Southbend switch mount 3D printed

[black85vette]

I posted about the lathe in another area but this really is more about using the 3D printer to make a box to house a switch and placed on the factory mount on top of the lathe.    I created the box in Tinkercad, used Cura to slice it,  and a Ender 3 to print it in black PLA.   Mostly I use the printer on my electronics projects to make project boxes, terminal strip mounts, junction boxes, etc.    The thing I appreciate about 3D printing is the ability to place tabs, mounts, holes, and slots exactly where I want them.   In the pictures you can see the individual pieces and then the switch mounted on the lathe.   The top cover of the switch housing is .125" aluminum plate.

[Admiral_dk]

Looks really good 

But if you use / expose that to a lot of Oil or other Chemical - Please consider using PETG or certain Flexiables ....

Don't get me wrong - if it's just the occasional drop or two - no problem with PLA.

Per

[black85vette]

But if you use / expose that to a lot of Oil or other Chemical - Please consider using PETG or certain Flexiables ....

Thanks! Good to know.   I have not exposed PLA to any oil in my electronics projects so it was not an issue.

[Krypto]

Have you personally had problems with PLA and oil?  Some solvents are certainly a problem, but regular lubricating oil doesn't seem to be much of a issue.

[Admiral_dk]

I have been working on and off on an automatic Oiling system for my main Motorcycle + other parts for MC and mopeds. As I came across a mention about PLA not being very resistant to a number of things in this enviroment - I searched the InterWeb. The result was kind of clear - PLA only lasted about 5 years if exposed to UV Light or Oil - Gasoline was worse. PETG will last a lot longer in UV Light, a bit longer in Oil.
A number of Flexiables are totally resistant to all those things.

Right now I have two PLA items I made, on my bikes (in non-critical areas) - but they have been there less than two years so far ....

I use PLA for the Prototypes for the Oiling System - have tried PETG here, but for some reason a pig printing in this application - I Plan hope to do the final version in Flexiables.

https://prusament.com/chemical-resistance-of-3d-printing-materials/

https://filamentive.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Material-Properties-Filamentive-Chemical-Resistance-April-2020.pdf

I searched more to include here - but I can see that : Either My Memory is worse than I remember 
or some of the materials has changed / or some of the Manufactors have tweaked their formulaes to improve results 

No matter what - PLA is doing much better with Oil than I remember - so sorry for crying Wolf 

Per

[crueby]

For PLA, just give the parts a coat of spray paint. The automotive enamels work very well on it, and that will protect it from the stray splash of oil or whatever you may get on workshop parts. There are a lot of conflicting statements out there about chemical resistance on 3D printing plastics, they have to be read carefully to see exactly which chemical and which plastic they are testing, a lot of the comments make over generalizations about them. Each plastic type is different, and different manufacturers call slightly different mixes the same thing - there are a number of different 'PLA' mixes, same with other types.

[black85vette]

The one shown mounted was my 2nd print.   The first one was 2" high which I decided was too tall for my switch.   So, if anyone wants the 2" version I will just want the cost of shipping covered.