Hello Community,
This is my first post as I cannot find a solution and hoping someone can help me out.
I want to use PLA Translucent for a bleed kit i designed for mountain bike brake bleed. What is the correct drying procedure and if anyone knows, is the PLA brittle?
I want to use translucent so I can see how the bleed goes.
I follow the 45 degrees for 12 hours guidance on the wiki: Filament Drying Recommendations | Bambu Lab Wiki
The filament is brittle - more so if not dry (from my experience at least). When dried, I haven’t had many issues with multi-color prints although using a Filament Track Switch can increase the chance of breakage around the switch.
I wouldn’t call it brittle as it does bend quite a bit before breaking.
Mountian bike is outdoor? PLA is harmed by UV light which causes it to crack. It can also soften in the hot sun. Recommend ASA for any outdoor print (as a bare minimum).
Here are bambu’s recommendations for outdoor objects. Best 3D Printing Filament for Outdoor Use | Bambu Lab US
For outdoor, you could consider PETG transparent. PETG is quite UV resistant.
ASA would have been better, but that doesn’t exist in a transparent variant unfortunately.
PCTG is better than PETG since it’s more transparent and UV resistant. Not as much as ASA but it’s better than PETG.
My understanding, which could be wrong, is that the bleeder is only attached when you bleed the brakes, then you put it back in your kit and bleeding is usually done in a shop type enviro, unless you are hard core and carry one to do in the middle of a race or run.
Edit: OP maybe familar with properties already but for me I would need to take a sample of whatever I decided to use and set it in some of the brake fluid for a while and see if it reacted in anyway.
PLA gets brittle when it absorbs moisture from the air. You can dry the filament and print with it, but your print will absorb moisture from the air and become brittle just as the filament on the spool does.
The solution is not to use PLA for anything that has to last, anything you care about, or anything you can’t guarantee will never be exposed to heat. PLA is best suited for support material for PETG prints, or for tugboats and starwars junk that will be thrown away a few minutes after the print finishes.