Polymaker Polysher

Γνωρίστε το Polysher της Polymaker, το πρώτο αυτοματοποιημένο εργαλείο για το γυάλισμα των εκτυπώσεών σας!

Η μοναδική αυτή συσκευή διαθέτει κλειστό θάλαμο με περιστρεφόμενη πλατφόρμα στην οποία τοποθετείτε εκτυπώσεις από το Polysmooth αναλώσιμο της Polymaker και στη συνέχεια δημιουργεί ένα νέφος αλκοόλ με το οποίο λειαίνεται η εξωτερική επιφάνεια της εκτύπωσής σας μέσα σε 10 λεπτά!

Προπαραγγείλτε το σήμερα από το Kickstarter ή περιμένετε μέχρι τον Σεπτέμβριο για αγορά μόνο από το 3DHUB.gr!

Below is a polished engineering part:

The core of the technology is the material – PolySmooth, which gives excellent printing characteristics, balanced mechanical properties, and most importantly, “polishability” when exposed to common alcohols such as isopropyl alcohol or ethanol. The polishing process involves exposing a 3D printed part of PolySmooth to an aerosol (a suspension of micro-sized droplets) of alcohol.

The aerosol is generated by a unit called the nebulizer, which consists of a thin membrane with hundreds of tiny (< 10 microns) holes, attached to a piezoelectric actuator. When actuated, the nebulizer will generate a fine aerosol of micro-sized alcohol droplets, which will then adsorb onto the surface of the 3D printed part and eventually make it smooth. Everything is done seamlessly and effortlessly in the Polysher.

Photo of the nebulizer:

PVB stands for poly(vinyl butyral) and is the base material for PolySmooth. It is formulated by Polymaker’s experienced engineers to offer excellent printing quality, balanced mechanical properties, and, most importantly, the “smoothability”. The basic printing characteristics of PolySmooth are designed to be very similar to PLA – so it is 100% compatible with existing extrusion-based (FDM/FFF) 3D printers and extremely easy to work with.

Typical printing conditions:

Nozzle temperature: 190-210 ˚C
Build surface: adheres well to common build surfaces including the blue tape, BuildTak, polyimide/Kapton tape, etc.
Heated bed: not required, but can be set to 60-70 ˚C for better consistency
Layer adhesion and warping resistance: similar to PLA; you can easily print large parts without warping and/or delamination.
Odor: minimal (barely noticeable)

Mechanical/thermal properties of PolySmooth (based on 3D printed parts with 100% infill):

Tensile strength: 40-45 MPa (compared to 30-40 MPa for PLA/ABS)
IZOD Impact Strength: 15-18 kJ/m^2 (compared to 2-3 kJ/m^2 for PLA and 5-15 kJ/m^2 for ABS)
Softening Temperature: ~ 70 C (compared to 55-60 C for PLA and 90-95 C for ABS)

Below is a quick comparison of PolySmooth to PLA and ABS.

It is worth mentioning that, built on our previous expertise PolySupport, we have optimized PolySmooth to allow easy removal of support, allowing geometries with high level of complexity.

We have created 11 beautiful colors for you to choose from:

In summary, PolySmooth is an excellent 3D printing material on its own! You can rest assured that it will be fully compatible with your printer and generate good and consistent results. Of course now it is time for the added magic – let’s check out the polishing!

We designed the Polysher from scratch, since there had been nothing like this in the market when we started. We went through conception, multiple design iterations, and worked with Pragmatic Designs Inc. and Gyre9 LLC, two US-based product development companies to come to a design that gives an excellent combination of aesthetics, function and reliability.

The Polysher was designed with a methodical approach from the electronics to the bolts used, each part was carefully designed and chosen.

With over 40 parts, our designers made sure nothing was overlooked ensuring accurate designs and well thought out manufacturing.

We used 3D printing extensively to create prototypes in various stages. Below you can see the evolution of the various prototypes:

The core component of the Polysher, the nebulizer, has also undergone multiple design iterations. The final design features a minimal size, and can be simply “clicked on”. The photo below shows (from left to right) the 1st, 2nd and 3rd (final) generations of the nebulizer.

A schematic diagram of the Polysher:

It is very simple to operate the Polysher:

3D print your part with PolySmooth, just like what you normally do with PLA;
Place the printed part in the Polysher;
Set the polishing time by turning the knob; a typical part takes 20 – 40 minutes, depending on the size and environmental temperature;
Once polishing is finished, the stage will automatically lift up for you to easily get the part.

In addition, the liquid reservoir of the Polysher needs to be filled with alcohol. Suitable alcohols are:

Isopropyl alcohol (also known as isopropanol)
Ethanol

with concentrations of no less than 70% (90% or higher recommended). You can choose whatever is more easily available for you. More information on the selection of alcohol polishing liquids can be found in the FAQ section.

During polishing: