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Hi everyone. I am looking into making a 3D printed mold and am trying to find the best solution for removing 3D print lines from PLA plastic prints. I have tried using XTC 3D coating but I tend to lose details and the stuff wells up in low points of the mold despite my best efforts. I have also heard that an acetone vapour treatment will not work for PLA plastics! If I did end up using ABS plastic and a vapour bath, would the silicone rubber or acrylic products that come out of the mold still be skin safe? Any advice would be appreciated!

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You need an acetone vapor bath.

There are some pages online that show Yu how to build your own or you can purchase one.

-Chris

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Hi Deyar, From what i know there is no one answer and a lot of things depend on the complexity of the mold (3d print). Does it have small hard to reach areas? etc. What accuracy in the tolerances are required, is it mechanical is it for the looks only?. As Chris mentioned below you may try to use a chemical of some sort. The Acetone (nail polish remover) is readily available and therefore cheap, it still requires great industrial hygiene and protection when working with it. i.e don’t sniff the stuff directly, don’t wash your eyes with it, don’t get too much on your skin. There are other chemicals but usually more dangerous and more expensive and you need to consider whether at some point in future you want to have a family and lots of kids. :D…

My preferred method if not pressed for time is the good old elbow grease. Use a filler putty, Get the medium grit sand paper first, then switch to fine, and paint it with a high gloss high temperature paint.

See this link for some further detail regarding sand paper grit size

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Hi Elexis,

Thank you for your advice! The mold does have small hard to reach places (it is roughly 9 inches deep). I think the acetone vapour bath idea might work well although I tried filling the mold with acetone and it did not do anything to the plastic (perhaps because it is PLA plastic rather than ABS plastic). I will get my next print made in ABS to see if I attain better results.

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As i mentioned i don’t think there is a panacea, Are you able to post a cross section of the print, or the problem area with some dimensions? Solution may be a combination of print and machining. Do you have any machining capabilities, (Drill press, small CNC router?)

Is it your design and can you modify it? If in confidence you can email me the problem area: