On the Internet, there are thousands of articles describing the journeys of different Makers who, using low-budget 3D printers, create a whole bunch of amazing projects, surprising readers with the technology’s innovation and usefulness. Blogs and websites concerning 3D printing are full of practical applications of this technology at home. We at CD3D decided to join this trend and independently create something that, perhaps isn’t the most elegant product for the home, but will surprise many with the unusual approach to the topic of home 3D printing.
Recently, we bought Verbatim’s flexible filament, Primalloy, which led us down the path of this very interesting project. When testing Primalloy, our colleague Adela created several test models of corrugated hose that perfectly exploited the capabilities of this filament. So, at this stage of exploring different object that could also be printed with this flexible filament, we decided to make… a plunger.
The model was entirely printed on a 3D printer. The handle was created using woodFill from colorFabb, while the bowl is pure, snow white Primalloy. While printing the handle, we didn’t face any problems and we printed it out on our first attempt. In the case of the bowl, however, we had to 3D print it twice. The first time, a problem came at the very end, when the filament became entangled in the extruder. There were also problems with achieving first-layer adhesion between the material to the printerbed. The popular glue spray Dimafix did not pass the test here, and even office glue handled this task with mediocre results. Eventually, we used the Polish product Gamplate.
Gamplate is a unique pad for printbeds on low-budget FDM 3D printers, that allows 3D printing with ABS without a heated bed. While its actual usefulness for ABS is average, in the case of Primalloy, it proved to be a perfect solution.
As for the plunger, we are anticipating a few possible questions, so let me say that we have not tested it in practice. Photos in the toilet are purely conceptual 🙂 Nevertheless, the “dry” tests seem to confirm its potential usefulness.
What is the purpose of a 3D printed plunger? None. And, also, the same goes for most “cool” 3D printed projects that “make life easier”, which can be found all over the Internet. The cost of purchasing such an accessory in the store will cost just a few €. But, to create it on a 3D printer, you need to:
- have 3D design software and knowledge of how to create models for 3D printing
- have a 3D printer (min. approx. €1000)
- purchase filaments – colorFabb Woodfill and Verbatim Primalloy (approx. €100)
- and a couple of hours to print a complete project.
Fortunately, the installation process for the plunger is a short one (approx. 1 second). If you are rich and patient enough – you can easily do this by yourself 🙂
