I would like your opinion.

3D Printing
,
1

I would like your opinion.
Are acrilyc parts reliable?

2

If you are laser cutting a part. Why not use abs? It is not as hard as acrylic, but it doesn’t crack…

3

I came across this part on the web, and I thought; ooooh, nice and shiny, got to have it, like the idiot I am. I had a perfect one in aluminium, but hey, I could not resist.
I can only guess how long this thing was causing (slight) havoc on my prints.I was watching a print today, and suddenly I noticed the hotend moving every time after a retract.
Does anyone have a nice STL for a printed sign that says " fool at work"?

4

Polycarbonate (Makrolon) is a better material.

5

Option D: all of the above?

Seriously hate acrylic. It’s terribly hard to work with.

6

I voted Never, but I sometimes lean towards Never. The other day, was convinced it was Never. Who knows tomorrow it might be…Maybe.

7

I messed around with laser cutting acrylic a couple months ago. I just think that if you can get away with wood, it is much more friendly to work with

8

Yes, it’s not perfect, but I still have two Fab@home 3D printers that are running and rely on an acrylic frame: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fab@Home

9

I like the notion that you can insert thermoplastic inserts in stuff like acrylic and for my Fab@Home, even though it cracks and I can repair it, it has held up well to abuse. Acrylic, even thick acrylic (6mm and up) works fine, just don’t make any sharp internal corners (stress concentrators) and do more with aluminum angle for larger joints. So acrylic for the box, delrin for the moving parts, for example, aluminum angle to hold it together.

10

I’ve had trouble even with things that don’t have much stress on them.

11

:frowning: :frowning: :frowning: You are going to see 65€ acryl:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/46522094/IMG_1453.jpg

12

Try policarbon instead

13

Acrylic, as fragile as glass and as weak as wood, what can go wrong? you can almost forgive that it releases highly toxic fumes while cut, right?

The CNC community loves the plastic IKEA cutting boards, they are easy to work and strong/recilient.
I wonder how they react to a co2 laser :wink:

14

I am busy building a 350 x 300 x 350 3D Printer and most of the carriage parts is laser cut out of 5mm high impact acrylic.
At first I was only using to prototype with as I have my own laser cutter, but then realized that it was fairly strong and rigid. My designs do favor the acrylic a bit as they are on the thicker side. Even the nema 23 motors are mounted using acrylic.

15

@Camerin_hahn have you tried to laser cut ABS before? It’s not pretty, and neither is the lining of your nose after taking the part out…

16

I bet you used loctite on the nut. For some reason, loctite makes acrylic split. Acrylic is fine when used correctly. My entire reprap prusa frame is made from it.

17

@Kaine_H No.

18

“X is fine when used correctly” is true for any X.

19

@Kaine_H , normal loctite 222, 242, or the like should never be used in contact with any plastics. Loctite makes a thread locker specifically for use with plastics. Forgot the grade number, but it’s cyanoacrylate, so in essence, super glue. I accidentally used 222 with ultem and abs in prototype production run of a device. Luckily we caught the failures within days. The thread locker was immediately switched out

20

So far, i only know personally 2 people with acrylic parts on their 3d printers. Both of them had to reluctantly remanufacture new parts themselves out of different material. The printers certainly looked good but they just don’t seem to last under normal use.