PP (also known as polypropylene) is the newest material in the Ultimaker series. Although it is one of the most widely used plastics in the world, it has been difficult to use in 3D printing.
With Ultimaker's optimized PP material and these helpful tips, you can start exploring the possibilities of this material.
So, what makes PP special? It has many valuable properties that make it a versatile material.
At the top are its excellent fatigue resistance and toughness.
PP does not lose its shape or function due to repeated bending and is almost impossible to break, making it an excellent choice for 3D printing critical moving parts.
Think of the hinge on a bottle cap – it's likely made of polypropylene. With good chemical and water resistance, it is widely used to manufacture containers for storing liquids.
However, we do not recommend using 3D printed products for food or beverages, as Ultimaker 3D printers are not designed to be food-safe.
Achieving Perfect PP Prints
Let's look at how we achieved the best results using PP to 3D print a three-part container: a bottle, a nozzle, and a lid.
For printing the body of the bottle, we used one of Cura's special modes - Spiralize Outer Contour. Instead of building the model in separate layers, the print bed gradually moves downward as the nozzle travels, like printing a single continuous layer. This "spiral" effect means your PP bottle will not have seams due to continuous operation.
The thin single-layer wall thickness means the bottle will be soft and squeezable, taking advantage of PP's properties.
If you need a completely waterproof model, you may find one or two small leaks that you can fix with a soldering iron. Or print your model with slightly thicker walls to achieve a more reliable waterproof seal.
This was the only custom setting we used in Cura for this model.
For all other settings for the bottle and for printing the nozzle and lid, we used the Fine (0.1 mm) quality profile for PP and let Cura do the rest.
You can see that when printing with PP, Cura creates a larger brim around your model than with other materials. This is to help with bed adhesion and can be removed later with scissors or a knife. For best results, we also recommend using an adhesion sheet on your print bed.
What to Print with PP
PP is widely used globally by engineers and manufacturers. Its flexibility and durability, combined with good chemical, water, and electrical resistance, make it extremely practical.
So, if you are developing an idea for an object that will be manufactured with PP, you can prototype it using the same material with an Ultimaker 3D printer.
Have you already tried printing with Ultimaker PP?
For a complete guide to printing with PP, please read our tutorial article
Original link: https://ultimaker.com/en/blog/51209-beginners-guide-to-3d-printing-with-pp