75
Melting 3D Printed eReader cases on my deck.
(programming.dev)
I made a 3d printable eReader case for my wife. Wanted to test what would happen if we water logged them and left them in the sun to dry.
Two of the cases are made from PLA while the other is made from PETG. They are all held together by thread and leather.
The test here is to see if moving from PLA to PETG was the right move since the last time I did this, the case turned into a banana.
My eventual plan once I've finished with my testing is to sell these cases and make their designs available for others to print.
Yes, PLA creeps ridiculously fast in hot conditions it is unsuitable for use in any environment over 35C tbh.
PETG is better but will still warp/fade over time if it's exposed to the sun, and likely need replacing.
You need to be printing in ABS or ideally ASA if you want all-weather resistant cases. Which means now your printer needs an enclosure and ventilation...
Would love to print in ABS, but every time I tried the parts always warped. PETG is nicer and has very rarely warped on me.
Yeah ABS is super finicky to print, a temp controlled enclosure is mandatory and you often need perfectly prepped full adhesive plates with large print brims. But it's definitely the only true weather-tolerant plastic if you can get it to behave.
I think if I was ever at that point. I’d just use injection moulding
I just put a Amazon box over my printer, turned on brim, turned off part cooling and put glue stick over the print area! No warping from it! Did a lot of my voron parts like this before I built a proper enclosure!
It doesn't have to be anything super complicated, it just needs to keep the heat in
An Amazon box probably works really well as a free enclosure, but I'd worry about the fire risk. The enclosure I made I put a fire detector in just to be safe, making it out of paper would make me very paranoid.
I did the same when printing my Voron parts in ASA. I didn't use a glue stick and everything went pretty smoothly. I even put cardboard panels on my Voron while printing my magnetic panel clips, lol