Surface Finish - Powder Coated Sheet
I ordered an I3 MK3S last week. I am planning to use it for printing brackets and other functional parts that do not have a high aesthetic requirement. While redesigning those parts to be FDM/FFF friendly, I was inspired by the newfound freedom of design. I am able to do things I was unable to do before, actually increasing functionality and decreasing cost at the same time. So...
I am now contemplating using FDM/FFF for a part with a medium aesthetic requirement. It is a bezel for an LCD screen. The user facing surface would be on the surface of the powder coated sheet. I am very curious what that surface looks like on a printed part. It would be great if you guys could share some close up or high resolution pictures of surfaces that were formed on the textured plate. Photos of any material/color would be helpful, but most likely we will be using urban gray PETG or galaxy black ASA.
Any help would be much appreciated!
RE: Surface Finish - Powder Coated Sheet
All of the printer printed parts will come with this surface finish.
Just browse the online manuals and look at the high-res photos there:
https://manual.prusa3d.com/c/Original_Prusa_i3_MK3S_kit_assembly
https://d17kynu4zpq5hy.cloudfront.net/igi/prusa3d/MkeOTNAYB4GDQPdl.full
https://d17kynu4zpq5hy.cloudfront.net/igi/prusa3d/ywWdt6xgOLfQK66k.huge
RE: Surface Finish - Powder Coated Sheet
@vintagepc
Thank you so much! Why didn't I think of that? I just looked at a close-up of the part that houses the LCD panel (which is representative of what I am doing) and it looks pretty darn good. I think I can make that work. This is great news because I can potentially improve and simplify an enclosure as a result of the ability to print this part.
RE: Surface Finish - Powder Coated Sheet
I have both plates. One of my criteria is what surface finish I want on the plate side.
That textured finish is darn nice. I like it better than smooth in a lot of cases.
RE: Surface Finish - Powder Coated Sheet
Good luck with ASA on the PC sheet. It almost drove me crazy, couldn't get it to stick properly. washed the sheet until the cows came home, still no stick. Used the smooth sheet instead and everything worked out well.
PETG on the other hand works absolutely fine on the PC sheet and the surface finish looks really nice. Be sure to do your z-adjust well though.
Good luck
Hansjoerg
RE: Surface Finish - Powder Coated Sheet
The surface finish from the textured sheet is great. I think the bottom layer ends up looking more consistent. The individual lines of filament blend together really well.
I have printed PETG, TPU, and nylon on it. It works phenomenal with PETG. Parts stick well and pop right off after cooling. I used glue stick with TPU and nylon. Both printed and came off well.