Noob questions, The Machine

[fredk]

...
The application dictates the tools.

That about says it all.

Ardvark, I understand your dislike of ABS. Its stinky and somewhat hard to work with. For your applications, it offers no benefit.

For many of my applications I need the following: chemical resistance to salt water and its constituents, reasonable strength, some pliability, the ability to easily bond to itself and other similar materials, the ability to be or become water tight at no or very low pressure.

The first and last eliminate a number of materials. ABS hits all the marks and works very well. For the few people I know 3d printing parts, it is the go to material. I know of one individual who has recently printed and built a ball valve assembly using ABS.

For some idea of the applications, have a look at this thread. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...2547305&page=5 The page I linked to shows the ball valve assemblies. Page 8 shows a generic filter that is used to hold a wide variety or media.

The big downside to ABS is that it produces noxious fumes while printing. I live in an apartment so that is a large concern to me.

Polycrbonate meets many of the requirements, but I'm not sure how water tight it can be printed or made. PETG sounds like an awesome material, but I have no idea if it comes off the printer water tight. Its chemical resistance means vapor polishing is impossible.

I'm thrilled to hear you have a salt water tank Todd. You know what I'm looking for.

Thank you both for your comments they have been very helpful.

[Todd-67]

The big downside to ABS is that it produces noxious fumes while printing. I live in an apartment so that is a large concern to me.


I'm thrilled to hear you have a salt water tank Todd. You know what I'm looking for.

The fumes are way overblown when you have an enclosed printer.

Funny you're a member of ree central as well..... I will have to check that thread out. I only hang out there in the winter. That is when I have time. The printing stuff is an everyday professional thing.

[fredk]

The fumes are way overblown when you have an enclosed printer.

Having grown up on a farm through the '70s and '80s I watched a lot of the older guys handling chemicals without protection and doing maintenance/trouble shooting with bare hands. Lots of them ended up with not so good outcomes. I'm cautious when it comes to anything potentially noxious.

Funny you're a member of ree central as well..... I will have to check that thread out. I only hang out there in the winter. That is when I have time. The printing stuff is an everyday professional thing.

I've been a member of RC for a very long time. Lots of interesting stuff going on there.

It's cool that you are printing professionally. My impression is that most people at the moment are doing fun stuff, so don't pay as much attention to material properties. I see a lot of potential for customized fittings for many tank plumbing and filter needs, but the materials have to hold up over time.

I wonder if RC could benefit from a dedicated 3D printing thread in the DIY area. It is an ideal application of the technology.

[fredk]

Done. Ordered the Black Widow. In the end I decided I did not want to deal with the up front fiddling with the Tarantula to get it more stable for printing.

Its only money...

Thanks all for your help.