I made a 3D model of the rectangular buttons for the NAD 3220. Ordered a 3D print of one and I'm happy with the result, as it looks almost identical to the original buttons.
Just in case someone else is interested.
Just in case someone else is interested.
I have a large 3d printer that only work well with pla. ABS is more stable but is harder to get nice prints out of it and the finishing get rough. PLA has s very smooth finishing.I live on Florida, hot and humid, the mortal enemies of PLA.
When i forgot a part in my car during daytime in the summer, with temperatures inside the car about 55C 130F , the part got bent.
I left a part outside in the rain and sun as a test. It took over a year for the part to get brittle to the point of loosing all strength. Eventually it broke into pieces.
Also, i left several PLA parts in a non air conditioning store. Humidity goes up to 90 per cent and temperature about 38C, 100F, with no apparent damage for 3 years.
Now I feel confident printing pla waveguides for personal in-house ussage even in a non air conditioned room
In conclusion, pla finishing is awesome and the material is good enough for in house use and short time exterior use. The visual quality of the parts of pls is very close to Stereolithography (SLA) and the durability is good enough in my experience.
N.b. given the small size of the part, if higher quality and durability was desired, the part could be submitted to a SLA print house ( like shapeways, non affiliated). SLA strength and finishing is simply amazing, and with the print volume of a button or a knob, price is affordable
When i forgot a part in my car during daytime in the summer, with temperatures inside the car about 55C 130F , the part got bent.
I left a part outside in the rain and sun as a test. It took over a year for the part to get brittle to the point of loosing all strength. Eventually it broke into pieces.
Also, i left several PLA parts in a non air conditioning store. Humidity goes up to 90 per cent and temperature about 38C, 100F, with no apparent damage for 3 years.
Now I feel confident printing pla waveguides for personal in-house ussage even in a non air conditioned room
In conclusion, pla finishing is awesome and the material is good enough for in house use and short time exterior use. The visual quality of the parts of pls is very close to Stereolithography (SLA) and the durability is good enough in my experience.
N.b. given the small size of the part, if higher quality and durability was desired, the part could be submitted to a SLA print house ( like shapeways, non affiliated). SLA strength and finishing is simply amazing, and with the print volume of a button or a knob, price is affordable
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