Maybe chemistry is an issue too. Septic is what, methane/(?)?
Comment on Septic clean out cap
empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 month ago
ASA is the peak material for outdoor prints with the best uv and weather resistance. It is quite a bit expensive but worth it imo if it’s not something you want to replace every 2 years.
How big is the cap? Is it a threaded pipe clean out cap or a manhole sized cap?
There are codes regulating the loads a septic cap has to support (preventing people from falling in) as well as some need for atmospheric sealing. If you have to print in multiple sections I don’t know how tight you can make it and how strong it can really be if there is glue involved.
j4k3@lemmy.world 1 month ago
empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 month ago
ASA is basically inert unless you’re dealing with weird acids or acetone so I don’t worry about the chemistry too much. PETG will generally be a little better chemically but nothing that you’d see in a sewer.
IMALlama@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Agree on ASA. I have some PLA+ prints that have been outdoors 24/7/365 for going on 5 years now and they’re holding up really well, so that’s another good option.
I’ve been printing ASA for about a year and a half and haven’t dried a spool yet. I guess it all hinges on a mix of relative humidity in your area and how much you care about a flawless finish.
GhostlyPixel@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Are your PLA+ prints taking any load at all? I have some PLA+ pieces that I have printed to repair outdoor Halloween and Christmas decorations which are at some stress points in the decorations and I have to replace them at the start of each season because they get so brittle by the time the holidays are over.
IMALlama@lemmy.world 1 month ago
They’re under an intermittent load, but it’s probably not very high. Interestingly, the parts don’t seem very brittle. I suspect the exact materials in PLA+ probably vary wildly between blends/companies, so their material properties likely have some variation.
empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 month ago
Ehhh, I find that PLA doesn’t survive well in continuously wet environments- gets kinda cheese-y like.
Thats interesting you havent had any problems with it being wet though. ASA must be a lot more sensitive to manufacturer, because I had four complete spools of Bambu that just wouldn’t do shit without drying, and I’m about 30/80 on spools of Overture ASA that need drying vs don’t.
IMALlama@lemmy.world 1 month ago
I wonder what the various companies blend into their pla+. This stuff is from a company that’s since gone out of business, but it seems to shrug off UI, rain, and ice/snow. It wasn’t matter hackers, but they had a similar name from what I recall. USA made and cheap, but their QC wasn’t great.
As for ASA, I’ve only printed Polymaker. I buy the 3kg spools when they go on sale and it’s hard to beat 3kg for $70 or so. I am tempted to try another brand to see if it prints differently though.
ilovededyoupiggy@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
Did you anneal your PLA+ prints or did they go outside straight off the printer?
IMALlama@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Straight off the printer! I’ve never tried annealing and the minimal amount of poking around has been somewhat inconclusive. I tend to change materials when I want different physical properties. The vast majority of my prints are functional, and don’t need to be super pretty, so I buy mostly ASA and PETG these days.
IME, PLA prints nicer than PETG, which in turn prints nicer than ASA. Also IME, ASA supports are super nice to remove. PETG is a massive PITA.
Thankfully, I haven’t had a print that demanded very nice surface finished and also strength/ruggedness.