Glue for 3D printed parts

[the mole]

What is a good glue to use to attach 3D printed fins to cardboard body tubing?

[ghrocketman]

CA or Epoxy.

[PaulK]

I use medium CA.

[EamonnMR]

Do you still fillet joints with 3d printed parts, and if so, with what (epoxy again?)

[L3Excalibur]

Do you still fillet joints with 3d printed parts, and if so, with what (epoxy again?)
Use epoxy for fillets, not CA. You can get a much smoother , more even fillets with epoxy.

[jeffyjeep]

CA or epoxy. I’ve yet to find a nuclear option that will “weld” 3D printed parts, but I’m still looking.

[Dugway]

It isn't cheap at $13 for 5 oz, but I've had great results using SCIGRIP 16 for gluing PETG prints together:
https://www.amazon.com/SCIGRIP-10315-Acrylic-Cement-Low-VOC

[Bluegrass Rocket]

Beacon Fabri-Tac or BSI Plastic-Cure (a CA formulated for plastic and wood).

[Bob Austin]

Over at Adafruit, they have a video on 6 different methods to join 3D printed parts. In the end, they found that "3D Gloop" worked best. As always, YMMV.


https://blog.adafruit.com/2022/04/26/six-ways-to-join-3d-printed-parts-together/

[LeeR]

Talk about timing! I just received 3D printed fins for my very old Maxi Honest John. My first order from Boyce Aerospace. Very nice! My Maxi HoJo never flew. I shredded the vacuformed fins off of it with a rasp about 25 years ago. :p

I decided to use epoxy.

I did a bit of sanding along the root edge, just to make sure the fit was good. I used 5 minute epoxy, since I wanted a fast bond. The bond was very solid on all fins 24 hours later. I heated one fin a bit with heat gun to soften it enough to straighten it a tiny bit to get it perpendicular to the plastic fin can.
Today I started applying fillets. I used 30 minute epoxy since I prefer it for bond strength, plus it has time to flow out before setting up. I always add a few drops of DNA for fillets to thin it so it flows well. I like minimal fillets — enough to flow into the joint and also level out a bit.

I will likely just use filler-primer to eliminate the minute texture, rather than trying to sand them perfectly smooth. I did this on Launch Lab Rocketry’s Bullitt Bobby 3D- printed nose cone.

[tbzep]

I always add a few drops of DNA for fillets to thin it so it flows well.
I had a hard time deciding if you were talking about denatured alcohol, or if you are the Less Nessman type and always cut yourself when you work on things. :chuckle:

[LeeR]

I had a hard time deciding if you were talking about denatured alcohol, or if you are the Less Nessman type and always cut yourself when you work on things. :chuckle:

I do have that issue. In this case, I survived the fin attachment unscathed. (When I use CA, I make sure the debonder is within reaching distance.) :p