Hi Greg I've tried the lost foam method in dry sand. Outside. Can't stand the smell of the sand afterwards.
Although PLA smell isn't that bad I've seen the castings produced by lost 3D printed lost PLA. They are ugly just as 3D printed parts are actually quite ugly too. If the goal is just to make something to cast with no care about surface finish I can see it. And if the casting fails put the foundry away for another 24 hours or more of re-printing the next trial. For me, making a nice pattern is part of the fun of casting. Getting a smooth surface finish too. Now having said that if I were to design something that would require a complex shape that cannot be easily turned into a multi-part pattern I might just try lost PLA for it. John > -----Original Message----- > From: Gregg Eshelman via Emc-users [mailto:emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net] > Sent: June-15-21 2:30 AM > To: Enhanced Machine Controller (EMC) > Cc: Gregg Eshelman > Subject: Re: [Emc-users] Spindle Control > > Print in PLA with only one perimeter and as little infill as you can get by > with, print all the sprues and vents as one part with the > pattern too. Then all you have to do is pack the print tightly in sand then > pour in the molten metal to burn out the plastic. Look up > lost PLA casting. With really fine sand you can make metal castings that look > like they were made on an FDM printer. > > I really need to get my 3D printer working again so I can print the parts to > CNC my old Unimat lathe. > > On Monday, June 14, 2021, 9:04:42 PM MDT, John Dammeyer > <jo...@autoartisans.com> wrote: > Thank you for posting that.� > So in the places where I'd make a pattern and cast from scrap aluminium you > 3D print the part. > Very nicely done! > John > _______________________________________________ > Emc-users mailing list > Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
