1 Topic by IanJohnson

  • IanJohnson
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Topic: Clear ABS

I extruded some clear ABS (actually MABS) along with some blue masterbatch at something like 400:1

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/sc/37c1ibgs7ejw2cf/5i3XLMzlNq/0?dl=1&token_hash=AAGGPXniizSFVO0kXRXOUOpamFPf7LtLkIfx2c3m048okw

It seems like the clear pellets are more slippery, because I only got about 3"/min.  175C got me in the neighborhood of 1.75mm.  The nice thing about the slow extrusion is it helps the tolerance.  Most of the time my measurements had no variation at all, other areas only seemed to change from about 1.74 to 1.76.   It made my best quality print so far -

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/sc/6mehzyklekvlr54/f-baxVfzVI/0?dl=1&token_hash=AAF2Ar2MWhfsQyGUgw7s5v5HcfXtKCM0_HmNCt6HXSeZGA

I experimented with some different printing temps to see the effect on clarity.  The bottom band is 245C, the middle band is 250C and the top band is 230C.  Those temps are with an E3D so that 230 is probably equivalent to about 190 on a stock Solidoodle.  Baking the filament in the oven might improve the clarity of the print as well.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/sc/od6si75uq3ihuvy/WGGKJejH36/0?dl=1&token_hash=AAGDDjWI_Nc_yhPFC90msanFOP23tAO56GUgBB-AvJ-KOw

Here it is after a few acetone exposures -

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/sc/ql10ul1wwo30w7w/iQ_J8D-gcQ/0?dl=1&token_hash=AAFnA_ElK0WC8tUl47GKTk26EUAYoEV-_o0Gw0V3cVuT7Q

2 Reply by elmoret

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Re: Clear ABS

Extremely impressive. Did you chop or physically alter the masterbatch to get consistent distribution at such low ratios?

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3 Reply by 2n2r5 (edited by 2n2r5 2013-11-10 14:05:04)

  • 2n2r5
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Re: Clear ABS

Looks great! I was working on trying to do this with PLA friday night but couldn't get the colorant to distribute evenly.

BTW... ^ Ian is using threadless ballscrew :-)

SD3 w/ mods:
Glass bed with QU-BD heat pad upgrade, threadless ballscrew w/ 8mm smooth rod, spectra line belt replacement, lawsy MK5 extruder, Lawsy replacement carriage, E3D hotend, Ramps 1.4 w/ reprap discount controller, DRV8825 drivers, 12v 30A PS, Acrylic case, Overkill Y-idlers, Filament alarm, Extruder fan + more.

2n2r5's Website

4 Reply by IanJohnson

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Re: Clear ABS

I actually wanted a more uneven distribution.  I wanted to see what the print would be like with a variation in opacity but it came out very consistent.  To figure out the mix, I weighed out a couple grams of pellets then counted them out to see the per pellet mass for the masterbatch since the ratio meant I was adding less than my scale could measure.  Since the extrusion rate was so slow, there were more turns of the auger per inch of filament so there was more time for them to mix in the melt zone.

5 Reply by IanJohnson

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Re: Clear ABS

Here is the vase printed at 225C, 10-15C cooler than the first one.  At that temp it would skip at the speed of manual extrusion, but the speed during the print was slow enough for it to keep up.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/jonfscp7gmy2mww/IMG_5701.JPG?dl=1&token_hash=AAHTGSnHoae_8gFcgVltaS476_CnpEzUuXufoYok4Exsjg

6 Reply by DePartedPrinter

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Re: Clear ABS

time to bust out my Filastruder...i have 5 lbs of clear laying around I need to get rid of.   I am surprised 400:1 gave you those results.

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7 Reply by HockeyDR

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Re: Clear ABS

Where did you get the MABS pellets?

8 Reply by IanJohnson

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Re: Clear ABS

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Plastic-Pellets … 4615e00a9a

9 Reply by Briggs

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Re: Clear ABS

Awesome. Thanks Ian.