I'm 3D Printing a set of Dash Panels with Gauges
I don't want to derail your thread but if you could briefly explain the support material you are discussing I'd appreciate it. I'm familiar with the results of several types of 3D printing from prototypes at work but I've not heard of this support material. Is it something you are feeding in addition to the base material and it provides structural support somehow? Is it an additional option I need to look for on the machine I buy or can any one be adapted? I'm retiring in a few weeks and the first purchase will be a decent 3D printer and then I'm converting my milling machine to CNC. I have a lot of ideas to play with for car parts.
Yeah no problem. I use a Bambu X1c printer with the automated material system. It allows printing of 4 different materials through one extruder head. Because I can print multiple materials in the same print then I can use a different material for supports. Supports are generated when you bring a model into the printers slicing software and there are areas that cannot print well because the filament would fall. Think of a table…you have 4 legs, but if you were printing it the main part of the table has nothing under it.
So the slicer generates supports that build up from the bed as you print the part, and then serve as a raised area for the part to print on where needed. You can print supports with one single filament, but when supporting a completely horizontal overhang it’s nearly impossible to both a) leave enough of a gap so that the support can be removed later and b) have the underside where the support touches the part be a good smooth surface.
So if I need a support that can be removed and I want the surface to be smoother, I need two filament materials. One for the part, and one for the support that can dissolve or break away. Soluble supports can get expensive, so in my case for my radio module instead of printing the entire support in soluble material I left a .04mm gap between the support and the underside of the part, and printed two layers of support material at .02mm height to fill the gap and provide a complete raised surface for the overhang. These two layers are called the support interface. Specifically, the support material I use is called Ionic and is a type of material called PVA
When it works it’s brilliant, but in these high temp materials it is tricky to get all parameters right, especially considering it’s an attempt to balance the needs of two different materials. For a beginner, the X1 would be a great printer choice as so much of the process of dialing things in is automated for you
If you do order an X1 there will be a wait…while you’re waiting join the Bambu Facebook group and look at the issues others have and note what respondents say is the fix, that way you won’t waste too much time and filament or damage something.
