3D printed PLA plug finishing ideas

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3D printed PLA plug finishing ideas

Author	Message
U.S.U.L	U U.S.U.L posted 6 Years Ago HOT Topic Details
U Group: Forum Members Posts: 8, Visits: 283	Hi. I have been tempted to try out making a plug using 3D printed PLA plastic. As you can see besides the typical 3D printing layer lines the surface finish is far from perfect. The plan is to make epoxy system mould for epoxy infused CF parts. What method would you recommend so i can start making mould out of it? I was thinking about rough sanding the surface then applying epoxy filler followed by more filler/sanding finished by wet sanding and polishing. Would Easy-lease work on polished epoxy filler or do i need to wax with buffing?
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Lester Populaire	L Lester Populaire posted 6 Years Ago HOT Post Details
L Group: Forum Members Posts: 311, Visits: 13K	+x U.S.U.L - 10/22/2018 6:18:07 PM Hi. I have been tempted to try out making a plug using 3D printed PLA plastic. As you can see besides the typical 3D printing layer lines the surface finish is far from perfect. The plan is to make epoxy system mould for epoxy infused CF parts. What method would you recommend so i can start making mould out of it? I was thinking about rough sanding the surface then applying epoxy filler followed by more filler/sanding finished by wet sanding and polishing. Would Easy-lease work on polished epoxy filler or do i need to wax with buffing? I usually sand the pla roughly to get rid of the bigger imperfections and then I use a simple filler out of a rattle can which dries fairly quickly and sands super easily. After this I use a paste wax (formula five) as release agent. This works great as it leaves a good finish, the wax takes care of microporosity and as it is low in solvents it doesn't attack the spray filler. However, you need to make a few tests with the specific filler and release agent you would use. I found a system that works with is convenient for me as I am not very well equipped to spray 2k filler/paint, but if you can I would certainly recommend using 2 component stuff which will be much more durable. Cheers, Lester
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Warren (Staff)	Warren (Staff) posted 6 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Administrators Posts: 2.5K, Visits: 7.9K	Ideally stick with 2 pack fillers if you use them. A lot of people have problems with 1 pack fillers, primers and paints on the pattern causing a sticker in the mould as they can outgas especially when recently sprayed. Warren Penalver Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant
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scottracing	scottracing posted 6 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 460, Visits: 5.2K	Depending on the geometry and the finish you require you can sand out the rough build lines and then use a material like tooltec which is essentislly a ptfe sticky back film you apply to the surface. This evens out a lot of the build lines and is self releasing.
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U.S.U.L	U U.S.U.L posted 6 Years Ago HOT Post Details
U Group: Forum Members Posts: 8, Visits: 283	This is the complete printed plug ready for sanding Will this filler work? http://watersportsequipment.eu/en/product-view/3625.html or maybe a light-weight version: http://watersportsequipment.eu/en/product-view/3626.html
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