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Printing tall and thin parts  

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luca.w
(@luca-w)
Active Member
Printing tall and thin parts

Hello,

I designed this thing, which is supposed to clamp on a glass door for a shower, like the original one. Now I want to print it, but i am scared of it breaking parallel to the layer lines if printed flat (like in the picture). It needs to be 63 cm long, so I need to print multiple pieces. I want to use HDGlass by Formfutura.
If I orient it vertically (blue face to the print bed) the chance of it falling would be very high.

Thanks for your help!

18 y.o. student in Germany who is interested in engineering

Posted : 22/08/2018 6:02 pm
RufusClupea
(@rufusclupea)
Reputable Member
Re: Printing tall and thin parts

Aside from not being able to follow the description, what's the question?

I think it would help if you could post a 3D image of the object/part, instead of a single view.

Others may not be as obtuse as me. 😳

That's "MISTER Old Fart" to you!

Posted : 22/08/2018 6:39 pm
bobstro
(@bobstro)
Illustrious Member
Re: Printing tall and thin parts

I assume that Fusion 360 sketch is the surface that will be on the bed of the print. You're going to extrude it up 63cm. Is that correct?

It may print OK if you split it into 4 sections, each < 210mm. You are right to be concerned about stability. Fortunately, you are designing the STL yourself, so you can include some break-away support pieces rather than trying to get the slicer software to figure some out for you. Add in some braces to increase stability and provide thin or perforated connections to allow easy removal.

Also, print a test piece before committing to a big print. Those sharp angles are likely failure points. Consider the stress that will be applied to the part. Your parts will be strongest along the XY dimension. Printed vertically, your part may easily snap between Z layers - the width of your sketch if I'm reading it correctly. Is this intended to be a load-bearing shelf or track?

Fusion 360 has some interesting stress analysis tools, though I'm not sure those are available in the free version. If you're studying engineering, you should definitely check out some of the Fusion 360 YouTube videos on the topic.

My notes and disclaimers on 3D printing

and miscellaneous other tech projects
He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan

Posted : 22/08/2018 6:47 pm
Steve
(@steve-3)
Estimable Member
Re: Printing tall and thin parts

A good way to attach separately printed parts is to leave holes to epoxy pins between the parts. Short sections of threaded rod provides a lot of surface area for the epoxy. And I believe that epoxy is reasonably waterproof.

Steve

Posted : 22/08/2018 10:18 pm
luca.w
(@luca-w)
Active Member
Topic starter answered:
Re: Printing tall and thin parts


Aside from not being able to follow the description, what's the question?

I think it would help if you could post a 3D image of the object/part, instead of a single view.

Others may not be as obtuse as me. 😳

This is the surface that is going to get extruded. If i want to print it vertically, so the layer lines are the strongest for my use, im worried of it falling during printing.

18 y.o. student in Germany who is interested in engineering

Posted : 23/08/2018 3:53 pm
luca.w
(@luca-w)
Active Member
Topic starter answered:
Re: Printing tall and thin parts


I assume that Fusion 360 sketch is the surface that will be on the bed of the print. You're going to extrude it up 63cm. Is that correct?

It may print OK if you split it into 4 sections, each < 210mm. You are right to be concerned about stability. Fortunately, you are designing the STL yourself, so you can include some break-away support pieces rather than trying to get the slicer software to figure some out for you. Add in some braces to increase stability and provide thin or perforated connections to allow easy removal.

Also, print a test piece before committing to a big print. Those sharp angles are likely failure points. Consider the stress that will be applied to the part. Your parts will be strongest along the XY dimension. Printed vertically, your part may easily snap between Z layers - the width of your sketch if I'm reading it correctly. Is this intended to be a load-bearing shelf or track?

Fusion 360 has some interesting stress analysis tools, though I'm not sure those are available in the free version. If you're studying engineering, you should definitely check out some of the Fusion 360 YouTube videos on the topic.

1. Thats correct.

2. the plan is to cut them in 3 parts, my idea is to connect them in the middle (like in the picture) and to break them apart at the seam

3. This piece is supposed to clamp onto a glass door (shower). On the picture the red lines are layers printed horizontally, the red circle is where i am worried of it breakingwhen clamping it to a piece of glass. Blue would be oriented horizontally, which would result in the (in my mind) strongest layers for my application.

18 y.o. student in Germany who is interested in engineering

Posted : 23/08/2018 4:03 pm
luca.w
(@luca-w)
Active Member
Topic starter answered:
Re: Printing tall and thin parts


A good way to attach separately printed parts is to leave holes to epoxy pins between the parts. Short sections of threaded rod provides a lot of surface area for the epoxy. And I believe that epoxy is reasonably waterproof.

Steve

Luckily, the parts do not need to be attached to each other.

18 y.o. student in Germany who is interested in engineering

Posted : 23/08/2018 4:04 pm
RufusClupea
(@rufusclupea)
Reputable Member
Re: Printing tall and thin parts

Thanks, that's much better!
I have 3 words: skirts rafts brims
They should be available through the slicer of your choice. In this case, I think a raft my be the appropriate choice.

Rafts are primarily used with ABS to help with warping and bed adhesion, but they can also be used to help stabilize models with small footprints, or to create a strong foundation on which to build the upper layers of your part.
https://www.simplify3d.com/support/articles/rafts-skirts-and-brims/

That's "MISTER Old Fart" to you!

Posted : 23/08/2018 4:05 pm
nathan0876
(@nathan0876)
Estimable Member
Re: Printing tall and thin parts

when i printed a tall part with not much touching the build plate i added a very large brim, it printed fine, it was PETG and it sticks like a SOB.

Posted : 23/08/2018 4:46 pm
luca.w
(@luca-w)
Active Member
Topic starter answered:
Re: Printing tall and thin parts

Using a large brim and the part being horizontal ended up working the best. Layer adhesion for HDGlass semms to be much stronger than the one with Prusa PET

18 y.o. student in Germany who is interested in engineering

Posted : 23/08/2018 8:11 pm
Steve
(@steve-3)
Estimable Member
Re: Printing tall and thin parts

Thanks for adding the picture. It helps a lot to visualize your plans. The 3 piece section should add a lot of stability versus each individual component. Rotating the parts so the long segment is near the center might give even more resistance to breaking loose. A 4-way build could be even stronger. As already mentioned, a brim will also help.

I did an experiment on wall thickness using the slic3r defaults. Each line with the standard 0.4mm nozzle ends up around 0.016". A wall that is 0.050" thick will be built using 3 lines. A 0.080" wall uses 5 lines, composed of a 2 line outer wall and a solid straight line for infill. Anything much thicker than 0.085" will have zig-zag infill unless you adjust the slic3r settings for wall thickness.

0.080" walls are fairly strong, but may have more flex than you need.

Steve

Posted : 27/08/2018 9:06 pm
John
 John
(@john-6)
Reputable Member
Re: Printing tall and thin parts

Most likely Your glass edge has been polished with chamfers ( 45°). Regardless Make your part with internal fillets ( the opposite of a chamfer) and this will strengthen the corners significantly.

i3 Mk3 [aug 2018] upgrade>>> i3MK3/S+[Dec 2023]

Posted : 31/08/2018 12:28 am
John
 John
(@john-6)
Reputable Member
Re: Printing tall and thin parts

Also if you are going to make three piece why not make the ends interlock so they align properly when placed on the glass

i3 Mk3 [aug 2018] upgrade>>> i3MK3/S+[Dec 2023]

Posted : 31/08/2018 10:46 am
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