stratasys model cleaning tips or tricks?

[Joe]

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to more effectively clean printed models? Specifically analog holes and small die holes. We follow Stratasys' directions but still end up with a little support gunk in there.

 

[eyeloveteeth]

Vibrator/Cleaner, fill with IPA, make sure models are secure and not just floating around.

Alternatively you can get really creative and modify a blender, print a support housing, and do that - kinda like the new form wash.

Also have IPA squirt bottles + small toothbrushes - the IPA will do its job as long as it can get in there.

 

[Joe]

seems like a waste of good beer, but I'll give it a try.

when you vibrator/cleaner, do you mean ultrasonic? How do you secure them?

 

[CoolHandLuke]

IPA good beer? just low long is your beard, bro ?

 

[LuthorCorp]

Using a water jet can be a pain with small objects, during our testing phase we tried to find better ways to clean them using holders and what not help for sure but the best way to clean them for us has been with ultrasonic and acid... Sodium Hydroxide diluted with water in a 10:1 water to Sodium Hydroxide works pretty good, we upped it to almost 50-50 and still worked but need to be more diligent. We used clear glass vials from acrylic paints to hold the solution, then we would initially soak the parts in water to help remove the big chunks by hand, then soak it in the solution for 10 min in the ultrasonic. Once that is done IMMEDIATELY empty it into a sink and thoroughly rinse with water. Scrub with a brush and some soap and final rinse and finished. A bit more tedious but worked really well for us.

**Side Note** Water and Sodium Hydroxide (Lye Crystals) causes an exothermic reaction and will produce a lot of heat... do not place parts to be washed into the solution until the solution has cooled so you do not distort the printed parts.


Here is a list of how we cleaned them to better organize what i wrote...

1. Mix solution of Sodium Hydroxide and Water in container, once fully dissolved let stand for 5-10 min

2. Soak parts in water to loose support material and remove as much as possible by hand.

3. Place parts into Sodium Hydroxide solution and place in ultrasonic for 10 min. Room Temp

4. Remove parts and immediately immerse in running water to dilute any residual acid on parts.

5. Scrub parts with brush (We used a toothbrush) with soap and water.

6. Dry and viola


Hope this helps, this was the best we could find in our testing. All stratasys models have a super thin layer of support material hybrid where the support meats the model and soaking in water or anything wont remove this, however the acid soak will dissolve this. (Straight from stratasys support)

 

[Joe]

IPA good beer? just low long is your beard, bro ?

about 8". It just happens when you live in Portland.

 

[eyeloveteeth]

seems like a waste of good beer, but I'll give it a try.

when you vibrator/cleaner, do you mean ultrasonic? How do you secure them?

honestly i didn't want to sound judgy LOL

i didn't want to assume every lab had an ultrasonic cleaner, AND a regular ultrasonic cleaner uses too low of a frequency to get some of the thicker resin dislodged so adding something like NaH3 makes sense - or add something into the ultrasonic that will really agitate the IPA

 

[Joe]

we've got a bunch of ultrasonics around. I'll do some experimenting tomorrow. I like the blender hack idea. Mostly because it gives me something to take apart and "fix" in the garage this weekend. Probably need a better speed control and timer.

 

[2thm8kr]

we've got a bunch of ultrasonics around. I'll do some experimenting tomorrow. I like the blender hack idea. Mostly because it gives me something to take apart and "fix" in the garage this weekend. Probably need a better speed control and timer.

Joe, be careful with the blender. A few techs have had their careers cut short making daiquiris when they ran out of Coor's Light

 

[rkm rdt]

 

[Joe]

I'll stick with IPA's

 

[deadhead]

When we clean our models we find it helps soaking the model in warm water for 1/2hr-1hr and then use the pressure washer that they supply with the printer and the support material seems to come off way easier and all small cracks get cleaned pretty well. then we take the models to the steamer for a quick blast. Seems to work for us, but like everything in this industry, everyone has their own way that they like to do things, so i usually will take everyones advice and come up with a new master solution based off of all the feedback.

 

[eyeloveteeth]

i also know dish soap is great with certain materials.

Actually i know my buddy at BMW uses dish soap in an ultrasonic mixed with IPA - but you have to be careful of not leaving it in too long

 

[dmonwaxa]

Dish saop..hic! and IPA is a bad combo.... taste bad!!!

 

[kristian]

Our process with SUP705:

- Soak in water (1h -> over the weekend, the longer the better)
- WaterJet
- 1h soak in Sodium Hydroxide (15%) bath
- WaterJet
- 30 min soak in Sodium Hydroxide
- WaterJet

Use proper Sodium Hydroxide. If you have Stratasys WaterWorks, you need much, much higher powder to water ratio. If you have removable dies, you can soften any remaining support material in the die holes with IPA, and they should slide in okay.

 

[LuthorCorp]

Our process with SUP705:

- Soak in water (1h -> over the weekend, the longer the better)
- WaterJet
- 1h soak in Sodium Hydroxide (15%) bath
- WaterJet
- 30 min soak in Sodium Hydroxide
- WaterJet

Use proper Sodium Hydroxide. If you have Stratasys WaterWorks, you need much, much higher powder to water ratio. If you have removable dies, you can soften any remaining support material in the die holes with IPA, and they should slide in okay.

Have you noticed any distortion in models from extended soaking? We were told directly from Stratasys support that over 10min in a 10% solution of Sodium Hydroxide could distort materials, that being said we do a 50% ratio for 10 and havent noticed any issues.

 

[kristian]

Have you noticed any distortion in models from extended soaking? We were told directly from Stratasys support that over 10min in a 10% solution of Sodium Hydroxide could distort materials, that being said we do a 50% ratio for 10 and havent noticed any issues.

Not from the soaks. I think we had some issues when it was soak with ultrasonic from the heat.

Adding to ratio and cutting down time might not be a bad idea.

 

[LuthorCorp]

Not from the soaks. I think we had some issues when it was soak with ultrasonic from the heat.

Adding to ratio and cutting down time might not be a bad idea.

We had good results but just be careful what container you use, the reaction is a lot more volatile with that high ratio... really hot!

 

[Car 54]

How do you get the sticky wax off of printed models without steaming the heck out of them, only to chase the wax all over the model?
When I articulate casts for scanning or for mounting on a Hanau, I use sticky wax. Low temp glue sticks is even harder to get off.

Should I try putting the model in the freezer for an hour, making the wax brittle enough to pop off? Maybe try sealing the surface areas I want to add wax to with a die sealer? With stone casts using warm water you can peel the sticky wax off, or with a glue stick getting the model wet it comes right off.

 

[Doris A]

How do you get the sticky wax off of printed models without steaming the heck out of them, only to chase the wax all over the model?
When I articulate casts for scanning or for mounting on a Hanau, I use sticky wax. Low temp glue sticks is even harder to get off.

Should I try putting the model in the freezer for an hour, making the wax brittle enough to pop off? Maybe try sealing the surface areas I want to add wax to with a die sealer? With stone casts using warm water you can peel the sticky wax off, or with a glue stick getting the model wet it comes right off.

If you use hot glue sticks, just run it under hot water to soften it up and it'll peel right off.