Forget Acetone - Sandblast your 3D prints

I hear people talking about using Acetone vapor baths all the time, in order to make FDM printed items look more appealing. Afterall, we all hate those lines in prints. However, there is this one guy who has been sandblasting his 3D printers as an alternative to Acetone. Sure it will give the prints a different texture (not that shiney texture from acetone). They look really great though.

http://cdn.instructables.com/FY8/0O1...ANX.MEDIUM.jpg
http://cdn.instructables.com/FI2/4LJ...AA5.MEDIUM.jpg
http://cdn.instructables.com/FU6/A25...4QT.MEDIUM.jpg

This method also provides noise reduction (if needed).

More details on this at: http://www.instructables.com/id/3D-P...oved-Surface-/

I just think they look really great!

This is very nice looking. Are there cheap/affordable ways to sandblast though? I always thought the equipment is quite pricey.

What I do with ABS just a little bit of scraping Sanding about 5 to 10 minutes just that there is any high spots. And then about eight coats high solvent lacquer the solvent melts the surface a little bit this is a picture of a dragon I done that wayhttp://i1333.photobucket.com/albums/...ps99646572.jpg

yancy, what media are you using in your blaster and what psi are your running? i have crushed glass in my cabinet which might be a little too aggressive for plastic. not sure

Looks cool, but isn't acetone few dollars and sand blasting tools over 1000?

You can get sandblasting enclosures for relatively cheap. http://www.harborfreight.com/catalog...lt?q=sandblast Of course, that is harborfreight, so quality is so-so, but since we're 3d printers, making appropriate modifications is easy. You could get away with a small setup for < $500 (I'd highly recommend a cabinet, or else you'll have to make your blast area look like a Dexter kill room every time you wanted to blast). Since I have access to industrial grade blasters (one of our 'cabinets' is big enough to get entire car into), I don't plan on getting a home setup soon. But these low grade home setups are excellent for our needs, low pressure and the media is relatively cheap. I go through 4-8 bags of media a day at work, but at home I can't see using much beyond a bag or so a year. Personally, I'd be interested in seeing how the walnut shells work on plastic, but I do know that 54 grit aluminum oxide at low (20ish psi) pressures does well on plastic for paint adhesion, but a higher grit would probably do even better.

assuming you have a compressor which can provide an adequate air supply then the cheapest route you can go is just get a bag of media for $20 and you can pick up a cheap gun/hose/pickup tube for 10 bucks. stick it in the bag and your off and running. its certainly nothing i would use professionally but for a home user to just blast some prints it would do fine.

How long do you have to run it in the sandblast? Been interested into those stuff but totally turn off when guides explain how compressor vendor just try to sell crap out of it. Do typical consumer compressor work well on the long run, or do you have to buy those expansive 2 stage compressor? What about the flow rate and pressure input?

the cfm needed from a compressor to sandblast is determined by the nozzle size of the blaster. smaller nozzle = less air required. i have blasted with as little as 9-10cfm elec shop size compressor and as much as 185cfm which is a big diesel powered unit. if your looking for a compressor you dont need a big 2 stage unit but you should buy one that atleast has a cast iron pump. dont buy one of these oilless ones you see around. those wont last a month with continuous duty.

I don't mind dirty works, and I always believed that maintenance have to done eventually to make sure everything runs nice.

This is really a great idea.

However, acetone doesn't only smooth the surface, it actually improves the layer adhesion on all surfaces treated - it fuses them even better, where they are exposed to the vapor.

You can even build through-holes oriented with the Z into your design, so that the acetone treatment fuses the layers in multiple locations throughout your print - if you need to prevent delamination in mechanically demanding situations.

I'm with the Acetone group, much cheaper, easy to work with, and has a great finish + bonds layers better.

Well think of this way, acetone works for ABS, but gets thrash result against PLA and other filament based material. You either have to have a set of solvent to work out, and last time I have used DCM , those evaporate much faster, it does go through vinyle glove and burn your palm.

Cost money, but then works pretty much with anything if you don't mind the medium grade finishing.

The advantage of blasting over Acetone is that it will smooth out the major bumps (layers) and roughen up the surface in general. It will allow for better paint and glue adhesion. Once you have a good blasting setup (ie cabinet), blasting is just as easy, if not easier per application, than an acetone vapor bath.

Each method has it's place, just depends on what you want.

Acetone has less predictable, less controllable and uneven (caused by gravity and how acetone vapor moves in your chambler) final result and a glossy finish you might not want which could be achieved by other means such as spray painting.

I'd give sandblasting a try. I'm clear on what cabinet I should get. But what's the most minimal compressor I can use? Low on budget.

Maybe I'll try a rock thumbler first. Still less predictable and controllable, but somewhat more even and not glossy.

I have tried to find an "all in one solution" which includes blasting cabinet, pen and air compressor... no luck so far. Any suggestion ?

sorry in my last post i said you need a large 2 stage compressor. i meant you dont need one. a smaller compressor, say 5-6 cfm will work but i dont know if you can find a nozzle that small for your blaster. if you cant then you will blast for a min or 2 then have to wait for the tank to refill. this is fine for something small but a real pia for anything larger. for anyone here in the us anyway, take a look on craigslist. people are getting rid of compressors all the time. you can probably pick up a really good quality used one for a few hundred bucks. a good compressor will last years and years. i know guys who have compressors that run daily that are 30,40,50 years old.

for those of you that have air and want to do this on the cheap then just get yourself one of these and just buy a bag of media and stick the tube right in the bag.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Air-Sand...item35e3451812