Polymaker PolySmooth filaments?

[jeffmorris]

Are there tips and tricks on printing with Polymaker PolySmooth filaments? Do I really need the $300 Polymaker Polysher? I found a web site where someone built his own machine at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2219628

[jeffmorris]

I got a spool of white Polymaker PolySmooth filament from Amazon today. I printed a test cube and it looked good. I printed the 3D Benchy boat and I think it looked good. I printed a car door which required supports and I think there is under-extrusion on the surface where supports were attached to. The supports were easy to remove. I printed the small gears for an automatic transmission and they looked good. I'm in the process of printing the P1 carrier - P2 ring gear part. I hope that the part looks good. I didn't buy the machine for smoothing the prints.

CIMG0135.jpg

[curious aardvark]

if you do make your own polisher - just be careful - 70% ehtyl alcohol isn't stuff to mess about with too much.

[jeffmorris]

As long as the bottom of a printed object is flat against the build platform, it's good. I tried to print a trunk lid for a model car that has curved surfaces on top and bottom but it's not good even with supports and rafts.

[curious aardvark]

umm. you seem to have got the worng end of the stick jeff.
Polysmooth only gets smooth when it's misted with alcohol.

If you don't do that, then it's never going to produce results any better or worse than any other filament.

[jeffmorris]

Curved surfaces on bottom of objects printed with PETG look worst than

objects printed with

PLA. I wish that there is a new kind of 3D printer that can print smooth curves on objects. I tried using PolySmooth as support material for PETG and I thought that it worked but c

urved surfaces

on bottom of objects

don't look better.

[curious aardvark]

for better supports you want polySUPPORT - NOT polysmooth :-)
Pretty much the only thing that will improve the look of curved surfaces is smaller layer heights - ie: more layers, and a super strong print area cooling fan.

I've also seen - a few years back - a slicer that could use a delta to print curves in one go rather than layers.
It was one of those articles tghat popped up once and then I never heard of again.
It was one reason i got a delta. Though i have absolutely no clue who was doing it.

This kind of thing: https://hackaday.com/2016/07/27/3d-p...nar-layer-fdm/

It will work on standard cartesian machines - but deltas are where it should really shine :-)

[jeffmorris]

I wanted to buy PolySupport but Amazon doesn't have it in stock. I may try printing the trunk lid standing up so that the curved surfaces are smooth. I checked out the link and I think that the G-code works on Slic3r and not Simplify3D.

[jeffmorris]

P

rinting the trunk lid standing up worked! The curved surfaces are smooth. I also printed the hood standing up and it worked. They needed rafts.

[curious aardvark]

so are you making a car ?