Don’t really understand why you’re getting disliked - your methods aren’t ideal, sure, but your documentation seems thorough, and it’s really nice to see weird abrasives (is that the term?) being tested, me being a beginner that knows nothing about the subject that would otherwise have to spend time of trying out this stuff myself. So thanks for the content!
I assume he’s getting disliked because people like me would like a concise experiment not seven parts of things that we know won’t work like screws, then wet sand
When you go to a river and you see the rounded smooth rocks in the river, do you think they started out as rounded smooth rocks? No, they were broken chunks, and that is what is happening with your cube test in the rock tumbler. The flat surfaces are holding the sand while the sand flows over the edges and corners, rounding them off, just the rocks in the river.
Using this method will result in a rounded part. The same way grains of sand all become spherical in shape (originally jagged forms), the cube will eventually turn into a sphere. As a result, the sharp corners are the first to go; they’re most likely to protrude and come in contact with the sand lining the walls of the tumbler.
If its a flat or concave surface, its not going to sand it, it has to have pressure to the outside from impact for the media to grate on it. It will work great for rounded prints with hard to sand surfaces. 👍
The tumbling medium that you're using is too fine. You need to use a coarser medium (i.e. shot pellets, steel beads, steel rods) and work your way up to finer media. Much like sanding. Otherwise only the most exposed surfaces, such as the corners, will be affected. You should also tumble in water, or the viscosity of the tumbling media will be too low to ensure uniform smoothing.
great info ! also, the printed part needs to be heated using heat gun to restore back its color. i think the fastest way to smoothen pla is to sandblast it. tumbling produce great result but very slow process.i thinks it is suitable only for mass production
Move your device to vertical position... You're moving the sand along side a cube and when it is spinning inside of a tube of course it will tend to hit the edges esp when your tube isn't filled fully with sand
Personally I use a soldering iron to smooth some parts of my prints. It's easy to manipulate and allow very easy correction in tight corners. Require some skill but it works fine. (use a soldering iron with temperature control for better result)
Hey! I know it's a little late, but thank you for doing all that tinkering! You've saved me bunch of time and money! If there's any Patreon page or something like that so I can tip your work please let me know! Stay safe and all the best!
It's a very interesting thing. But i guess you will have better results if you not use simple sand. Because its variates to much in his granulation. also there could be small stones in there. so there are 2 things i would try out, if i would be patients enough: 1. Use playground sand, it's much finer in his granulation and make it really soaked in water. but this will be a try and error game. Also it could be possible that the stepper motor is to weak. 2. use quartz sand! it is also used in sandblasting, so the granulation is pretty small.
Are you sure the alteration of the cube comes from the interaction with the sand? Isn't it rather because of the interaction with the tumbler itself? It would explain that the sides and corners are more affected, because they have more chances to hit the tumbler than the faces. So maybe you could try a tumbler with spikes on the inner side to help having contacts with the sides of the part?
Honnestly i pretty sure this method could be a very good way to smooth the edges of a print even if it's not "the best" technique to smooth the printing lines.
Don’t really understand why you’re getting disliked - your methods aren’t ideal, sure, but your documentation seems thorough, and it’s really nice to see weird abrasives (is that the term?) being tested, me being a beginner that knows nothing about the subject that would otherwise have to spend time of trying out this stuff myself.
So thanks for the content!
I assume he’s getting disliked because people like me would like a concise experiment not seven parts of things that we know won’t work like screws, then wet sand
When you go to a river and you see the rounded smooth rocks in the river, do you think they started out as rounded smooth rocks? No, they were broken chunks, and that is what is happening with your cube test in the rock tumbler. The flat surfaces are holding the sand while the sand flows over the edges and corners, rounding them off, just the rocks in the river.
A vibratory polisher should work better, that is what they use nowadays for deburring and polishing. You should be able to 3d print one.
Using this method will result in a rounded part. The same way grains of sand all become spherical in shape (originally jagged forms), the cube will eventually turn into a sphere. As a result, the sharp corners are the first to go; they’re most likely to protrude and come in contact with the sand lining the walls of the tumbler.
Thanks for the comment, that makes a lot of sense!
If its a flat or concave surface, its not going to sand it, it has to have pressure to the outside from impact for the media to grate on it. It will work great for rounded prints with hard to sand surfaces. 👍
The tumbling medium that you're using is too fine. You need to use a coarser medium (i.e. shot pellets, steel beads, steel rods) and work your way up to finer media. Much like sanding. Otherwise only the most exposed surfaces, such as the corners, will be affected. You should also tumble in water, or the viscosity of the tumbling media will be too low to ensure uniform smoothing.
great info ! also, the printed part needs to be heated using heat gun to restore back its color. i think the fastest way to smoothen pla is to sandblast it.
tumbling produce great result but very slow process.i thinks it is suitable only for mass production
Thanks for the comment and advice, it really helps us out!
Move your device to vertical position... You're moving the sand along side a cube and when it is spinning inside of a tube of course it will tend to hit the edges esp when your tube isn't filled fully with sand
What and you use?
Personally I use a soldering iron to smooth some parts of my prints. It's easy to manipulate and allow very easy correction in tight corners. Require some skill but it works fine. (use a soldering iron with temperature control for better result)
Do you have some pictures or videos showing objects treated with this method?
Hey! I know it's a little late, but thank you for doing all that tinkering! You've saved me bunch of time and money! If there's any Patreon page or something like that so I can tip your work please let me know! Stay safe and all the best!
Thanks for the comment, looking forward to bringing more content to everyone!
It's a very interesting thing. But i guess you will have better results if you not use simple sand. Because its variates to much in his
granulation. also there could be small stones in there.
so there are 2 things i would try out, if i would be patients enough:
1. Use playground sand, it's much finer in his granulation and make it really soaked in water. but this will be a try and error game. Also it could be possible that the stepper motor is to weak.
2. use quartz sand! it is also used in sandblasting, so the granulation is pretty small.
Thanks for the comment and advice!
@@Tinkerine Your welcome, without you i wouldnt even think abouit this!
Are you sure the alteration of the cube comes from the interaction with the sand? Isn't it rather because of the interaction with the tumbler itself? It would explain that the sides and corners are more affected, because they have more chances to hit the tumbler than the faces. So maybe you could try a tumbler with spikes on the inner side to help having contacts with the sides of the part?
A cube is not the best object to test this technique... A spiky ball or something with a lot of angle would be a better test.
Thanks for the comment, we will try our next experiments with another print!
Honnestly i pretty sure this method could be a very good way to smooth the edges of a print even if it's not "the best" technique to smooth the printing lines.
Correct. A belt sander would be perfect for a simple cube and a tumbler is for creating soft edges.
I think the issue your having is you have NO media in there with the sand.. ceramic pieces etc..
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