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Minor damage repair

Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2015 2:11 pm
by jdurand
On this one product I'm printing a zillion of, sometimes when peeling off the raft a few fibers from the bottom of the part are pulled loose. On my wife's suggestion I tried our hot-air soldering station, just waving it over like you would flame glass.

The loose bits pull up taunt and stick together nicely.

I understand not everyone has a hot-air station but if you have access to it, use it.

Here's the station we have:
http://www.hakko.com/english/products/hakko_851.html

Re: Minor damage repair

Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 12:08 pm
by Eaglezsoar
Does this make the surface shiny like a vapor bath would?

Re: Minor damage repair

Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 6:15 pm
by JFettig
I use my hot air station to close up cracks and re-color the white spots from supports and rafts.

If you're getting strings on your bottom layer above a raft, you may need to be a little closer - it will be more difficult to remove.

Here is a part I printed on a raft and ran my hot air nozzle over.

[img]http://i.imgur.com/UqTL3qP.jpg[/img]

Re: Minor damage repair

Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 6:53 pm
by Captain Starfish
For those considering it, the WEP 898D I bought from eBay cost about $90 (Australian, more like USD60 at the moment) and has been flawless. I use it for electronics work - desoldering, reflow, heatshrink etc. But I also use it for a much better regulated "flame polishing" than a ciggy lighter will do and you can weld nylon and PLA parts together with them too.

Re: Minor damage repair

Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 10:02 pm
by jdurand
We've had our hot air station quite a while, I'm sure there's lots of lower cost ones out there. I know that Hakko isn't exactly cheap.

Re: Minor damage repair

Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2015 10:49 pm
by Eaglezsoar
I have to look at purchasing a hot air station. I do a lot of soldering and I can use it for my printer parts too, thanks to your tips.