Although smoothing using ethyl acetate and tetrahydrofuran (THF) have been done in the past, these techniques have waned in popularity due to the hazards involved in handling these chemicals. With solubility out of the equation, finishing techniques using chemical treatment are not so common when working with PLA. This means that it does not readily dissolve in organic solvents like acetone, which is widely used to smooth ABS prints. PLA is a unique filament material in that it is not made from a petroleum-based compound. These support structures can be easily cut off but will often leave small nubs that need to be smoothed out if you want to preserve the aesthetic value of your print. ![]() You may also encounter a design that will require support structures when printed. If you are aiming to get a professional-grade quality, there is simply no way to achieve it in a PLA print without doing some finishing or smoothing. ![]() ![]() Any type of paint will find it hard to adhere to an uneven surface, and any painting job will come out with an equally uneven treatment. Regardless of how small you set your layer thickness, these layer lines are unavoidable, resulting in prints that have inherently uneven surfaces.Īside from being unsightly, these uneven surfaces are poor media for painting. All FDM prints naturally come out with layer lines. PLA finishing and why you need to finish your PLA printīefore you even think about painting your PLA print, it needs to be finished and smoothed first. In this article, we detail how you can paint your PLA print to come up with something you proudly show off. It’s one of the easiest materials to work with, but maximizing its potential requires that you apply a few finishing and painting techniques. PLA is one of the most common materials used in 3D printing today and is quickly becoming the most popular. If you want to come up with a high-quality 3D print that is sure to stand out, then there will still be a lot of work to be done after the printing process. However, 3D prints are far from perfect when they come out of the 3D printer. ![]() Depending on your printer settings, you can capture a lot of very fine details in your 3D print. 3D Insider is ad supported and earns money from clicks, commissions from sales, and other ways.ģD printers are great for reproducing the 3D models that you can see on your screen.
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