Need something 3D printed?

[James79]

I know this is from a couple months ago, but this is a fantastic offer and I wanted to comment. I really enjoy 3D printing as well. I just have a 6x6x6 FDM printer, and do a lot of "around the house" printing in PLA, and I've done outdoorsy stuff out of printed out of ABS. Its a really cool feeling when you successfully print something that either doesn't exist (and it works) or fix something broken (that is no longer being made). I haven't dabbled in resin yet, and maybe now is the time:

The first thing I did when I got my new backplate was design and print a cool bungie bracket to hold a dsmb directly to the bottom right back instead of dangling off a d ring. It needed voids for the webbing slots a couple other through-holes, so it was a pretty precise part. Every time I print something I learn something new. This time I figured out that I could take a 3d design and export it as a 2d .svg and it would be line drawing where the part intersected the plane. I could then print that svg on a laser printer and hold it up to the back plate, making small adjustments and re-printing on paper until everything lined up perfectly before wasting a bunch of filament on actual 3d test prints. But I digress....

Final iteration came out beautifully, but I never used it.

As I was threading the bungie through the keepers, something my (yours too I'd wager) instructor did in one of the first training dives came "flooding" back. Remember that thing where they took a water bottle full of air at the surface, and then capped it and slipped it into their BCD, and then later pulled it out at the bottom and it was this little crushed mini-bottle of air at multiple atmospheres of pressure?

I thought to myself.... Every little hexagonal void in this beautiful 3d print I just made is a little mini water bottle... Its not going to fail spectacularly, but there's a good chance after a couple dives this cool bracket is going to be delaminating, water will slowly fill the voids and its going to be a hot mess right quick.

Is it just me or is 3d printing scuba parts using FDM just not going to work?

I FDM lots of stuff for scuba... But I print at 100% infill.

 

[The Chairman]

The best I could do is a material called TPU. It's flexible but I'm not sure if it would work for your needs.

TPU might just be perfect for that. Great idea!

 

[davehicks]

I know this is from a couple months ago, but this is a fantastic offer and I wanted to comment. I really enjoy 3D printing as well. I just have a 6x6x6 FDM printer, and do a lot of "around the house" printing in PLA, and I've done outdoorsy stuff out of printed out of ABS. Its a really cool feeling when you successfully print something that either doesn't exist (and it works) or fix something broken (that is no longer being made). I haven't dabbled in resin yet, and maybe now is the time:

The first thing I did when I got my new backplate was design and print a cool bungie bracket to hold a dsmb directly to the bottom right back instead of dangling off a d ring. It needed voids for the webbing slots a couple other through-holes, so it was a pretty precise part. Every time I print something I learn something new. This time I figured out that I could take a 3d design and export it as a 2d .svg and it would be line drawing where the part intersected the plane. I could then print that svg on a laser printer and hold it up to the back plate, making small adjustments and re-printing on paper until everything lined up perfectly before wasting a bunch of filament on actual 3d test prints. But I digress....

Final iteration came out beautifully, but I never used it.

As I was threading the bungie through the keepers, something my (yours too I'd wager) instructor did in one of the first training dives came "flooding" back. Remember that thing where they took a water bottle full of air at the surface, and then capped it and slipped it into their BCD, and then later pulled it out at the bottom and it was this little crushed mini-bottle of air at multiple atmospheres of pressure?

I thought to myself.... Every little hexagonal void in this beautiful 3d print I just made is a little mini water bottle... Its not going to fail spectacularly, but there's a good chance after a couple dives this cool bracket is going to be delaminating, water will slowly fill the voids and its going to be a hot mess right quick.

Is it just me or is 3d printing scuba parts using FDM just not going to work?

I have experimented with creating some 3d printed floats for ULCS arms. The complexity is making an air-tight print. My first attempt took on water and fizzed out champaign bubbles on ascent. But it did not crush at depth down to 80 or 90 feet. I think I used around 30% infill to maximize buoyancy. I really need to give it another try, this time with additional wall layers and fewer corners. I suspect it would have been fine with even less infill.

For a design like a bracket, I would probably use 100% and PETG or ABS rather than PLA.

 

[The Chairman]

I really need to give it another try,

Use sealant.

 

[Gone for diving]

Use sealant.

View attachment 814552​

Just what I was thinking. Rustoleum Double coat,
makes a paint thats good for plastic
Probably bite really nice into fresh plastic.

 

[The Chairman]

I use that on a few of the things I print for my Kayak and some covers for my zero-turn.

 

[Badger7]

I have experimented with creating some 3d printed floats for ULCS arms. The complexity is making an air-tight print. My first attempt took on water and fizzed out champaign bubbles on ascent. But it did not crush at depth down to 80 or 90 feet. I think I used around 30% infill to maximize buoyancy. I really need to give it another try, this time with additional wall layers and fewer corners. I suspect it would have been fine with even less infill.

For a design like a bracket, I would probably use 100% and PETG or ABS rather than PLA.

Have you ever read about "acetone smoothing" for ABS prints? If you're looking to purposefully leave voids for flotation, but want a really good seal on the outer layers, can't help but wonder what would happen if you suspended the part in a sealed glass aquarium with a fan and a big bowl of nail polish remover. Just might fill in all the tiny exterior perforations and give you something nice and watertight.

Sorry if I'm hijacking this thread, but 3d printing and scuba are two of my favorite things.

 

[The Chairman]

Have you ever read about "acetone smoothing" for ABS prints? If you're looking to purposefully leave voids for flotation, but want a really good seal on the outer layers, can't help but wonder what would happen if you suspended the part in a sealed glass aquarium with a fan and a big bowl of nail polish remover. Just might fill in all the tiny exterior perforations and give you something nice and watertight.View attachment 814633

Sorry if I'm hijacking this thread, but 3d printing and scuba are two of my favorite things.

That's an amazing transformation. Thanks for sharing, you hijacker, you.

 

[Arkman]

Have you ever read about "acetone smoothing" for ABS prints?

I have, I haven't tried it though. I have done very little ABS printing, but I'd like to try more. The acetone smoothing does kind of make me nervous though. Vaporizing something like acetone seems like a good way to cause some serious problems for yourself

 

[raftingtigger]

Have you ever read about "acetone smoothing" for ABS prints? If you're looking to purposefully leave voids for flotation, but want a really good seal on the outer layers, can't help but wonder what would happen if you suspended the part in a sealed glass aquarium with a fan and a big bowl of nail polish remover. Just might fill in all the tiny exterior perforations and give you something nice and watertight.View attachment 814633

Sorry if I'm hijacking this thread, but 3d printing and scuba are two of my favorite things.

My acetone smoother bath is OUTSIDE, and uses a small one burner electric stove. I have a deep pot that is lined with paper towels. The towels are held up along the sides by magnets. Put a 1-2mm deep layer of acetone (nail polish remover is cheaper than hardware store and just the same if 100%) and heat on the lowest setting. Then suspend your part in the 'vapor bath' for a few seconds until it looks wet.

I have been doing this technique for parts we use at a commercial business I'm 1/2 owner in. That said, printing in ABS is tricky. I love TPU, and PLA+ works pretty good. I've got quite a few parts I've made. Computer covers, Dive Rite style QRM light mounts, camera stuff, reels, etc.

A couple of my prints accidentally spent months at about 60 feet in sea water. Both the light, light mount, and reel survived intact. In those cases the prints were PLA+