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Hi,

I’m working on a product that will assist snowboarders/skiers going up a rope tow. I am looking for a plastic that is very strong, and that wont become brittle and break when used in very cold weather. Please advise me as to what material I should choose.

Thank you!

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Maybe give you a clue.
http://piperplastics.com/pages/kyronmax/kyronmax.html

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Thanks for the link!

I was looking for a plastic available on 3dhubs though.

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Taulman Alloy 910 might work, it is quite strong, but you would want to test it first. Maybe put in freezer and test strength when frozen. Wouldn’t want someone to get hurt.

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I’ll second @keebie81’s suggestion of nylon! Most other commonly available plastics here (PLA and ABS especially) become very brittle when it’s cold and will be all but useless for this task.

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Thanks for the suggestion! Nylon looks REALY expensive though! $311 for my first prototype! Do you think PETG would work?

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Have you checked the price on my hub? I have a fairly low nylon price compared to others. https://www.3dhubs.com/milwaukee/hubs/kirby

Im also just across the lake from you.

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Taulman has a techG filament that is petg base and has a tensile strength of 5900psi compared to alloy 910 of 8100psi

As with this also im not sure on the cold weather strength of the item

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You might want to see if anyone on here is using the Raptor Series PLA then. But again, you would want to test it in the cold.

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Not a professional but i’d recommend printing with whatever material you have available and then creating a silicone mold and then casting it out of metal.

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I think You should look into a real Polycarbonate “Lexan” the stuff that melts at 300c not the composites that are laced with pla or abs, and one more thing I love PETG especially the high temp, but when PETG fails it is almost like an explosion lol , but seriously I would not want to be holding onto petg when/if it fails! It is very strong though! I like the idea of casting it into metal the best. but as far as printable filaments the strongest material I print I would say is Polycarbonate and then Nylon but they are so close in strength…the biggest problem would be layer delamination with nylon or polycarbonate, The really expensive fiber reinforced nylon may be cool but I have never used this…

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Great idea! how difficult/expensive is it to cast metal though?

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I researched a bit, looks like it wouldn’t be too hard with plaster. What metal would you use though? I wouldn’t want a bend or break.

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or rust! just sayin :slight_smile:

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any metal would be better than any plastic i would assume.

However I would definitely do some strength and weather Extremities test

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The strength of metal depends a lot on the quality of the cast and how it’s alloyed, something not easily done unless you know what you’re doing. It’s very easy to develop weak points in metal otherwise, and that would be very bad for what you want to do. For decorative purposes, it doesn’t matter so you’ll see a lot of people casting in their backyard things like statues and jewelry. This is not the case with something that will be exposed to stresses, especially when people are involved and could be injured if it fails.

A decent amount of metal components that face a lot of stress (like carabiners) aren’t even cast. The extruded metal rods are cut to shape, heated and then stamped into shape because casting introduces too many unknowns and potential failure points. Casting is used when the geometry is too complex to forge or stamp, or you need a highly customized alloy. For testing, I’d suggest having a professional make this for you and talk to them about what material they would suggest. These are professionals who have spent their lives working with these materials and will know much more about them.

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True. Thanks for the advice, I am very low budget at this point, So I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that at this point.

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True, I didn’t see your hub before. I see you have a large list of materials! Which one would you recommend out of your list for strength and cold resistance?

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For look and feel prototyping, you can definitely do it yourself! You can print that out of plastic no problem, and should, because machining is expensive so you don’t want to do it more than you have to.

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I would also recommend Nylon! Almost all plastics become brittle in extreme temperatures, but I’m assuming (I don’t know for certain), that Nylon would be an exception. Again, I would definitely test/research this some more before pulling the trigger. Nylon is also extremely strong/durable, and it would be able to hold the weight of most skiers/boarders. I hope this helps!