3d Printer Desktop mfg.  @Circadea   3d Sitelist
 Desktop Manufacturing

3d Printing Advances
Advances...
One can now iterate many items using HTPLA filament and using annealing as a final process to create parts that can withstan temperatures
better than more difficult materials to extrude. One may need to scale the print slightly to accomadate shrinkage.
There are a couple of methods. An hour long process using sand and a shorter one using just heat.
I suspect the sand method is the more stable method. One brings the printed component up to around 100 c  or 212 f for 10 minutes
then lets it cool for an hour.

      Sneak Peak

How do you "Heat Treat" for maximum performance? Bake your parts into a oven until you see a change from translucent to opaque.
 Yes, there is an obvious visual change indicating the improved performance! We had good luck in a lab oven at 110C (230F)
 for an hour or less. We recommend leaving the supports on your parts, placing them on a non-radiating surface
(like glass, ceramic, or composite), and letting them cool in the oven to minimize distortion.
Parts can be baked at a lower temperature (though must be above 60C for any change to occur)
for a longer time with less risk of unwanted deformation.

The videos online show easy heat treating, don't be fooled. Depending on your part geometry, you may experience warping that will make a dimensionally accurate part unusable. I'm wanting to experiment with heat treating in tightly packed sand for support.

No abrasive fillers so expect normal wear with standard nozzles.

In our experience, good results were achieved using standard PLA parameters with standard build surface preparation (blue tape, glue stick, or BuildTak).
No heated bed required.
 
Some shrinkage and distortion may occur in the annealing process,
so larger or dimension critical parts may need to be scaled larger to compensate or printed in our more stable, lower shrink Carbon Fiber version.


 
3d pritners are great for replacements parts and modifyhing existing machines.
Securing filament can be an logistics issue.
Objects created are not generally of as much refinements as a LASER.


Flashforge Best for driving. MAC WIN LINUX
Great Support
Flashforge




Entry Level Machine
Higly capable.




Ender 3