How small can you make triangular holes without getting power stuck inside?

#1

Hi all,

I am designing a small computer case with vents on the side. The vents are made up of little equilateral triangles with side lengths of 1.5 mm (see image below).

I have ordered prototype SLS prints from another service of two different versions:

Version A has a wall thickness of 2.05 mm.
Version B has a wall thickness of 3.5 mm.

Version A came out well, the vents look good. However, for version B, powder was stuck in the vents when it arrive.

I can’t tell if I should adjust the design (either by increasing the triangle size or decreasing the wall thickness) or if this is due to insufficient cleaning by the producer of the prints for version B.

I would like to order MJF prints from i.materilise, and would like to know if I would have the same problem. Ideally, I would not want to change the design as I would like the walls to be as thick as possible, and the triangles as small as possible.

Any input is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

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#2

Hello,

This is difficult to say why Version B was printed bad.Maybe this was a lesser batch or the nesting in that build wasn’t good.
The wall thickness of the version A (2.05mm) is really strong and it takes less energy/heat to make the part which also means that less powder melts on the part.

If you want to go for the 3mm thickness we can try this and should be able to achieve a good result.
Could you please provide us with the files so we can take a look at them.
Please contact our Customer Support Team:
https://i.materialise.com/en/contact
Thank you.
Best regards,
Anna

#3

Hi Anna,

Thank you for the reply. I will send the STP file via your Contact Us page.

Ideally we would like to have the 3mm wall thickness. This is because we found that 2.05 mm was a bit too flexible.

Kind regards,

Jad

#4

HI Jad,
Thank you. Looking forward for your file.
Best regards,
Anna