Team: Landon Bilka, Alex Janis, Jason Richards
Figure 1. The 2 samples before support removal.
Printing Parameters:
Display parts were printed with the following initial parameters
| Gray Sample | Blue Sample | |
| Time to Print 1 Part | 1:25 | 1:19 |
| Material Quantity | 65g | 43g |
| Infill Type | Lines | Lightning |
| Infill Percent | 10 | 10 |
| Material | Grey PLA | Blue PLA |
Analysis and Comparison of Samples
Our first sample generally achieved good results, however we printed a modified part with different printer settings to improve certain qualities. As our project will require the post-processing of several of these parts, the supports must be easy to remove and leave a relatively clean surface. The supports on the first print were very difficult to remove and will require significant sanding and filing to create a clean surface. In order to do this, we changed the support offset settings in the Bambu slicer to allow for more space between the support and the finished part. It took us approximately half of the time to remove the supports on the blue part than the gray and the surface finish was much better.
Another key aspect of this design is showcasing text designed at a 60° angle. This allows indented text to be printed without support material, even if it is on a vertical face of the part. We wanted to determine if this text is still visible on different color parts, so we used blue PLA on our second sample. The text on the blue part was still just as visible and the surface finish was much better than the gray part. This is likely due to the matte finish on the blue PLA.
Since we will be printing several of these parts, we also want to minimize the material used. This is why we chose to use only 10% infill in both samples, but we also wanted to see if different infill types would allow for similar results while using less material. The lightning-type filament used in the blue sample allowed us to save 22 grams of filament ($1.10) without failure or breakage. The difference is clearly shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Line type infill (left) versus lightning type infill (right).
Key Display Areas
The areas which will have the most visible change along the flowchart are the top of the part and the overhang where the supports were as shown in Figure 4. The overhang will clearly change as we remove supports and sand the rough surfaces where they are connected to the part. The top will also change as the layer lines will become less and less visible as the part is sanded, filled, and painted. The triangular hole will also show changes as we file it to get sharper corners.
Figure 3. Key display areas on the gray sample.
Next Steps
Our next step is to finalize our flowchart by determining which post-processing techniques to showcase on the display. The display in Figure 4 shows our working guide for the display. We believe that these post-processing techniques are the most commonly used by Makerspace users and the most useful. To finalize this board, we also need to determine the ideal printing parameters for ABS material (for our acetone smoothing sample).
Figure 4. A diagram of the planned layout for the finished display.