What could I put inside 3D printed props to make them heavier? Soldering wire?
>>2847589leadtungstengoldcopperbig rockssandbird shotdirtgravyfloursmall children
>>2847589sand or concrete, faggot
>>2847589barium sulfate is used as a dense inert filler in mass loaded vinyl sound barrier sheetsmaybe you can get some custom filament made with it
>>2847602Barium Sulfate has a density of 4.5g/cm3 ... Bitch please!? Lead has like 11g/cm3 and gold like 19g/cm3. Though gold is a bit expensive but lead is relatively cheap.
>>2847589Sand, lead or rocks.Also print in petg if you want something heavy, this shit is pretty dense.
>>2847607yeah but there's the small problem of lead being poisonbarium is quite safe by comparison, it's used for enemas to enhance xray contrast
>>2847589Kind of depends on what kind of prop you are making and other constraints. I'm assuming you have a prop that you can open to fill a hidden internal compartment of some sort? If not, and that isnt an option, your best bet would be to aim for a denser filament and/or higher infill. You can get some filaments that have actual metal particles in them, I'd imagine those would be denser than regular plastic. Does the prop need to move around, or does it just sit somewhere? If you just need dead weight inside, just about anything will work. Soldering wire would do, but cheaper would be straight lead in some form. Fishing weights might be one way to do it, or even just ingots of lead depending on the size. Maybe diving weights. You could do other metals too of course. A few lumps of scrap steel is fairly heafty compared to plastic. As others have mentioned, rocks, concrete, or sand could be a good option.An unconventional one might be hydrogel. Its a hard crystal that absorbs many, many times its weight in water. You can get larger crystals of it from gardening supply places (for holding and supplying moisture to soil over time) although it might come with plant food stuff mixed in or something. You could also buy diapers and cut them up to get at the fluff in the core of them. They will have some wood pulp stuff mixed in with it, but you should(?) be able to remove that without too much trouble. Those would do better as far as density since they are much smaller and will fill space better. Either way, be sure to use distilled water or the closest you can get to it as any dissolved solids (salt, minerals, etc) will disrupt the hydrogen bonding that the stuff relies on to work and it will hold much less weight.
unrelated question here but always wonderedCan you print something out of extremely light Styrofoam-like material that can be used for pouring lost foam casting?
>>2847653probably not, at least not in the traditional sense. Melting sytrofoam would burst the air bubbles in it. However you could print a relatively thin shell of material that would be mostly void or empty space (either just light infill or actual void) that might serve the same purpose. Especially if the shell were fairly thin I think that would work. Even if the metal didn't cleanly melt away the plastic, it would still be mostly empty space for it to fill and only the last few millimeters would be messed up on the outside. But I feel like it would melt or vaporize pretty easy anyway. And if not, I'm sure there are some filament types that would be particularly well suited for it. Something with a low boiling temperature and low density? Would be interesting to try it with all different types, ie PLA, PVA, maybe TPU or PET? ABS would be less than ideal because APPARENTLY when it burns it gives off cyanide. (long story involving me, a college prototyping lab, a laser cutter, and ultimately a new rule saying that you cant cut vinyl (because it gives off hydrochloride acid that wrecks the machine eventually) or ABS.
>>2847660WAIT my question was uneducatedapparently investment casting already uses 3D printing. >printing something out of a material that melts away after cast curing and pours that out to leave a void for moldnow this is what I'll be researching for the next month
>>2847589Check your local brake shop. When they resurface the rotors it makes steel dust and they will likely give you some of it for free.
>>2847589Oh look, another faggot who can't use the castalog. Thanks for shitting up the board.>>2847653Foaming filaments do exist, if that's the question.
>>2847589Sand or dirt would be the cheapest option. Put it in a bag so it doesn't leak out if there are holes in your prop. Water would be another cheap option. Rocks, stick on wheel weights if you just need a bit of weight that won't rattle or slosh around.
>>2847589>Soldering wire?WAY to expensive.Steel has a density of 7.85 and is very cheap.If you require more density, lead, but that's quite pricey.You can find lead weights for fishing and such, for curtains, if you need a lot for cheap check tire shops for old used balancing weights.
Sand/Rocks/Concrete are terrible options, their density is only around 2.5 which is not much more than your filament (1.1-1.5)
>>2847627I am a diver. We use lead to control buoyancy underwater. Afaik lead is pretty harmless for humans unless it's ingested / becomes airborne (small particles) a d is absorbed via your lungs. My lead weights are coated with some sort of lacquer. Barium sulfate might be safer. I don't know. I also don't know if barium sulfate is cheap or not. Copper also has a pretty high density of 8.9g/cm3 so maybe copper pennies are the way to go?
Make a cavity in your part, pour BB's in, and then pour in some very fluid epoxy (maybe look at McMaster) to lock them in place.
>>2847589uranium
>>2847589Steel pellets for pellet guns would probably work well. Heavy, relatively cheap, doesn't make a mess, nontoxic.
>>2847768pennies are almost entirely zinc these days. It only has a very thin copper coating on the outside.
>>2847589I use spent AA batteriesI have plenty so it's free and the weight is okay
>>2847962>leaks after a few years
>>2847653What I've done is embedded in a sand/plaster mix (90 minute plaster works best), melted out the pla at 800F, then pour metal into the cavity.There are some foaming low density filaments you might be able to use without a burnout, you would want as little infill as possible. I haven't tried it myself though.Don't neglect risers and how you position your sprues is important.Using a casting alloy such as 356 rather than just soda cans and other random scrap will also make a world of difference.
>>2847589>3D printingAll of you faggots better fuck off to Reddit.
>>2847589steel bb gun bbs
>>2847812You're right. Damn! I was fooled. But zinc still has a density of 7.15g/cm3 ...IDK OP pick your poison.
>>2847589Find some old ankle or wrist weights (for fitness). They contain pellets of something heavy, IDK what. I'd rather not mess with lead though.
>>2847589>propstell the actors to act better
>>2848241Do you finish or polish your negative at all before you make your mold?
>>2850006If I have any leftover strings I clean those off, but I don't polish to get rid of the layers. You can see the layer lines in the castings if you look close enough, but good enough for me. Maybe something I'll look into the future.
>>2847598>>2847591>>2847623>>2847688You're all trolling.The cooling fan will blow sand every fucking where and most importantly the fucking gears and threaded rods and it will grind the absolute shit out of the metal why the fuck are you here get the fuck out jesus christ am I on /adv/?
>>2847681>Foaming filaments do exist, if that's the question.he's asking specifically about a filament that would be removed from molten metal pouring on it a la lost foam casting, which is what he said.
>>2851090>The cooling fan will blow sand every fucking where and most importantly the fucking gears and threaded rods and it will grind the absolute shit out of the metal why the fuck are you here get the fuck out jesus christ am I on /adv/?You fill after the print, there are special infill patterns for that. You can do epoxy/sand mixture too, that gets an heavy and very hard fill.
>>2852529There's wax investment filaments that would be better than foam
>>2853166That's great, but I was just clarifying what he asked to be clear. Hope he sees.
Large washers
