I’m finally getting around to messing with this stuff. Now I can balisong in the dark.
Step 2 is determining how badly all the particles of gumf in this filament negatively impact the mechanical strength.
Edit: I probably should have said this in the first place, but this is Overture green glow PLA.
The model is my Rockhopper balisong utility knife. Go check it out – it’s fully printable, even the hardware.
Is it the classical ZnS based stuff that fades within minutes or the modem strontiumaluminate (like luminova) that lasts for hours?
It’s interesting to hear that there is a new style as I’ve done several prints using the old style and it’s so lame that it only works for a few minutes after being exposed directly to bright light especially with how rough it is on the machine. It wore a groove through the hotend on my old Sidewinder X2 after using about a Kg to print a giant Lego skeleton.
From a chemical composition standpoint I couldn’t tell you, but my off-the-cuff testing indicates that the glow remains visible for quite a few hours – All night, in fact, though obviously tailing off in brightness considerably as time goes on.
For strength there are some decent GID PETG options. Glow for all these is pretty good with regards to intensity but poor for duration. Be ready to replace your brass nozzle a little sooner than you thought. Using a oxbidian nozzle and it seems to take the beating well.
I have a diamond nozzle installed already.
PETG’s issue in this particular application is layer strength, wherein it’s difficult to top PLA except with some semi-exotic and rather hard to print materials like polycarbonate. Both the screws and the blade carrier in my design rely on layer adhesion not failing for durability. Otherwise honestly the parts are all pretty low stress other than I guess potentially the pocket clip.
Wow looks good!
Sweet.
Oh man that looks wicked. How bright is it in person? And is that stock, or did you charge it up a bit with a UV light?
For a short time in total darkness it actually is pretty bright. Obviously my phone’s camera automatically wound the exposure up quite I bit when I took that picture in the dark, though. That was without any special charge-up, just an hour or so of exposure to the largely LED based lighting in my office with it lying face up on my desk.
This is the Overture brand glow PLA.
I whacked it with my little Lumintop single AA flashlight last night and left it sitting on my bedstand, and found that it was still quite visibly (albeit dimly) glowing by dawn the next morning.
Very cool. I’ll put some in my cart. My kids will get a kick out of it.
