Hi my name is Sean with MakerBot Learning.
If youre looking for a way to smooth your
prints after you remove them from the build
plate, or you're looking to paint or create
a silicone mold around your parts, sanding
is a really great alternative. So today in
this video, we're going to cover some of the
best practices associated with sanding your
3D prints. In order to use these sanding techniques
to completely smooth your model, you'll need
the following supplies: 80, 120, and 240 grit
sandpaper for sanding, 400, 1000, 1500 grit
sandpaper for wet sanding, handheld electric
sander or sanding block, x-acto knife or putty
knife, needlenose pliers or flush cutters,
a bin to hold water, a respiratory mask, eye
protection and gloves. When printing, you
can select certain print settings to minimize
work later on, we printed our model with standard
settings of 0.2 mm layer height, 10% infill
and 2 shells. Once your part is free from
the build plate, remove rafts and support
material from the model. Be sure to wear eye
protection. Remove large pieces of support
first, and then approach smaller pieces and
fine details. Take care around edges and seams.
Clinging the edges will ensure better alignment
of components if you plan to glue them later
on. If you plan to glue the model, be careful
not to remove too much material or you'll
increase the size of your seams and will need
to use filler in order to hide them after
gluing. Now that all support material has
been removed, you can begin the sanding process.
Sanding will produce small particles of filament
so wear a respiratory mask. Start with 80
grit sandpaper. When sanding with coarse sandpaper,
you're creating the surface you will later
refine. This stage of sanding should remove
the most material and create a fairly uniform
surface. Clean and inspect your print under
good lighting. If you've missed any spots,
sand and inspect again. You can move to the
next grit when you notice that your model
surface is fairly even and has changed from
glossy to matte. When you approach higher
polishing grits, the shine will return. Sanding
curved surfaces and small features can be
a challenge. Use smaller strips of sandpaper
or electric sanders with different attachments
to reduce sanding time. In tough areas, sand
both with and against the grain as well as
in circular patterns. Once you have sanded
through 80, 120 and 240 grit sandpaper, we
suggest wet sanding with 400-1000 grit sandpaper
to achieve a completely blemish-free surface.
If you have properly wet sanded your model,
it should feel almost like glass, which is
the perfect surface texture if you choose
to paint your model. Here we have an example
of the same model with various stages of sanding.
You can see noticeable changes in surface
quality at each grit level. If you followed
these steps, you should be left with a model
completely free of layer lines and blemishes
that's ready to be painted, molded, you name
it! You just learned how to take your prints
beyond the build plate.
