.
Most people purchase and use a Filament Dryer or Dehydrator to drive moisture out of the filament. Many others use an oven of some sort. It must have an even temp and very accurate temperature control. Gas ovens are a problem since burning gas creates H2O as a byproduct.
One you have dried the filament it must be kept in a dry environment like the AMS or a thick sealed bag with desiccant. Note that every time you open the AMS you let in whatever the room air is. It takes hours or overnight to dry down inside the AMS, so try to plan your filament changes.
I also got another idea. Since you said you own a resin printer, why donāt you simply coat the print with a very thin layer of resin. It should fill all the tiny gaps and make it much more watertight.
I could imagine that if I immerse the entire print part in resin and then let it drip off, I might be lucky enough to have particles sticking between the pores that will seal after curing.
Another printing trick is you print with Gyroid infill pattern and fill the internals with resin or epoxy but this depends on the part design.
You would do like no top layers or you can stop the printer fill the internal of the part and restart the printer to finish the top layers off.
Maybe post all your precess petg settings and the filament settings and maybe we can help more fdm is hard to get water proof parts it has be done but everythings needs to be perfect.
I do print using pp filament for water proof protype parts on my Raise3d printers but can you use pp filament for your parts ?
