My project is to replace broken parts of gas stations so those parts have to handle pressure and permanent contact with hydrocarbons.
What are the parts you’ll be replacing made of? My gut reaction is that the dangers of using non-certified parts in a potentially extremely hazardous environment is not advisable.
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Hi thank you for your answer, I would work with a company that repairs those gas pumps so it depends of the problem encountered. I think I will only replace plastic or not critical parts but these parts need to resist to gas. And I would like to be sure that there is no chemical reactions between resins and hydrocarbons.
At one point in my deep, dark past, I worked for a company developing gas station pump controllers. You cannot simply replace parts in a pump with parts that you make. At least not in the USA. All repairs must be done with certified-original components from the pump manufacturer.
Even if it wasn’t against the law to substitute parts, it’s not something you want to do. Gas pump designs are tested extensively to ensure they’re reliable and won’t spring leaks over time. Substituting parts you’ve made, regardless of what you make them from, is just a bad idea. The safety risks associated with failures of your part can be significant.
IMO, FormLabs would be crazy to endorse the use of any of their resins in this application. Whether or not the resin will survive exposure to petrochemicals, the fact that you’re asking specifically about using printed parts as replacements for components in a gas pump means they can only answer “not recommended” or they become liable if your printed parts fail and everyone at the local Mobil station burns to death in the ensuing fire…
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Thank you for your detailed answer.
I think I underestimated the safety related aspects of replacing parts of gas stations. I thought I could maybe replace external parts but legally maybe even the smallest modifications can be a real problem so I’ll give up on this idea thank you for your advice again.