I got my XTC-3D epoxy a few days ago and tried it out last evening. It is advertised to have a 2-hour tack-free time at 70F, quicker at warmer temps. The manufacturer says it can be thinned with acetone or denatured alcohol but to expect longer cure times if you thin it. https://www.smooth-on.com/products/...ent added, the,material will be more flexible. I like the results and have tried to make photos tyhat reflect (no pun intended) the finish differences comparing untreated and coated PLA prints made with a .6mm extruder and .2mm layer thickness---pretty coarse printing. Spraying a light coat of lacquer helps reveal the surface differences. The blue prints are epoxy-free. The silver prints have one coat of XTC-3D Same scenario here---silver prints have a coat of epoxy and the blue ones don't. And epoxy and one coat of lacquer left and lacquer only right. 12 hours after application the epoxy is quite hard. It is said to be Shore 80 D. West System 5:1 epoxy is said to be Shore 83 D. And I would agree the West seems very similar to slightly harder to fingernail testing. I do think this product can save finishing time when working with PLA prints. I think West epoxy is of somewhat great viscosity 750 to 900 CPS for West and 350 CPS for XTC. The west has more like an 8 hour tack-free time. For my purposes the faster cure time is a definite plus and can be shortened to 15 mins at 150F. Denis
I used the following riser/gate combo print today on a 48" camelback pattern. This was printed using a .8mm extruder and .4mm layer height---about as coarse print parameters as can be done on common printers. It is 3 inches tall. To finish for molding I hit it with 120 gtrit paper for just 2 or 3 mins to knock off the highest spots. Then I gave it a single coat of XTC. Here is a link to a very short vid of the result: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XHFR5A-RG8Q I used it this afternoon and a couple other times and it drew perfectly. The column sides have 1.5 degrees of draft. Making this on my lathe and and saws and sanders would have taken hours. As it was I drew it up, pressed print and it printed in 1 hour and 20 mins. Finishing it took only minutes where a wood pattern with Bondo fairing would have taken several coats of paint, at least 2 or 3 Bondo applications and then the draft and countours might still have not been perfect. Just sayin the epoxy coating is good stuff. Denis
