Author Topic: Weight of 3D printed plastic?  (Read 2152 times)

Offline Thumbs up

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 568
Weight of 3D printed plastic?
« on: July 06, 2015, 10:29:57 PM »
Mr Bo,
 May I ask a question about the weight of a printed part against moulded plastic or balsa wood,as I'm interested in the possibility of using 3D for detailing very small flying scale models? Much appreciated.

Offline uncletony

  • Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4349
    • Aircraft In Pixels
Re: Weight of 3D printed plastic?
« Reply #1 on: July 07, 2015, 12:24:47 AM »
Mr Bo,
 May I ask a question about the weight of a printed part against moulded plastic or balsa wood,as I'm interested in the possibility of using 3D for detailing very small flying scale models? Much appreciated.

Density for balsa is about .13g/cm3
Polystyrene is about 1.05g/cm3
I think the photopolymer my detail parts are made from clocks in at about 1.18g/cm3

However the tensile strength of the detail photopolymer is not high. There is another material that simulates ABS plastic which is quite strong and slightly flexible. It doesn't hold tiny details well so it isn't much use for fine scale model parts, but may be useful for flying scale models...

Shapeways calls this stuff "WSF" (white, strong and flexible). Stratasys calls it Digital ABS.

Offline MoFo

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 119
Re: Weight of 3D printed plastic?
« Reply #2 on: July 09, 2015, 11:03:17 AM »
That's going to be a *really* complicated question to answer, because there are dozens of 3D printing materials which will all have different weights, and different printers running on different specs will likely output different at different densities.  (particularly the FDM printers)

My suggestion:  if there are specific materials or specific print bureaus you'd like to use, try contacting them to ask for some specs.  If you're not sure what materials or bureaus you want to use...  you'll need to do that before getting any sort of real answers.  And if weight is super critical to you, you might need to order some test prints with known volumes and work out their densities for yourself.

If you're just looking for a really quick and dirty ballpark estimate, after googling some common SLS, FDM, multijet and SLA materials, you can expect a range of between .9g/cm3 and 1.3g/cm3.
« Last Edit: July 09, 2015, 11:10:03 AM by MoFo »

Offline uncletony

  • Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4349
    • Aircraft In Pixels
Re: Weight of 3D printed plastic?
« Reply #3 on: July 09, 2015, 01:59:02 PM »
I assumed Thumbs Up was talking about the acrylic photopolymer my detail parts are made of. In that case the density is 1.18g/cm3 (aprox). It turns out the Stratasys ABS stimulant is nearly identical as far as density goes (that's what SW sells as "WSF"). But yeah, there is a universe of 3d printing materials out there ... But that's why they make Material Data Sheets :)

So not really that tough a question to answer.

Offline Thumbs up

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 568
Re: Weight of 3D printed plastic?
« Reply #4 on: July 09, 2015, 06:59:24 PM »
Thank you for the insights into something that is new to me.I noticed that there are some materials that have a lower density than balsa that may lend themselves to printing an entire aircraft structure in 1/48. Theoretically this could be covered in a light tissue,that then could be clothed in Richards decals.I was thinking of something like a BE2 or a Taube?

Offline MoFo

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 119
Re: Weight of 3D printed plastic?
« Reply #5 on: September 26, 2015, 03:21:36 PM »
Bump.

Just got a link to this in a daily digest.  Figured the OP might find it pertinent.
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:998525