Thread Number: 93359
/ Tag: Vintage Automatic Washers
3d printing plastic parts |
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Post# 1180303 , Reply# 1   5/10/2023 at 21:37 (359 days old) by Egress (Oregon)   |   | |
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I had a replacement soap door 3d printed for my old kitchenaid dishwasher. kept it going for another 2 years until we remodeled. |
Post# 1180573 , Reply# 2   5/14/2023 at 08:49 (356 days old) by johnb300m (Chicago)   |   | |
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Yup. We have a handful of 3D printers at work. I tried printing new wash arm bearings for my PowerClean KA25 once.
They didn’t work. The material we have is PLA, and it didn’t withstand the 140f heat. So the bearings all warped. I would need to print then again in ABS or Nylon. But we’re so busy at work, I’ve not been able to swap out materials and print “personal” things. A note, these are “FDM” printers. They squeeze out little layers of actual plastic molten material. The other printer types use some kind of light curing resin. Those almost never would withstand the interior environment of a dishwasher. But would be good for external parts. |
Post# 1180681 , Reply# 3   5/15/2023 at 12:59 (354 days old) by LowEfficiency (Iowa)   |   | |
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Functional mechanical parts should be no problem - just make sure you select the proper material for the environment, taking expected temperatures, creepage, etc into account. Dishwasher parts would require caution, for the same reasons 3D printed parts are rarely considered food-safe - the printing process creates microscopic crevices, which are difficult or impossible to clean, giving locations for bacteria to grow. Depending on the part, this could be mitigated by the use of special post coatings. Standard FDM 3D printing nozzles are made of brass, which also contains lead, so be aware of that as well. |