ABS Slurry Puck/Mallet

youmagine

Inspired by Ultimaker forum member Solid Print 3D's post about acetone & ABS slurry pucks, I modeled up one based on the air hockey "mallets" you hold while playing. They are 35mm wide across the base and have thin walls around the stem to hold onto securely. Print it with 100% fill as you want the base to have maximum surface area when swirling the acetone around effectively. The bottom hole is slightly larger than the top post, allowing them to stack neatly onto one another. They also feature an 8mm hole through the center for stacking onto an 8mm bolt securely. In hindsight, I suppose making the base 6mm tall was a bit over-engineered. So little of the ABS is deposited onto the glass per use that these should last a very long time without needing to be replaced. Rather than using a spoon to get the acetone onto the glass, I keep a syringe full sitting close by at all times, ready for use. Depositing the acetone this way minimizes day-to-day acetone fumes significantly. In fact, whereas I obviously smell the acetone whenever I load up a syringe (maybe once every 5 days, depending on usage), I never smell the acetone when using the syringe to deposit drops onto the glass effectively. The amount of acetone to use on the glass depends on the bottom area of the print. You want to make it wet so the mallet slides around smoothly, not create a lake. For printing these mallets, for example, I used 4 drops of acetone each. Swirl the mallet around for a few seconds, not pressing too hard on the glass. Stop as soon as the slurry starts to gum up a bit. You want a thin layer of ABS/acetone left behind where the color is barely noticeable. If you have clumps, you've swirled too long or used too much acetone. Scrape it off with a razor blade and try again carefully. Since you will be using the same color ABS mallet as you will be printing, your print will have no swirl marks and a perfect, mirror finish.