Lifespan of 3D printed items

[Iain]

I have now seen several people mention a four to five year life for 3D printed items, and was curious as to whether this is true.  If it is, I'd rather not see my models crumble to dust after such a short span.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

[wcfn100]

This is probably going to be different depending on the material and process.

I have some prints from Mark4 that are close to 10 years old with no visible issues.  The next oldest piece I have is Byran's White Tower that must be 3-4 years old now and I can't see any issues.


Jason

[peteski]

Is this an anecdotal statement (made by someone somewhere) or is there some technical info about the durability of 3D printed items?

If they do have a limited life, I'm sure it depends on the material itself. For example I don't see how a 3D item printed out of sintered stainless steel would deteriorate within an average span of human life.

I would have also expected the resin-based items to have a lifespan of injection molded plastic (again, well longer than an average human lifespan).  But I never looked into this.

[gary60s]

Yes. Material makes a difference. This article shows ABS and PLA characteristics: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=6&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CEMQFjAFahUKEwi4l_PV7_HGAhWLnoAKHS5JCzk&url=http%3A%2F%2F3dprinterplans.info%2Fabs-vs-pla-shootout%2F&ei=DTGxVfjcIIu9ggSukq3IAw&usg=AFQjCNEh489jkxOwv_CPDBRCqae-w66jbA&bvm=bv.98476267,d.eXY

[peteski]

That writeup is not really applicable as it only mentions ABS and PLA material used by low-res filament-based 3D printers.  Those aren't really used much in model RR. Well, they are for things like switch machine bases or speaker enclosures. But not for printing any items which will be visible on the layout (like structures or rolling stock).

[gary60s]

Was just answering OP's question.

[wcfn100]

I'm more concerned about items shrinking then falling apart.

Jason

[asarge]

The info I got was that once painted or primed, those kinds of issues would not be a problem.

[peteski]

Was just answering OP's question.

The original question was rather generic.  I assume he meant the high-res printed items and you found info on the low-res filament-printed items.  There are lots of different 3D printing techniques and materials. We don't really know what he was specifically asking for.

[Chris333]

I have some stuff that I sprayed flat black and after a while it turned to metal flake like little crystals formed.

[Roger Holmes]

[Iain]

I was specifically asking about the higher resolution stuff; the comments I had seen were anecdotal, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

[randgust]

I got one of the Barnhart loaders now about.... three years ago.    Wonderful.

Did the Bestine soak, then put it away for a while.

When I did the assembly, my goodness.... was it ever brittle.  I painted it then, it's still fine.   No disintegration. Did not check for shrinkage.  Did not warp using either Floquil solvent or acrylic paints.  But it was more brittle after the Bestine/cure set than it was before.

I got a locomotive shell print about a year ago, attempted (with the designer) to make it into a resin master with little success.  There was a significant outgassing of air out of the print into the molding rubber.   So, I tried to paint/seal it (with Badger acrylics) and it warped - significantly, along the sides with them bowing inward, even though both inside and outside were painted.    Later checks with a micrometer showed it also shrank a bit, as the finished print no longer checked out dimensionally with what I started with, making a royal mess out of the entire process as it would no longer fit on the mechanism, either.

That was FUD, I now have my first FXD in-hand, and am testing it.

I started resin casting in 2006.  I have the very first thing I made out of CR600 sitting here on my desk shelf, unpainted - its actually the resin I pulled out of the casting cup with the stir-stick stuck in it.   It has yellowed a bit, but it is still as durable, flexible, and dimensionally stable as when I did it then.   The very first stuff I cast has held up just fine, exceeded my expectations, that's for sure.

[Sokramiketes]

I have some stuff that I sprayed flat black and after a while it turned to metal flake like little crystals formed.

I had this happen on a T gauge E-8 back before I knew to remove the wax.  I assumed the waxy substance just leeched out eventually.  I haven't noticed it on anything that's had a Naptha bath since.

[nscaleSPF2]

Since this is a complicated technical issue with serious implications for us modelers, I asked Verne to check into it.

He tells me that the Shapeways FUD and FXD are Acrylic plastics, which makes them stiffer than ABS, and less crunchy than PLA, which is made out of tapioca roots.  I didn't ask him how he discovered the crunchy part.

Verne told me that if you read the Shapeways descriptions very, very carefully, they may not be the same exact material, but, yes, they are both Acrylics.  Only Shapeways knows for sure.  Just like only Shapeways knows what happens to all of those little plastic molecules as they go thru the printing process.

In my opinion, the only useful thing that Verne discovered was the material properties data sheet:

http://www.shapeways.com/rrstatic/material_docs/mds-frosted.pdf

If you look at the item called Heat Distortion Temp @ 66psi (which technically has no physical meaning unless the test conditions are specified and they are not), the value is only 46deg C.  This is 115deg F. 

So if you are trying to use an FUD or FXD part to make a mold for a resin casting, you probably need to make sure that the part does not exceed this temperature during the mold making process.  And if you are using an FUD or FXD part as a locomotive shell, you also need to be mindful of the temperature limitation.