So I did my first ABS print yesterday, naturally, I wanted to try and vapor smooth it as well.
First I did a very minimalist approach, just to see what kind of results I could get first hand. I took a plastic mixing cup and put a little splash of acetone in it, then used a scrap piece of PLA as a riser for the ABS part to sit on (realize now I should have found a way to hang it, as the surface that was on the PLA riser didn’t get smoothed… duh lol.) I left it in there for 15 minutes, removed it, and let it rest for about an hour.
It didn’t do a whole lot, but what it did do… wow. So silky and smooth, lol.
For anyone who does this… or anyone who just knows better than I do… I have some questions.
Heat seems to help, and acetone has a boiling point of ~56C. So here’s what I was thinking:
-Big clear plastic container with a lid, preferably something that seals well enough.
-Put a small fan inside, or even take it a step further and have a fan or two in a tube going out one side and into the other and circulate the air.
-Set it in my enclosure, on my heated bed set to 30-40C.
My initial thought, I briefly considered just putting a small dish of acetone on my heated bed with some parts hanging in the enclosure, but I’m sure hot acetone vapors aren’t good for the printer, lol.
It’s really aggressive vapor.
At least, if you want to do this in the enclosure, use a closed Glas or box where no vapor could come out.
There are several plastic parts (isolation of cables, slider in the linear modules, air vent fan, etc.) which could be harmed.
I am not sure if the acrylic could be blinded by acetone, this would need some research.
I have done a couple smoothing experiments but not much.
All the advice I have seen says don’t heat the acetone under any circumstances. You increase the evaporation by increasing the surface area by putting paper towel round the inside of the containers to wick up the liquid. Use a glass or ceramic container and a sheet of glass on top so you can see the model.
I wouldn’t put acetone anywhere near the printer.
If you’re planning on vapor smoothing, add some elevation sprues to the part and snip them off after the smoothing operation is over. It’ll be far more predicable that jerry-rigging a hanger for a part.
Acetone reacts with many plastics. If you want a clear window, I recommend glass. A metal stock pot and a pane of glass, for example, would work fine.
You don’t need interior ventilation. As long as you’ve got enough acetone in your source, the air within the container will saturate and it will do its job.
You won’t need heat. It might slightly decrease the process time, but that’s about it.
You don’t need a wick. The vapor pressure of acetone is quite high at room temperature. You’ll quickly saturate the atmosphere with or without a wick.
Alternatively, you could print some painter’s points (painter’s pyramids, whatever) in PLA—their whole purpose is to minimize surface contact with whatever’s sitting on them.