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Printing ASA - CF : Important considerations !

My engines 4:01

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In this video I show important aspects to consider when printing ASA - CF.
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Thanks to Extrudr for sponsoring the ASA-CF filament, have a look at their products:
https://www.extrudr.com
Thanks also to Diamant, look out for Dichtol at: https://diamant-polymer.com
Thanks to Baptiste (alias OfficialyMax) we now have a Discord server:
https://discord.com/invite/TDABS5z2mT
It would be very nice if we could discuss there everything about Stirling engines, 3D printing and more, thank you very much Baptiste.

When printing fiber-reinforced engineering filaments, there are a few things to consider. This is particularly important if you are using a basic printer like me, the Bambu Lab A1. Some safety rules must be followed to protect your health. Post-treatment is necessary or at least advisable for some high-tech filaments.I need high-pressure resistant 3D printed parts for my Stirling engine.After running intensive tests with conventional filaments, I now want to try out fiber-reinforced engineering materials.Carbon fiber-reinforced filaments promise high-strength components with highest layer adhesion.
Since I have been using Extrudr filaments for a long time and have had good experiences with them, I asked for test samples for my experiments and was provided with three rolls of carbon fiber reinforced filament.I am reporting my honest results here, I have no specifications from Extrudr and only received the filament free of charge for testing.ASA is a filament that is not too difficult to print, and if a few rules are followed, warping is also not too bad. The Durapro ASA-CF tested here is even easier to print than conventional ASA. As with all filaments, it is important to print ASA-CF only when it is absolutely dry.I store and print my filaments in self-made boxes containing desiccant to keep them dry and ready for use.A closed housing produces better results and prevents excessive warping.I made a housing out of wood and Perspex panels, but a simple cardboard box with a foil window would work just as well for preventing draughts and keeping the heat inside the printing space.With a PEI printing plate and glue stick, the print bed adhesion is very good for me.I used the print values directly from the manufacturer, with only a little over-extrusion. This reduces the visual appearance, but increases the strength and tightness.I am very happy with the results straight away, if a very good appearance is important you can get much more beautiful print results with fine tuning. Vapours from molten ASA are very unhealthy. I recommend an air filter in the installation space and ensuring good ventilation in any case.I took a close look at the filament, the printed parts and crack edges under the microscope.No exposed fibers can be seen on the filament and parts; fibers only protrude at the crack edges.When a leather strip is rubbed intensively over the filament and printed part, no fibers get stuck in it.But carbon fibers stick into the leather from the tear edge.
Care should therefore be taken when working on ASA-CF components, no grinding dust should be inhaled, gloves should be worn and care should be taken to ensure cleanliness.Parts that are often touched should be sealed so that the fibers are encapsulated and can no longer cause damage.
I dip the parts in Dichtol because I need gas-tight components, and the internal areas are easily accessible.With these steps I was able to achieve very good results straight away and also printed some test samples which I will now test for compression strength. ASA is an amorphous material that does not nearly get the same benefit from annealing as semi-crystalline polymers do. I will show in one of the next videos if they can withstand higher pressures than the usual filaments.
As always, I am very happy to get suggestions, criticism and comments here on Youtube or Discord.

Many thanks for watching!

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