With ABS part I use “same stuff” or Ambroid “ProWeld” to fuse surfaces together. Keying if necessary. I got that tip from a tour of Stratasys back in the mid 90’s
Yup. That’s more-or-less the process I use. I wet the mating surfaces with Acetone before I stick em together with ABS/Acetone slurry though, just to soften the surface and ensure the dry surface doesn’t absorb the Acetone out of the slurry to quickly. A good sanding afterwards finishes the job. Spot the joint…
Fantastic responses, keep them coming!! ‘Keys’ seem like a great idea particularly for alignment. Some of the techniques still sound a bit messy and dare I say it not very user friendly. Is anyone out there trying chemical free solutions?
@ST3P_GLASGOW This project is great! A really useful and helpful post too. Are you able to tack the parts together before fully attaching and would this be of benefit to the process if you don’t?
I have built around 6 large scale models that have been larger than my build plate. One project had 212 parts!
Many different ways to do this.
Pegs are awesome
Allow holes to run through center of parts to insert metal rod or PVC pipe. Make it like a shish kebab
Weld edges together with soldering iron
Friction welding with dremil and old filament.
We had a similar experience but with another 3D printer. The task was to print a full scale large UAV (150cm*200cm) using a printer with a small build envelope.
We sliced it up using CATIA, then glued the pieces with superglue and a gap filler, then sanded it and painted it. It turned out pretty well.
Thank you @stephan_5 I think this project is really great and shows that innovation can be achieved by questioning, adapting and experimenting with what we already have available.