Hi
I want to print with transparent material to be able to see the inside of the model.
What material should I get? The clearer the better.
Thanks for the help! (and sorry if this was answered somewhere else. Im new here)
Best,
Demian
I have some Hatchbox Transparent filament. It looks pretty clear, but I donât have any tools to evaluate the amount of light that passes through the filament.
If I print with the High Quality profile, the print comes out with a translucent white, kind of like privacy glass in a bathroom window or shower. I can see thereâs something inside, but not make out any detail. I canât see through the object, only sort of through the first wall.
I used the same filament to print with a 0.4mm layer height, and itâs much easier to see through. There still isnât a lot of detail, but I can see the infill and shadows of things on the other side of the object.
I suspect that if I changed the print settings to only have a single wall (change the wall thickness from 0.8mm to 0.4mm), it would be significantly clearer. I donât really know what that will do to the strength of the final object.
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I HAVE NOT TRIED THIS MYSELF on the SM2.0. But Polymaker makes a filament called âPolysmoothâ that you can get in clear, and you postprocess to improve the clarity by using a mist bottle with alcohol lightly a few times on it, after printing. Basically the same as doing acetone vapor smoothing on ABS prints, but far less toxic. (Well, alcohol fumes in a small closed environment arenât great for you eitherâŚ)
Donât bother with their âPolysherâ chamber, a spritz bottle should work fine.
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âPolysmoothâ is, I believe, a PVB-based filament (the supplier Iâve been using sells generic PVB, but I havenât tried it yet). PVB polishes with isopropyl alcohol.
Iâve also seen pictures of moderately decent results produced by polishing âclearâ ABS in the usual way.
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That sounds like a fun material to print. Do u think its hard to print?
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Prusament also has a PVB line, apparently, if you trust them more than you do PolyMaker.
Print recommendations for PVB in general seem to be as follows:
Nozzle temp. 195°C - 230°C
Bed temp 60°C - 80°C
Printing Speed 40mm/s â 60mm/s
Sticks to most common surfaces (glass + glue stick, blue tape, etc.)
It absorbs water more easily than PLA, apparently, so youâll want a drier. Overall reviews are mixed, with some people saying it prints as easily as PLA and some saying itâs a problem child. A lot of the negative reviews seem to be from people who didnât dry the filament first, though.
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Interesting
I find drying spools often to be a key component of success so ii have no objection to that.
i think ill order a spool and give it a whirl!
Edit: dang prusament is expensive to ship, o well im gona try anyhow.
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Thank you so much for the responses! Will try now!
Did you ever try this, and how did it work out?
Iâve actually acquired some clear PVB filament (my usual supplier was having a sale a couple of weeks ago, so I picked up a half-kilo for ~$15CAD), but Iâve been too busy with other stuff to have a chance to play with it yet. Maybe sometime in the next couple of weeks . . . No idea if @MooseJuice or the original poster ever bit the bullet.
Iâm also looking at some transparent material to make some push buttons which can be backlighted with some LED. The process would be to print the buttons with the text on it, then spray-paint with black, and then use a file to remove the paint on the top. See some pictures below. All credits for this method to âHeli Mechâ, who built a complete Boeing 737 cockpit - see his video here: Creating a 3d Printed FMC for MSFS2020 & P3D - YouTube
With other words, Iâm looking for a rather âmilky transparentâ filament. Any suggestions?
Almost all âclearâ filament ends up being milky. It just doesnât end up printing very clear no matter what.
Hatchbox does have one they list as âtransparentâ white. Never tried it so canât say how it turns out. They are a reputable supplier though.
May have to play around with infill and layers to get what you want with whatever you use.
-S