Best material for outdoor name plates!
I have been asked to make a number of name plates that can be put next to trees. The plates are to give both the scientific name in Latin and the local 'common language' name. Plates are to have an expected lifetime of 10 years in an outdoor environment in the Netherlands.
Plates will consist of a base, approx, 100x175x3 mm, with letters 3 mm thick in a contrast color. Exact colors are not decided yet.
I have two questions:
- Which material would be suited best for this job? I was thinking PETG, but maybe ASA or PC would be better choice?
- Which colors are best avoided in view of deterioration/fading under uv light?
RE: Best material for outdoor name plates!
I had mixed experiences with PETG. I have some PETG bird houses that still look great years later. I have some signs that look like crap (color has been scraped by wind and weather). I now use ASA but don't have enough long term experience (a few years outdoors) to comment on it. I would hope it will do better than PETG. I also have some holders for outdoor cameras I printed with PC-CF, and they have held up extremely well.
Much depends on exposure to wind, rain, sunlight, etc. The bird houses I mentioned are sitting under tree branches and are quite protected. The signs are out in the open.
Myself, I would go with ASA or PC-CF. PC-CF, I love but good luck finding colored PC-CF. Pure PC you can get in different colors but I for one have not been very successful printing anything of a reasonable size with PC.
Formerly known on this forum as @fuchsr -- https://foxrun3d.com/
RE: Best material for outdoor name plates!
Much depends on exposure to wind, rain, sunlight, etc. I had mixed experiences with PETG. I have some PETG bird houses that still look great years later; they sit under tree branches and are quite protected. I have some signs that look like crap; they're in the open and color has been scraped by wind and weather. I now use ASA but don't have enough long term experience (as in, having sit them outdoors for a few years) to comment on it. I would hope it will do better than PETG. I also have some holders for outdoor cameras I printed with PC-CF, and they have held up extremely well, directly exposed to the elements.
Myself, I would go with ASA or PC-CF. PC-CF, I love but good luck finding colored PC-CF. Pure PC you can get in different colors but I for one have not been very successful printing anything of a reasonable size with PC.
Formerly known on this forum as @fuchsr -- https://foxrun3d.com/
Bare plastic often suffers when used outdoors.
In the Netherlands, you can expect UV light damage year round and freeze/thaw cycles in the winter. Expanding ice in the interlayer interstices can burst a print very quickly leading to a softening or even breaking of the part. UV resistance depends on the plastic used but usually starts with discolouration and then cracking/crazing of the surface layers.
For non-technical outdoor use I have mostly migrated to using BioPro from 3DTomorrow, easy to print, UV resistant and almost as tough as PETG.
I suggest borrowing a technique from old fashioned cast iron street signs: Print raised lettering, at least 5mm proud of the surface and then paint - the correct paint will protect from UV and also prevent rainwater seeping into the structure. Paint the whole sign with two coats of the background colour then use a roller (or face dip) to colour the foreground raised lettering. Depending on the plastic/paint combination you may need a primer.
I'm not sure if your planned dimensions are practical, names like Aesculus hippocastanum and Acer pseudoplatanus are going to need space if they are to be legible; I suggest trial printing before finalising the plan.
Cheerio,
RE:
10 years outside ? I would not even start considering 3D printing for this.
I'm Dutch so I'm painfully aware of our fine (urgl) climate. Have them lasered or CNC-ed out of proper material. Check for 'graveerplaat' or the like. Example: https://lasersheets.nl/products/graveerplaat-abs
If you live near Wageningen, contact your friendly local FabLab who may help you further.
RE: Best material for outdoor name plates!
I used PETG, and besides the i and l in second row all is fine.
Outside for 2 or 3 years in southern Germany.
RE: Best material for outdoor name plates!
I second Diem's suggestion of painting the parts instead of printing in different colors. I've had very good success doing this with outside parts. I have a flag pole holder that I mounted outside 10 years ago. It was printed in n-Gen and painted to match the trim color of the house. It is still going strong. I have house numbers printed in petg mounted on the front and sides of a metal mailbox that is painted gloss black. the numbers were painted a) to seal them from water/freezing and b) I wanted them white and didn't have any white filament on hand at the time. These numbers are in direct sunlight on a hot metal surface all day long and and are holding up very well.
RE:
ABS, ASA, PC, PA, are what Ive used outdoors. I have examples used around the farm and home, some older then ten years, and some are working parts. As well TPU and TPE hold up crazy good outdoors even keeping their colors reasonably well after 8 years in the sun and weather with heavy to regular use, NinjaFlex especially.
Keep in mind that these materials come in varying grades, they are not all created equal.
RE: Best material for outdoor name plates!
I am considering to use ASA for uv resistance and 'seal' the surface with acetone to reduce porosity and foothold for algae and other growth. I would prefer to have the letters printed in a different color but need to find a way to avoid contamination. Maybe just print and seal them separately and 'weld' the dry letters in the wet baseplate.
TPU is another option I want to look at. It would allow to ply the plate around the (round) post.
The place is not far from Wageningen, in fact I pass by there on the way, but laser cutting plates I think would be expensive, the plates they want are pretty large. The sample I printed now in PLA is about 15 cm wide and 6 cm high.
The 'S' of sylvatica should be in lower case ...
Cheerio,
RE: Best material for outdoor name plates!
I use ASA and have no problems, and this is in AZ where it can get over 140F in the sun.
RE: Best material for outdoor name plates!
@efvee
Tpu is also great for the environmental conditions described in your area, with excellent layer adhesion . Something with a shore hardness of 75D, I'm going to mention "NinjaTek Armadillo", I'm not pushing the products of Ninjatek, I'm using them as examples because they have proved to be what they claim. However I would think that other high end TPU's in the 75D to 80D durometer would work well. A nice thing about about the higher durometer filaments is that they print like a dream, almost like printing PLA can be, and with no warping, most manufactures offer great color selection.
BTW, I like the the look of the plaque, the layers are reminiscent of tree rings in my mind, and the height of the letters looks good, remember if you bend it around a post it will have the effect of widening the kerning (space between letters) if the radius of the post is tight. Assuming you print it flat then bend it to the post.
Good luck with the project, I'd be interested in seeing how it turns out.
RE: Best material for outdoor name plates!
The 'S' of sylvatica should be in lower case ...
Cheerio,
Yes, of course. Thank you.
RE: Best material for outdoor name plates!
@snuffleupagus:
Yes I think high Shore D filament would be great.
NinjaTek say on their site they're phasing the Armadillo line out, depleting their stocks. I would need to find another. I could use it for other purposes also. I have good experience with Shore 40D TPU but for some projects it simply is too elastic.
I print the plates flat, of course. They want the plates 'between 15 and 20 cm' but from what I have seen the trunks they want to cut the poles from do not have the diameter to have that in a section.
Yes the 'growth rings' are a nice feature. It was not my intention to have them, but I like them too.