I made these for a friend but others kept asking me to make more, so I put them on Artisans coop. I’ve tested them up to 45 pounds so far. What do you all think?

  • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️
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    2 months ago

    PLA is a poor choice for this application. PLA will permanently deform under constant load (creep) even at room temperature. Hanging things on a hook is definitely a constant load – especially up to 45 pounds worth of something. These may not fail under short term static testing at that weight but I can tell you they absolutely will not withstand that type of load for an extended period. They’re probably fine for very light duty hanging, however. I have a variety of PLA pegs and hooks around the place that are at most holding a couple of ounces in some cases for 2+ years and they have not appreciably deformed, or at least not to the extent that I’ve noticed enough to care.

    But to avoid the inevitable customer complaints of this ilk, I advise you to either lower your advertised load rating or print these out of ABS or ASA, or at the very least PETG if your machine can’t handle the higher temperatures required for ABS reliably. Polycarb would be even better but it is extremely difficult to print with consumer printers and is probably more trouble than it’s worth. Out of the “normal” non-exotic, non-super-high-temp filaments readily commercially available, ABS has the best creep resistance.

    • @mortalicOP
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      2 months ago

      Stares at the ones on my wall that have been there for years …

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      Thanks for the advice though, I’ve got a yoga studio customer that had like 20 of these and have been there for several years without issue. Pla is fine for 99% of my customers. No one is maxing out the hold weight, and if someone does I’ll offer it in a stronger material.for them