If you’re familiar with Shapeways, chances are you’ve heard of Shapeways’ Designer Evangelist Duann Scott. The enthusiastic spokesman for the popular on-demand 3D printing service is not only a great voice for the 7-year old company, but also for the small world of 3D printing in general.
On Shapeways, Duann describes himself as a Product Designer, 3D Modeler, Artist and Maker. After releasing some highly-informative videos recently that show the durabilities of various 3D printing materials, he can now add ‘3D Print Torturer’ to that list as well.
“We tested Shapeways 3D Printing materials to see if they would burn. We set fire to our Alumide (metallic plastic) UV Cured Acrylic Resin (Frosted Ultra Detail & Detail Plastic), Gypsum Full Color (full color sandstone) and Nylon (white, strong & flexible) to see how easily it would catch fire and howl long it would burn for.”
Originally published over on the Shapeways blog, Duann drags you in with a nice lead-in as to what you’re about to see:
“Ever wondered what would happen if you set fire to your 3D prints? Yeah, me too.”
When he later warns you to “not try this at home,” you know it’s going to be a great show. Here’s a breakdown on what might happen if you leave your Sad Keanu figurines a little to close to the toaster oven:
http://youtu.be/imE-55Yq6NE
“A little surprisingly the Alumide was the first to melt down like a powdery napalm candle.”
Said Duann.
“Both of the Acrylics (both of which are UV cured resins) caught fire super easily and burnt steadily emitting a terrible odor. The full color sandstone did not really want to stay alight with this geometry. It is actually the Cyanoacrylate (super glue (Kragle)) final sealing process that really burns in the full color prints, I tried other prints that had not been dipped in Cyanoacrylate and they would not stay alight at all. Finally the Nylon caught fire but did not maintain the flame for very long. In other geometries I have seen the Nylon keep alight for longer, again dripping like napalm whilst still on fire.”
Check out the full report (and an update) over at Shapeways.
Also be sure to check out Duann’s awesome Shapeways store bits to atoms.
