3DPrinting

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3DPrinting is a place where makers of all skill levels and walks of life can learn about and discuss 3D printing and development of 3D printed parts and devices.

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Are 3D-printed objects waterproof? (lemmy.sdf.org)

submitted 2 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

37 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I have a piece of test equipment that needs to stay underwater for days. Normally I would use or make a waterproof case with a lid and a gasket.

Instead, I'm wondering if I could print a box, pause the print just before the top face, put the device inside and then print the top face over it. No openings, no nothing, and the device works by induction so it doesn't need to physically connect to anything.

But this would only work if 3D-printed PLA walls are really waterproof. After all, 3D-printed features are kind of a bunch of wires more or less loosely attached to each other, so I wouldn't be surprised if water could leak through under pressure.

Before I spend any time assessing this myself, has anybody tried printing waterproof enclosures?

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

In my experience, TPU is fairly easy to make watertight. You have to start with good and dry material so it prints as smoothly as possible. It floats pretty easily though, so you might need to print it solid or with high infill.

A couple of months ago I printed a bird bath out of PETG which has been watertight so far. I used three outer layers.