brake fluid reservoir - material 2

[znamer]

Hello colleagues,
I'm new on this forum and just need some help. I'm working for 3d printer producer and I have the case study to do:
I have to print brake fluid reservoir that is normally used in cars...
Do you have any idea what is the original material that such reservoires are made of? I do not know if every kind of filament will handle the chemical requirements that such reservoires have to pass. Maybe the brake fluid has some special chemical prosperities?

I'll be very glad for your help.

PS. If I added this topic to the wrong section of forum please forgive me.

 

[SuperSalad]

Someone more knowledgeable on the subject may be able to correct me if I am wrong, but I thought they were usually made of HDPE.

Andrew H.

http://www.mototribology.com

 

[romke]

you might some useful information here:

http://www.gilsoneng.com/reference/ChemRes.pdf

 

[MacGyverS2000]

Printing with HDPE filament is... tricky. Did it once. Prefer never to do it again. The stuff shrinks intolerably, and getting it to stick to itself is a serious challenge.

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[btrueblood]

Polyethylene or polypropylene are about your only choices, at least for the DOT-3 and DOT-4 glycol ester brake fluids. Teflon would work, but not PVDF. And as Mac suggested, fused-deposition printing with any of those is tricky. Making (or suggesting that others make) a possibly leaky brake fluid reservoir, and its resulting life safety issues makes the idea a non-starter, IMO.

 

[dgallup]

Gross overkill but you could do DMLS in 316 stainless.

----------------------------------------

The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which depends on a feature that isn't included in this version of Windows.

 

[GregLocock]

I'd steer clear of any safety related system unless your quality control is good and your insurance is up to date or you have no assets.

Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

 

[znamer]

Thank you for the answers, safety requirements are not a problem as it should be only as as a sample and not being in normal use. The thing is that it should work during the show and I do not want the reservoir to be dissolved. I'll use standard Zortrax printer and know that such part shouldn't be used as a normal part in the car.
We do not have HDPE in use so, do you think the PETG (Polyethylene Terepthalate Glycol) is correct for such thing?

 

[btrueblood]

No, not really. But if you want to try, I would print two small plates of the same approximate thickness as your tank wall, and then measure them in all 3 dimensions very accurately and weigh them to the nearest milligram. Then stick one of them in a glass bottle with brake fluid, and set it on a shelf for a week or two. Take it out and measure it (it will probably swell), weigh it (the absorbed fluid will cause the sample weight to increase) and then bend it (compare to the bending resistance of the un-soaked piece, it will probably be weaker and possibly snap). Should tell you quite a bit about its compatibility.

 

[3DDave]

The method to see if it is suitable is to just get a glass jar and pour in some brake fluid and drop in samples of extrusion material - this is how compatibility studies are done. Wait a week or two and see if the items have changed size or dissolved. It helps to weigh them before and after to see if fluid is being absorbed.

According to

http://kmac-plastics.net/data/chemical/petg-chemical.htm

it hasn't been tested by them.

There is this:

https://discuss.toms3d.org/filaments-f10/filament-that-is-not-dissolvable-in-brake-fluid-t99.html

 

[znamer]

Great, thanks for help colleagues, I'll try with testing two small examples and measure/weight them before and after using with the fluid. Thank you for help if anyone is interested in results please let me know.

So now just hope the printer manage to print two exact the same samples...

 

[itsmoked]

Use enough test material so you can actually see that weight difference.

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[Kolen]

How is the progress? I would like to the results of your tests.

 

[znamer]

Hi, as printers available for me are all printing samples for my clients at the moment, I'll start the test on Monday 19.03 so probably about 27-28.03 have results (one week in the fluid should be enough I hope).
I'll let you know when the examine is done.

 

[MacGyverS2000]

You don't need a printed sample, just a measured/weighed length of plastic from the printing spool.

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[znamer]

I understand but we want to see if there is any change in the shape of ready product also...

 

[btrueblood]

I'd argue you should test a printed sample, as you don't know what changes might occur in the filament due to the process, but I can theorize quite a few things that could happen, and none of them make the polymer more resistant.