I did some searching without luck and don’t see it in data sheets. I called customer support and was told they have not done any testing for low temps.
Based on that, I throw this out to you brilliant and experienced minds.
I am looking for a resin for freesing temps, I.e., 32f, 0C. Biggest concern is that parts would not shatter if dropped. I am leaning towards tough and durable. Does anyone have any experience out there?
I’ve used standard, tough, durable, and High temp resins so far. If you drop any of them on a hard surface they will probably break. It probably gets a little worse at low temps.
Your best bet would be printing a mold and casting polyurethane resins. Even those might not be happy near freezing.
Go with Durable.
It the least brittle at room temperature and as close to Polypropylene as the Form2 can get.
I have never seen a Durable print break from being dropped, and I’ve dropped them a lot.
I made parts from Durable that I made fore a 20 foot wide 16 foot tall roll up shade… and every day when I lower the shade the 50 lb roller bar drops onto a concrete pad with these durable parts there to keep the bar from damaging the ropes that run under the bar.
They haven’t broken yet- even in 45 degree F. weather.
Thanks, Fred. A mold is not in the equation at this time, though that would be a good option.
Thanks, Scupltingman,
I have durable and will give that a shot if the customer agrees.
I concur with @Sculptingman’s advice on using durable. By experience and from other thread on this board Formlabs’ current resins are pretty brittle at low temps and it seems to be especially an issue if they are submitted to dynamic loads. Durable being the resin with the higher impact strength and elongation and thus will be the most prone to performing reasonably in these area when temperature drops.
To be fair, most plastic to become more brittle under 0°C but classic ABS/PC blend to hold up pretty well up to -15 / -20°C.
Thanks for the feedback, I found out the temp. LIQUID NITROGEN. Fortunately, this is basically just a small open topped container. The customer agreed to give durable a shot. As long as he does not drop it, it should be okay. I will report back if this goes ahead.
liquid Nitrogen?
Jeez, dude- even ROSE PETALS will shatter at that temperature.
Even Lead becomes brittle when that cold.
I don’t think any material you can print will stand up to that.
let us know how it goes.
Actually, I found a video online where someone was testing PLA and ABS parts in liquid nitrogen. Surprisingly, they were still somewhat flexible but did break when squeezed too far.
All these parts have to do is sit there with virtually no load and no physical shock. I.e, drop it and all bets are off. I told them no guarantees and they are willing to pay.
Methacrilate / acrylic materials don’t behave as well as ABS or PLA, which are thermoplastics, under extremely low temparature. Just because you found an example of another 3D printed part doesn’t mean yours will be equaly functionnal, FDM and SLA are nothing aloke apart from the name behind the manufacturing process.
Your part may hold up if not touched but I would not be surprised if they shattered as soon as they are dipped in a liquid at -200°C.
Well the test results are in. I provided the customer with a PLA part and the durable resin parts he ordered. I just got word from him today that both are holding up well with liquid nitrogen. These are little holding tanks for test samples that are bathed in liquid nitrogen.