Vapor Smooth PLA

Jimustanguitar · Post by **Jimustanguitar** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 12:24 am

https://blog.adafruit.com/2015/03/05/pl ... dprinting/

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x7bezgJJaA[/youtube]

Jimustanguitar · Post by **Jimustanguitar** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 12:25 am

I knew THF was the right chemical to use, but I didn't know that I could buy it at the store. Cool!

teoman · Post by **teoman** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 1:06 am

What is thf and what can you buy it at the store?

Sorry, i watched the video but it is very noisy here, did not hear much.

Mac The Knife · Post by **Mac The Knife** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 9:03 am

They were using PVC pipe cleaner, a hardware, or plumbing supply store would have it. http://www.mscdirect.com/product/detail ... 0=37035946

mhackney · Post by **mhackney** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 10:40 am

PLEASE BE CAREFUL with this stuff. It is a mixture of acetone and methyl ethyl keytone (MEK) MEK is much more flammable and flashes with far less provocation than acetone and is carcinogenic (absorption through skin and breathing vapor). It is seriously nasty stuff so please do some research (google MEK and "PLA + MEK") before rushing into it.

Regards,
Michael Hackney Ph.D. Chemistry (adds credibility? and it's true)

teoman · Post by **teoman** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 12:00 pm

Fould a source for mek. 20 usd for5L.

Is it the mek component only or does acetone also play a role?

DavidF · Post by **DavidF** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 12:27 pm

The MEK substitute found at local hardware stores works too.

teoman · Post by **teoman** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 2:10 pm

I am afraid our hardware stores are a lot different than yours.

And use a different vocabulary.

KAS · Post by **KAS** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 3:04 pm

Huh, PVC cleaner? I have this in the garage right now.

be right back... I hope

KAS · Post by **KAS** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 3:27 pm

I just have the purple stuff, not sure if it would fume that color or not.
Brushed it on and applied a little heat, the PLA turned gooey then turned rock hard when it evaporated and cooled.

I don't have a heat plate.

[img]http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr189/Onuxis/20150308_151430.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr189/Onuxis/20150308_151935.jpg[/img]

teoman · Post by **teoman** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 3:30 pm

Thank you for the pictures.

KAS · Post by **KAS** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 3:36 pm

anytime.

This is what the PVC primer contains.

[img]http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr189/Onuxis/20150308_153355.jpg[/img]

bubbasnow · Post by **bubbasnow** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 6:13 pm

mhackney wrote:PLEASE BE CAREFUL with this stuff. It is a mixture of acetone and methyl ethyl keytone (MEK) MEK is much more flammable and flashes with far less provocation than acetone and is carcinogenic (absorption through skin and breathing vapor). It is seriously nasty stuff so please do some research (google MEK and "PLA + MEK") before rushing into it.

Regards,
Michael Hackney Ph.D. Chemistry (adds credibility? and it's true)

to the state of California, H20 is a carcinogenic...

DanHall · Post by **DanHall** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 9:50 pm

The NIOSH PEL for acetone is 1000ppm and for MEK it is 200ppm. Doc Hackney is just looking out for all of you. How many of you have the equipment at home to measure airborne concentrations? I don't. In the garage with properly rated gloves, both garage doors open, an APR and goggles... I have used MEK for removing automotive paint but it is still not a recommendation. Also be careful with heat sources or any other source of ignition.

I'm not a chemist like Doc but I am a Chemical Engineer who has spent a significant portion of my career dealing with chemicals that will kill at much lower dosages than either MEK or acetone.

barry99705 · Post by **barry99705** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 12:00 am

MEK is some nasty crap. We can't use it in the military anymore. Used to be a great paint remover.

Jimustanguitar · Post by **Jimustanguitar** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 8:19 am

Not only is it more flammable... PLA is made out of organic compounds, so anything that dissolves it will also dissolve you.

After reading a bit more on it, perhaps this chemical is a better candidate for cold vapor smoothing.

626Pilot · Post by **626Pilot** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 12:24 am

I understand people have used heated acrylic cement vapor to smooth PLA. I think that's rubber cement, isn't it? The fumes are still something you'd expect to find in a lake on Saturn, but perhaps better than that pipe cleaner stuff.

teoman · Post by **teoman** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 5:43 am

What is the main ingredient in that?

Mac The Knife · Post by **Mac The Knife** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 7:19 am

teoman wrote:What is the main ingredient in that?

http://www.tapplastics.com/uploads/misc ... el-1qt.pdf

Post by **Eaglezsoar** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 3:46 pm

Mac The Knife wrote:
teoman wrote:What is the main ingredient in that?
http://www.tapplastics.com/uploads/misc ... el-1qt.pdf

Not something I would want to do indoors.

626Pilot · Post by **626Pilot** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 1:34 am

Another thing you can do is coat your model with some of this stuff, which Taulmann found could make T-Glase almost completely transmissive to light (no layer-lines). The stuff works on PLA as well.

I would probably use it outdoors.

http://taulman3d.com/t-glase-optics.html

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