We created a setup and established a process for reliable ABS printing on the Original Prusa i3 MK3 and ABS finishing using a large cooking pot as a vapor chamber to smooth the 3D prints with cold or hot acetone vapors and using a clean box to avoid dust deposits during hardening.
Here is a video of the setup and process for ABS printing and finishing.
We purchased everything to setup the vapor chamber from Amazon for 60 EURO ($75 USD):
– Cooking pot 20l with a glass lid 30x28cm (diameter x height): 44.14 EURO
– Metal Mesh Waste Paper Basket: 26×27.5 cm: 4.90 EURO
– Stainless Steel Steamer Basket 19.4cm (inner diameter): 9.90 EURO
We purchased everything to build the clean box from IKEA and Amazon for 40 EURO ($50 USD):
– IKEA Cardboard Box FJÄLLA 35x56x30cm: 9.90 EURO
– Air Filter Hepa H14: 9.96 EURO
– Handheld Vacuum Cleaner: 19.90 EURO
We also used sandpaper, a heat gun, paper towels, acetone, protective gear (gloves, glasses, mask) , duck tape and a kitchen timer.
ABS printing may have problems with overhang. Reducing the print speed and printing multiple objects at the same time has shown to improve the results.
ABS finishing requires experimentation and control over the following important parameters:
– volume (20l)
– means of diffusion (paper towel)
– amount of acetone (min. 150ml)
– condensation (freezer)
– heating (heat gun)
– exposure time (1hour)
We downloaded and printed the Spiral Vase by Joey Muirhead on thingiverse (see attribution tag on bottom of page) https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:570288.
We use a 3D printing benchmark, a Treefrog, to compare the 3D prints and finishes of different filaments.
We printed a 10cm x 10cm x 10cm test cube to verify that our 3D prints do not shrink and maintain their dimensional accuracy.
Attribution:
