How to print with glass  

RE: How to print with glass

@bobstro

That could be rather binding on that dog.  Might need a laxitive.  

Thanks for sharing the attachment.  I will give it a run tonight.  

RE: How to print with glass

I'm going to move on from @Rygar1432's settings and try some other approaches, but I thought I'd give solids one more try. I downloaded a Staunton pawn chess piece and tried printing it upright and laying back at 45° with support. I bumped the print, so it aborted prematurely, but there's enough to show some interesting effects. Going forward, I'm dunking all of these transparency tests in acrylic floor polish.

First, the prints. They're large-ish pieces with an interesting hex cutout at the bottom:

This has some unexpected effects on lighting. First, lighting from below on the upright print highlights the surfaces of the cutout. Adding an angled hollow to otherwise solid prints might be interesting. Perhaps apply some booleans to create geometric hollow areas.

Printing at a 45° angle didn't help with transparency, but the accidental termination of the print resulted in an interesting effect. If light from below shines up against a flat interior rear surface, it highlights the front shaped print nicely.

Obviously, these are crap quality tests, but I'm keeping notes on these results. I am not convinced 100% infill is ideal for non-flat transparency results.

RE: How to print with glass

@bobstro

wow,  good info!

Here's a quick test I did.

With sunlu vs atomic.

at 2.5mm thick with atomic, you can still read the text below.

At 4.4mm thick with sunlu,  it's even clearer at almost twice the thickness.

RE: How to print with glass

Posted by: @ssill2

[...] at 2.5mm thick with atomic, you can still read the text below. At 4.4mm thick with sunlu,  it's even clearer at almost twice the thickness.

I've noticed that some "transparent" or "clear" filament is really just "natural" with no coloring added. They tend to be a bit cloudy. Higher temps can help, but only so much. That's a good simple test. Have you tried dipping those prints yet? I'm finding it really helps with flat surface transparency.

I'm happy using a variation of Rygar1432's glass approach for flat prints. He did mention "glass" so it makes sense the approach is intended for flat slabs like windows and walls. I've changed:

• Extrusion mutliplier down to what is appropriate for the filament (90-95% for my samples). The whole "over extrude to fill gaps" approach hasn't done much for me.
• A single perimeter. This isn't a big deal, but I like the "frameless" look. Reminds me of flatscreen TV "borderless" claims.
• Wider extrusion widths for improved clarity. Narrower for diffusion.

I'm satisfied with the results I'm getting with PrusaSlicer.

For 3D shapes, I'm going a completely different route:

• Single perimeter. This improves clarity.
• Wide extrusion widths. This is for part strength and offsets the lost wall thickness from using only one perimeter.
• Normal top and bottom layers.
• 0% infill. This does place restriction on the parts that can be printed (no large, flat supported surfaces).

These settings let me have most of the advantages of vase mode printing with more complex shapes. Z seam is still an issue of course. A test print with 0.2mm layer heights using these "pseudo vase" settings is promising. 

I think it looks pretty good with indoor lighting:

Underlighting also looks nice:

Natural lighting is also pleasing:

RE: How to print with glass

Doing the same print with sunlu at 260, instead of 250.   Looks really good so far.  I might let it go further if it looks like the clarity is being maintained.  I'm at 3mm thick so far.

RE: How to print with glass

@bobstro

Wow!  Your results look great!  Thanks for putting all the work in on this.  I'm trying the moai again with the sunlu.  This might be my best one yet.

I think the cloudy look is going to look fine for most things and might be preferable in some cases(e.g. christmas/halloween decorations) where the diffusing of the light is what you want.  I agree with you on the extrusion multiplier.  having that above 1 has done nothing good in my tests.

Cheers!

RE: How to print with glass

Wups -- Forgot one important detail!

• SLOW max volumetric speed. I'm using 1-3mm^3/s.

I've had decent luck with PETG at 265C. It starts to get very runny, so any overhangs will be a mess.

RE: How to print with glass

My moai is at 4.6mm and I can still see dotted line on the plate.  That's a good sign.  This sunlu has 250 on the spool so I probably wouldn't go higher than 10deg more than that anyway.

RE: How to print with glass

oh by the way if you're looking to get satin sheets you should go NOW since they are in stock.  I got 2 myself already.

RE: How to print with glass

at 5.8mm height and can still see the dotted lines on the plate.  This is a good sign

RE: How to print with glass

Posted by: @ssill2

oh by the way if you're looking to get satin sheets you should go NOW since they are in stock.  I got 2 myself already.

I got one with the 1st batch due to lucky timing. Unfortunately, the Mk3 needs some additional parts I hadn't planned on, so I'm stuck with my Sidewinder for now.

Oh, that reminds me: The config I uploaded earlier is for the Sidewinder. Switch the printer preset.

RE: How to print with glass

Variations on flat panels:

RE: How to print with glass

@bobstro

very fresnel lol

RE: How to print with glass

whoa,,,... psychedelic mahn

RE: How to print with glass

@bobstro

Me likey.  

RE: How to print with glass

@ssill2

I went to buy some of my favorite clear ABS and its been discontinued 😥

now searching for a new source.

RE: How to print with glass

another 4 hrs on this moai, I'm kind of anxious to see what it ends up looking like.

RE: How to print with glass

Posted by: @swiss_cheese

whoa,,,... psychedelic mahn

It really ties the room together. 

RE: How to print with glass

Posted by: @annier

Here's an example of what I've been able to get. As I said it's milky with some of the lines showing. This is an earring pendant about 30mm long and 3mm thick. You can plainly see through it but I would love to get more of a crystal clear look. These actually look quite nice when worn in real life. 

Would you be willing to upload the STL for the crystal earring? I'd like to try a couple of things with that design.

RE: How to print with glass

OMG do not start the big lebowski thing lol 🙂  That rug really tied the room together man.