# 3D printing your aquarium parts



## SantaMonicaHelp (Oct 1, 2012)

3D printing your aquarium parts

For those of you serious DIY folks, you may be interested in how you can make your own plastic aquarium parts by printing them on a 3D printer. Just this year, costs for the 3D printers have dropped to under $500 USD for a pre-built one, and under $200 USD for a kit. 3D printing of your plastic parts works well when:

1. You are good with computers.
2. You like trying new designs or colors.
3. The part is small, or can be put together with small parts.
4. The part does not require great strength.
3. There is no easier/cheaper way to get the parts.

Some aquarium parts, such as simple boxes or tubes, are not suited to 3D printing because they can be more easily made with simple plastic or acrylic shapes. But some parts are so complex that there is no other way to make them except to print them on a 3D printer. I'll be using 3D printers to make the next version of algae scrubbers because of the built-in air tubing, magnet compartments, holes, and bubble pathways that make it impossible for the part to be made (in one piece) any other way.

Some things I've learned that pertain especially to 3D-printed aquarium parts:

1. Only use ABS plastic, not PLA or PVA. The ABS plastic is the same type of plastic used in kid's LEGO toys and is very strong. PLA or PVA plastic, however, will slowly dissolve when underwater or when subjected to high temps.

2. Only use FDM (also called FF) printers. These are the types of printers which use coils of plastic filament. These are also the cheapest printers. Other types of printers such as SLA (liquid) use a photo-cured plastic that will get brittle under aquarium lights, and "powder-printers" make parts which are not water tight.

3. The 3D printed parts will not be "glossy smooth". They will instead be more like carbon fiber, with a texture (or lines) running in one direction through the whole part.

I'm too new at 3D printing to be able to recommend a particular printer, but I'm sure each reef or aquarium club has someone who has a 3D printer, and this is usually a great place to start.

Happy printing!


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## rgr4475 (Mar 19, 2008)

Great info. It's amazing what those 3D printers can do!


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## Narwhal72 (Sep 26, 2006)

Speaking as someone who works with one of these on a daily basis specifically to make aquarium parts it is not really practical.

1. The parts are not watertight. Gaps will form between each layer laid down and the part will sweat through the direction of the grain. Sanding the part manually will take the grain out of the part and make it smooth but you will have to spray epoxy the part afterwards to make them watertight.
2. The parts tend to soften over time in water. This causes them to warp. An injection molded part does not do this.
3. An FDM printer that can work on a 10" x 10" platen costs about $40,000 and the cartridges of material cost $200+ depending on color. Unless you are looking at making something completely unique or custom it's not worth the cost. There are desktop printers that can make much smaller parts that are considerably less expensive but a quick check on Amazon didn't show any for less than $1000.
4. Don't forget that there is a considerable amount of design time required to draw the part in ProE, AutoCAD or whatever format you use.
5. The resolution on the part is limited to how thin of a line the printer can make. This can be a problem for making snap features and other mating features that require a fine resolution.

We use our printer all the time for making parts but these are really just "show and tell" type items to help demonstrate new product concepts or to test basic funtionality in short term tests. You really need real molded parts for long term use.

Andy


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## SantaMonicaHelp (Oct 1, 2012)

Just saw this reply...

1. Yes the parts are not really water tight, but a lot of parts are either under water, or above water (brackets).

2. Only PLA parts soften. That's why we recommended to only use ABS.

3. The Makibot starts at $300 for ABS.

4. Sketchup is a friend 

5. We actually use only medium 0.270 or 0.300 resolution; it gives a neat carbon fiber look.


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## Narwhal72 (Sep 26, 2006)

1. Making a part watertight when necessary is essential. For example a magnetic algae scraper. The internal component must be watertight as magnets are ferrous materials and will rust and expand when wet.
2. ABS also deforms when in use in an aquarium. It's better than SLA but not nearly the strength of a molded part.
3. I am assuming you mean a Makerbot? Where can you find one for $300? I only see $2000+. Cartridges cost $75 plus.
4. I can't comment on Sketchup Pro but regular Sketchup only has a measurement tool that goes down to 1/16" of an inch which is pretty useless for designing small parts. No professional would use Sketchup for this work. Does Sketchup even create STL files?
5. Looks aren't everything. It also needs to function.


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## SantaMonicaHelp (Oct 1, 2012)

Yes sketchup creates STL's if you add the option. Then run it through Netfabb.


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