Q - Internal support ideas for long horizontal tube (removal of support, PETG)
Question - Internal support ideas for long horizontal tube (removal of support, PETG)
Project includes a horizontal tube with an interior diameter of 5cm (1/2") and about 280mm (11") long(deep?).
Even on prototypes of 1/4 the length, removing the internal support is problematic. Printing in PETG since it will carry gasoline (petrol).
Ideas on how to support the interior of the tube as it is printed?
I have considered making the internal opening a triangle or a pentagon so it ends in a ^ top so it may not need support and though functional it would be nice to have a round cross section.
Thoughts?
RE: Q - Internal support ideas for long horizontal tube (removal of support, PETG)
No idea what your project is for, nor how much access you have to the cylinder after printing, but here’s some random (maybe impractical) ideas:
1. Make use of a tool changer as printer and use a support material that dissolves in water like PVA filament.
2. Print the tube with internal support shaped like “^” as you mentioned, and also print a separate friction-fit insert with an exterior shape matching the tube but then with a circular bore through the insert itself. You could even design some recesses for O-rings at the start and end of the plug.
3. Print the cylinder with 100% infill and use a drill to open a cylindrical hole.
4. Print the tube vertically to avoid the problem and solve the new problems that this solution creates.
5. 3D print a mold for injection-molding molten PETG pellets into your cylindrical shape.
6. Print the cylinder with the “^” again, then use a soldering iron to slowly heat and push a section of smooth copper tubing through the opening. Perhaps then cool it down enough so it shrinks and can be pulled out, leaving a “smooth” ish cylindrical inner shape.
… I should probably go to bed. Cheers.