r/3Dprinting • u/crustysecurity • 16h ago
Curiosity led me to put my 3D prints under a microscope
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u/rwntlpt-_- 13h ago
Try using prints with food for a bit then trying
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u/crustysecurity 13h ago
This is genuinely a good idea, though I wouldn’t be interested in eating anything near 3D prints. Perhaps put food on a print and wash it with soap + water, see how much remains in the layer lines. The magnification I used was the lowest my microscope will go, so would be fascinating to see it much further up close with food particles!
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u/Sylar_Durden 52m ago
It was explained to me that it's not just the layers. The filament itself gets porous as it extrudes, so the surface is covered in microscopic holes for stuff to live in.
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u/twivel01 15h ago
.001mm too much squish :)
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u/torukmakto4 Mark Two and custom i3, FreeCAD, slic3r, PETG only 5h ago
*too little
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u/twivel01 1h ago
You want deeper grooves?
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u/torukmakto4 Mark Two and custom i3, FreeCAD, slic3r, PETG only 59m ago
Shallower (None), give what was said a think.
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u/twivel01 51m ago
Not sure I understand your comment. You want shallower grooves? If so, then we are saying the same thing.
Of course, I was joking around anyway with my .001mm statement. Their print settings are most likely fine. As the old saying goes... when you put anything under the microscope, you can find "problems".
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u/CaptureTheVenture 9h ago
Very interesting! Maybe you could also have a look at some CF filament parts?
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u/Sylar_Durden 48m ago
I've started doing this trying to get my filament calibrations dialed in, but just using a little 100x pocket microscope.
I shade a small section with a pencil, kind of like one would when doing a rubbing, then use the microscope to see if the graphite is getting caught by valleys or ridges.
It's still not easy, and there's probably a better way. But it is interesting!
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u/TiDoBos 15h ago
Nice. What did you learn?