[fireant911]

I purchased a 3D printer last year and absolutely love it! The initial purpose was to pursue an idea I had for modifying/improving equipment for collection methods for maple sap for eventual processing into that tasty maple syrup. Unfortunately, this idea came late in the season so I did not have the opportunity to actually test any of my models. Over this winter, I did some more design work and prototyping of a few different versions I would like to test ‘in the field’ for the upcoming 2023 sugar maple syruping season. One change I made involved incorporating a John Guest push fitting at one end of my models – there is nothing especially profound about this modification… it is just one of the many attributes of the new design that I want to test and examine.

After a little Internet research, I found out that it is possible to purchase John Guest half-cartridges which permits manufacturers to incorporate push fittings onto their existing equipment as long as they follow the dimensional sizing as required… so I could, in theory, make my own push fitting. I did the design work, sliced the print, and sent it to my Creality 3D CR-6 SE printer and had a very good-looking part in my hand (after my second attempt of tweaking the print parameters!). Next, I assembled the half-cartridge components into my freshly printed part and was in awe of the seemingly perfect fit! Finally, inserting a polyethylene tube into the assembly demonstrated that, at least dimensionally, everything was spot on.

And now, for my question… research indicates that 3D printed parts are NOT good in environments where the pressure varies from normal atmospheric pressure. So, attempting to use this 3D printed housing in either a vacuum or under a positive pressure, leakage/seepage will occur from the minute spaces between the printed layers. Pressures for my intended usage will be only at normal atmospheric but, in order to minimize/eliminate areas for potential bacteria to hide and grow, I would like to improve the ‘seal’ between the layers, if possible… essentially make it water-proof at low positive pressures above atmospheric. Epoxy resins are available for this specific purpose; however, I am afraid that this addition of this material will affect the dimensional accuracy required by the John Guest half-cartridge rendering it unusable. I have NOT tested the part under pressure to see if it leaks between layers though, due to the plethora in info on the Internet about the lack of water-proof integrity of 3D printed parts, it seems extremely likely that this novice’s design will leak/seep as well. Do you 3D modeling experts have any help/guidance/suggestions on how to improve the water tightness of a 3D printed part? Maybe 3D printing this part is not the best option???

Current machine settings: profile – super quality 0.12mm, 100% infill, 0.01mm layer height, and 50.0 mm/s print speed. Nozzle size is 0.4mm. Material is 0.175mm diameter PLA filament. The part is cylindrical in shape and the minimum wall thickness is 0.08”.